Solheimar Ecovillage

Solheimar was started in 1930 by Sesselja Hreindis Sigmundsdottir, who had trained abroad and came back to set up a home where disabled and non-disabled people lived and worked together on the land - an approach that was unusual then and was regarded with suspicion by the authorities of the time. It has continued since, and around a hundred people live there now, with workshops making candles, ceramics, weaving and timber, a large greenhouse operation and organic growing. Visitors can walk the village, buy from the workshops and eat in the cafe. It is a working community rather than an attraction, which sets the terms of a visit.

What you actually see

• A community founded in 1930 - disabled and non-disabled residents together.
• Workshops that sell what they make - ceramics, candles, weaving, timber.
• Greenhouses and organic growing - the working land around the village.
• A place people live - not a museum or a set.

When to go

May to September, when the workshops and cafe keep fuller hours. Half a day.

Honest expectations

This is people's home and workplace; wandering into buildings or photographing residents is not on. Workshop and cafe hours are limited, particularly in winter. There is no formal exhibition or tour to follow.

Nearby

Kerid crater is close; Laugarvatn and the Golden Circle are north.