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.

History

On 31 March 1930 the childcare committee of the Church of Iceland bought the land at Hverakot for ISK 8,000, and Sesselja Sigmundsdóttir, an educational pioneer interested in organic horticulture and the ideas of Rudolf Steiner, leased it and founded Sólheimar as a foster home on her 28th birthday, 5 July 1930, when the first five foster children arrived and all lived in tents at first. In the autumn of 1931 five children with mental disabilities came, and the first building, Selhamar, was built for them in 1932 and 1933 with the support of parliament (Wikipedia, Sólheimar Ecovillage).

What to look for

• 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.

Things to know

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.

Key facts