WORK/PROJECT:

SEEDS volunteers will take part in environmental projects in the Icelandic Western fjords. We are working with our local hosts in diverse projects including cleaning the coastline and collecting driftwood.

We will be going out to a small and beautiful island in the fjord where there is an eider nesting ground. We and the local inhabitants will be collecting the eider down, which is the most valuable and best filling for unique eider-down duvets.

If wished, we will be assisting the sheep and locals during the lambing season, which is both fun and very rewarding being a part of receiving new life into the world.  In addition we will also be assisting our hosts with putting up fences, clearing old ones and some paint jobs.

ACCOMMODATION:

We will be hosted in a local Icelandic family house, sleeping in shared rooms with mattresses on the floor. Please bring your own sleeping bag.

Food ingredients will be provided and a kitchen will be available as well as a washing machine; we will share the duties of cooking and cleaning activities. However, the hosts will most often prepare lunch and dinner in their home for us.

Please do not forget some traditional or typical food from your home country for the international evening.

LOCATION:

The West Fjords is one of the most breathtakingly beautiful places in Iceland, with its high mountains of extreme beauty and dramatic fjords cutting deep into the landscape.

The area has a mythological aura and the landscape draws people into the world of elves, trolls and other supernatural creatures. The driftwood has always been one of the main valuables of the people and it has been used for building houses, boats and heating up accommodation. The numerous hiking ways in the area attract many visitors during the summertime to enjoy the beautiful landscape.

Perhaps one of Iceland's most remote areas, it is a sheltered bay in a remote region, largely untouched by modern developments where silence reigns and nature continues to shape a rugged, mountainous landscape. You can hardly get further away from the bustle of the towns to enjoy life in the beautiful and peaceful landscapes of this remote area. This is among the least frequented parts of the country.

The roads up there are only open during the few months of the short summer; it is one of the remotest corners of Europe, where the coastline is covered with vast expanses of driftwood that originated on the other side of the Arctic Ocean, in Russian Siberia; the region is stunningly beautiful and somewhere to really experience Iceland’s wildness.

LANGUAGE:

English will be the official language in the camp; high proficiency is not a requirement.

TERMINAL:

International Airport: Keflavík/Reykjavík (KEF). Closest Domestic Airport: Ísafjörður (IFJ).

SEEDS organises the “minibus option”, a shared transport from Reykjavík to the camp and vice-versa, which apart from being cheaper and more convenient, allows volunteers to meet fellow campers and have a relaxed trip, while stopping on the way for interesting and tourist sites.

EXTRAS / SPECIAL REMARKS:

Participation fee EUR 160,- (Euros).

Volunteers applying for this project should be motivated for working outdoors and getting to know ways of living in rural areas in Iceland
Spare time activities will be organized for the volunteers by SEEDS and/or the local hosts free of charge; this may include sightseeing, hiking, swimming pool visit, boat rides, fishing etc. Place of extreme beautiful natural surroundings with countless opportunities to hike and discover it by foot.

Age: 18+