Day 13 Tuesday May 24, 2016

After a rainy day yesterday, it was nice to see the sun shining. Around 10:30am we walked next door to sesselijuhús center for sustainable development. Though it was sunny, the wind was very intense! A lady working there spotted us, so she and a man talked to us about Sólheimer community.  It was started in 1930 by Sesseja Hreindís Sigmundsdóttir as an intentional living community home for children with disabilities. She went to Germany to study, and she was the first Icelander to study academically about disabilities. Since at that time most children were put in institutions, this was a new idea. Today there are 100 people living in the community, and 43 of the people have disabilities. They are older now, so some people no longer work. Those who are younger have jobs at the organic bakery, greenhouse, candle making shop, or woodworking shop. The products are then sold, and the money is put back into the community. Their main goal is to include people, so there are people from other countries and families that live here too. The community has a sustainable mindset with agricultural practices such as composting, but it is not an off the grid eco village striving to be completely sustainable.

I asked about school in Iceland for those with disabilities, and the lady said that there are programs (like the US) in the school systems for children with special needs. This community is now for adults with disabilities, so it is a place we're they can work and live in the same place. I think the idea of an intentional sustainable community including everyone despite their differences is a really fascinating idea. It is not perfect though, and I would be interested to learn more about the people who live here and how the community works. The man took us around the community where we saw the shops and an exhibit about Reynir Pétur Ingvavsson. He walked around the entirety of Iceland (32 days) in 1985 to raise money for Sólheimer and awareness about disabilities in Iceland. The exhibit had huge wall murals with his picture and a map of where he walked. We then headed to the beautiful modern chapel before heading to the nearby town of Selfoss for lunch.

After lunch we split up to explore the town for a few hours. I wandered into a wool shop called Handverksskúrinn with a few people to look around. A cohort of eight ladies run the shop hand making all the wool products. After almost buying a sweater last night, I decided to invest. It will be a sweater that will serve me well in the coming months and in the future. The lady in the shop , Liney Tómasa, told me she made my sweater. After wandering around and sitting in a cute used bookstore for a little bit, the group headed to Lerid Crater which had water pooling in the bottom because the chamber collapsed. We walked around examining the basaltic rocks which formed 6,500 years ago from a possible steam eruption. They were red, purple, and blue in color due to oxidation. We then headed back to cook pasta for dinner. Today was really interesting to learn about the unique community of Sólheimer since my sister Carolyn has Down Syndrome. I wonder if there are other communities like this that also focus on sustainability in other parts of the world.

The original children's home

Reynir Pétur Ingvavsson

Wood working shop

The greenhouse