Hangin' Around Town

Despite previous posts exploring our adventures all over Iceland, the CELL group spends the majority of its time in Sólheimar, the eco-village in which we participate and live. We have no shortage of fun and educational activities right here in our community! The house we stay in, called "Brekkukot," offers incredible views and is situated right in the center of Sólheimar activity. Just outside our door is a road that some of us run and explore on to experience ehilarating, vast expanses of Icelandic countryside, spotted with sheep and friendly horses.

Social interaction here is huge, and it's a big part of what makes this community sustainable. The cafateria, called "Vigdisarhus," is where we eat our lunches, socialize with all of the staff and residents of Sólheimar. Here, we put into practice the Icelandic language we've been learning! We also have the opportunity interact with the Sólheimar community at each morning meeting and at during weekly service learning rotations. Each morning, the entire community gathers and stands in a circle, holding hands. Daily announcements are made, and everyone sings the Sólheimar song after taking a few minutes of silence to appreciate each other and the sounds of Icelandic nature. Our service learning consists of helping out different workshops and houses that contribute to Sólheimar's success. We get to work in the ceramics studio, the weavery, the art workshop, the greenhouses, the wood workshop, and more. Many of these workshops create suveneirs for tourists that help support the maintenance and growth of Sólheimar. They also providing jobs and a productive and creative outlet to the mentally disabled population here. We truly value the opportunity to give back to Sólheimar and to get to know everyone who works and lives here!

We love being outside, so naturally, we've opted to sleep there on occasion. We hang hammocks in the wooded areas and bundle up in our sleeping bags, where we sway from side to side, staring up at the glisteningly starry night sky.

On the edge of Sólheimar terrain, a few of us are revamping and making improvements to the vermicompost (worm compost) shed. Since it's been out of commission for several months, this is some tough and stinky work while we get the waste material back to an aerobic, healthy state and create a more streamlined, bagless system for the community. The compost will be used in the all-organic greenhouses that grow food for the community. The worms are multiplying and compost is happening, so we're making progress!

And of course, we need haircuts once in a while, and why go all the way to the city to make that happen? We love our community bonding that brings us all closer together and helps us appreciate this incredible place.