Sólheimar Iceland

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  • Communities

About the Communities

  • Established
  • Ecological
  • Rural

Founding year

  • 1930

What we do

Sólheimar is a village in southern Iceland, located about 80 km from Reykjavík. Founded in 1930 by Sesselja H. Sigmundsdóttir (1902-1974), it is the first community of its kind in the world, where so called able and disabled people live and work together. Sólheimar is also the first community in Scandinavia where organic cultivation is practised. Today Sólheimar is a village with 100 inhabitants, 40 of whom have disabilities, and spreads across an area of approximately 250 hectares.
Sólheimar prides itself on its varied cultural, social and sport activities. The premises include a swimming pool, Jacuzzi, convenience store, gallery and gymnasium. A theatre group, founded in 1932, is also active, along with a choir, sports club and Scout troop.
Sólheimar has developed a broad-based range of industries and activities including the following: Olur Reforestation Center- the only organic reforestation center in Iceland-,
Sunna Organic Cultivation Center specialising in organic vegetables and products derived from these, Vala Supermarket, and an art gallery focusing on manufactured items as well as handicrafts and art pieces created in our different ateliers. Solheimar is also home to the Graena Kannan Cafe which specialises in organic food and beverages, the Jurtagull Soap factory and herb workshop which produces soaps and shampoos from Icelandic plants, a candle factory which produces candles made entirely from beeswax and recycled candles, a weaving workshop specialising in handmade woven items such as mats, carpets and tablecloths, and other workshops based on carpentry and musical instruments.
The ethos of Sólheimar is derived from ‘reverse integration’, a process whereby the community develops based on the needs of individuals with disabilities and other minorities, and it is the able-bodied who have to adapt to these needs.

  • Purpose
  • Ecological
  • Community type
  • Ecovillage
  • Activities
  • Education

Commemorative dates

  • January 1, 1930
  • Started living together
  • Open to new members
  • Open to visitors
  • Open to volunteers
Total
120

How to join

Guests are welcome to visit. Accommodation can be booked in guesthouses. Culture festival runs in the summer.

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Location

  • Iceland

Sólheimar Iceland

Promoted Needs and Offers

  • Promoted
Need
  • Promoted
Need
  • Volunteering
1 month ago

Social Media Intern

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Ecovillage Network logo with a heart-shaped handshake symbol.
Logo of the Global Ecovillage Network with a stylized flower design.
Logo of the Global Ecovillage Network with interconnected figures.
Social Media Intern for GEN International Hours: Up to 20/month, flexible around your schedule and availability Location: Remote, work with Eva Goldfarb Focus: Instagram + LinkedIn (TikTok if you’re into it!) Hi! I’m Eva, and I run social media for GEN International — the global network connecting ecovillages, intentional communities, and regenerative culture-builders across every continent. I’m looking for a co-conspirator to help me tell the stories of the people quietly building the future: off-grid villages in the Philippines, permaculture farms in Senegal, urban cohousing projects in Berlin, elders passing down land wisdom in the Andes. It’s a wildly rich, wildly underrepresented world, and I want more people to fall in love with it the way I have. What you’ll actually do: Dream up and create content for Instagram and LinkedIn (reels, carousels, stories, captions that don’t sound like a corporate newsletter) Dig into our global network and turn your findings into stories people want to share Pitch your own ideas. If there’s a series, a theme, a format, or a corner of the network that lights you up, that’s what I want you to focus on. What we’re looking for: A natural storyteller, someone who can spot the human thread in a project update or a photo from a faraway village Genuinely curious about ecovillages, sustainability, intentional community, regenerative living Self-motivated and communicative; this is a flexible, trust-based role Why this role: This isn’t a “post 3x a week and don’t ask questions” internship. You’ll have real creative freedom to work on what excites you, learn how a global grassroots network tells its story, and build a portfolio full of meaningful, purpose-driven content. Plus you’ll be talking to people living some of the most interesting, intentional lives on the planet. If storytelling for a better world sounds like your kind of fun, let’s talk.
  • Events
9 years ago

Twin Oaks Communities Conference

If you live—or want to live—according to the ideals of sustainability, cooperation and equality, come to the annual Twin Oaks Communities Conference this summer for a celebration of cooperative and collective lifestyles! From September 1 – 4, 2017, network and learn about communities of all kinds — co-housing, co-ops, communes and ecovillages — at one of the best-known intentional communities in North America. At the conference, you can attend workshops on topics such as communication, resource sharing, group decision-making and dynamics, worker-owned businesses, ecological responsibility and more. Camp in a beautiful forest alongside fellow participants and be a part of a temporary, once-in-a-lifetime intentional community. Exchange ideas with major players in the Intentional Communities Movement by day and swap stories at fireside sharing circles by night. Swim. Play. Explore. The time to change your life is NOW! Who we are: Twin Oaks Community is an intentional community of 100 people on 450 acres in rural central Virginia. Founded in 1967, the community values cooperation, non-violence, and egalitarianism. The community holds land, labor, money, and other resources in common and practices a democratic form of self-governance called the Planner-Manager system. Tours will be available during the conference. The conference is sponsored by two different inter-community organizations. The Fellowship for Intentional Community (FIC) provides publications, referrals, support services, and sharing opportunities for a wide range of intentional communities, cohousing groups, ecovillages, community networks, support organizations, and people seeking a home in community. The Federation of Egalitarian Communities (FEC) is a network of groups which hold their land, labor, and other resources in common and are committed to equality, participatory government, ecology, and nonviolence.
  • Events
3 years ago

Permaculture Design Certificate September 2023

We are excited to announce the ninth extended PERMACULTURE DESIGN COURSE (PDC) that will be hosted in Tinos Eco-lodge welcoming for the fourth time Peter Cow from England and assistant teachers Nicolas Bedau from Greece, Bram van Overbeeke from Holand. Peter, Bram and Nico will combine their skills from both Northern and Southern ecosystems and climatic conditions and will put emphasis on Social permaculture as well as Regenerative agriculture, with lots of hands on and practicals during the course. This PDC is fully certified by the Permaculture Association (Britain). The course will be taught in English. The Permaculture Design Certificate The Permaculture Design Certificate is an 80 hour theoretical course based on Bill Mollison’s Designers Manual, and the 35 years of creativity, research and development in the worldwide Permaculture movement since. It explores how we can use today’s tools and technology to create a more sustainable world. Permaculture is not only about growing vegetables and animals, it is a whole sustainable lifestyle such as creating community, developing efficient and beautiful homes and growing healthy, happy people. Permaculture ethics are Earth Care, People Care and Return of Surplus and this is taught by showing students to focus on local resources and their local community, and to have well thought out design practices to create abundance sustainably. In this course we added 2 extra days to have more time for practicals and hands on experience. Peter, Bram, and Nikos will share their wide knowledge and experience as well as their creative teaching techniques to guide us through the principles of permaculture, gaining a thorough understanding of how we can use our natural resources for our own sustenance while restoring and taking care of the earth. Theory, group exercises and hands on projects are well combined through this 14 days course. In the end personal projects of the participants or of the site are put into the final

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A residential project: people live here as their primary home.

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