Be a part of an Icelandic family in the Westfjords, help in a guesthouse and farm in Iceland

Iceland

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Feedback
17
Last activity
23/01/2022
Reply rate
60.7 %
Average reply time:
within 22 days
Host offers payment
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Availability

2022

Min stay requested: at least 2 weeks

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What's this?

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Description
My name is Silja and my husband’s name is Þórður. We live in Barðarströnd in the south of the Westfjords - a beautiful and still quite wild part of Iceland. We have a small guesthouse that we run all year round and about 100 sheep that we take care of. We also produce lamb meat for sell (the most popular is the smoked one) and keep 30 chickens for eggs for us and the guests. In the summertime we also get a pig, which is fed with leftovers from a nearby hotel. Over the winter I have social gathering every week where we do easy crafts work. I'm also the housekeeper of our community center.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Gardening
General Maintenance
Farmstay help
Help around the house
Animal Care
UN sustainablity goals this host is trying to achieve
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What's this?
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
First of all, you will be a part of an Icelandic family - we will share with you our way of living and you will see what an everyday life in a countryside Icelandic farm looks like.
I can tell you about the Icelandic history and culture. I can show you around the area and tell you the history of where we live. I could teach you about Icelandic knitting from Icelandic wool. I also could teach you about woodcarving. I could teach you about local herbs and their use in teas and spices. I could teach you about Icelandic cooking and baking.
We are also happy to take you for local and family events (Seaman Day celebration, museum open day, concerts, birthdays)
Host offers payment in line with the minimum wage
This host offers accommodation and payment.
Host has indicated that they will pay at least the minimum hourly wage of their country for each hour worked and that accommodation will also be provided. They are asking for help with a business or business activity. Contact the host directly via the site messenger for more information and details about the wage provided. Any arrangements should be agreed in advance with your host.
Help
You will help us with our day to day work, main activities are:
Helping with cleaning and preparing the guesthouse for the tourists
Helping with general maintenance and little projects around the house and garden (like shopping, cleaning, cooking, picking mushrooms and blueberries, planting and picking potatoes, general garden work)
Helping with the sheep - the busy time is spring, when they have lambs and are set free to roam in the wild by June, and autumn, when we fetch them from the mountains. Fetching the sheep takes time, but also gives you opportunity to walk in the areas not many people go to, so you’ll experience truly wild and beautiful Icelandic landscape. It is also time when we work with a lot of other farmers, you you’ll get a chance to meet the local community too.
Helping with the chickens - we need to feed them and change water every day, collect the eggs and close them in the chicken house for the night
Taking care of our 3 dogs
We also welcome any sort of initiative - there’s probably a lot of things we can improve, optimize or make more pleasant, I also have many concepts for future projects that I like to discuss, so feel free to suggest and implement your ideas

In general we want to offer you activities that will be interesting for you and will match your skills. We don’t have a strict schedule - the activities for the day depend on what is a priority at the moment (or on the weather! :)).
The things I need help with are things that I need assistance with, so most of the time we would be doing them together.
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Icelandic: Fluent
Accommodation
You will have your own room in our house, with shared bathroom and decent internet. We have a private hot-tub, which is a great spot to observe the northern lights too. We have three dogs at home. You can eat with us or use the kitchen to cook your own food if you want. The nearest supermarket is 34 km away, so trips there are not an everyday thing and we have to plan our meals well :)
It is a peaceful area, perfect if you like nature and would like to spend time far away from big city noise and hassles.
What else ...
Near us there is a swimming pool and an nature hotpot with a beautiful view over the bay and the mountains. There are plenty of sights in the area, mostly regarding the landscape. We can take you around the area and tell you about its history.
Some attractions in our area are: Látrabjarg, 72 km away (westernmost point of Iceland, a beautiful cliff and a great spot to observe birds), Rauðasandur beach, 45 km away (a golden sand beach), Flatey island (accessible by a ferry).There is a bus that goes to Látrabjarg as well as Ísafjörður (the biggest town in Westfjords) during summer and we could help you plan your travels.

To get to our place from Reykjavik, you need to get to Stykkisholmur (you can check the route here: ) and get a ferry to Brjanslaekur, where we will pick you up.
A little more information
- Internet access
- Limited internet access
- We have pets
- We are smokers
- Can host families
How many Workawayers can stay?
One
Hours expected
Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week

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Feedback left by and about host (17)

These are extra optional ratings when members leave feedback. The average rating left for each option is displayed.

Accuracy of profile:
(4.4)

Cultural exchange:
(4.6)

Communication:
(4.4)

27/01/2021

Left by Workawayer (ORIOL) for host

I spent 4 great weeks with Silja and Doddi during "smala": a period at the end of September - beginning of October when sheeps that had been left to feed by themselves on the mountains must be recovered, classified and sent to the slaugtherhouse.

It involves walking over the fjords and valleys around the farm in groups of people (and dogs and… read more even drones). So anyone who enjoys hiking will be thrilled with the experience.

Furthermore, it is a great chance to interact with Icelanders, since many people come to help during this time: not only (international) volunteers, but also friends and relatives. Lively and diverse, albeit it can be mystifying at times to know what is expected from each one of us.

Weather determines what is done on a day to day basis. No matter what previous intentions may have been, plans are often broken due to gales, heavy rain or snow. So, expect not to do anything on some days, and to work for many hours on some other days (and learning about it on the spot, once the weather situation has been established).

I was there during the COVID pandemic, which means that the guesthouse was often not occupied and there was probably less work than usual cleaning it. Still, the number of volunteers hovered between 2 and 3.

As stated in other comments, abundant and tasty food is provided, although it's definetely not suited for vegetarians. As for the lodging, it was either in the same building as Sijla and Doddi or in a nearby house where only volunteers stayed. In any case, spatious and with all the amenities. We even had a hot tub (to admire either the clouds or the Northern lights).

Most importantly, long calm chats with Silja, Doddi and the other volunteers are not only provided, but the main form of entertainment. Over coffee, during or after meals one gets a gentle and steady immersion into Iceland in general and this kind family in particular.

Although there are other some other houses around, the place is quite solitary, and most of the interaction is with them and Doddi's family at a nearby farm. There is no easy way to get to the nearest village (35 km away). Even hiking around isn't straightforward, compared to other mountains like the Pyrenees or the Alps. There are no paths going inland, phone coverage is patchy and the terrain is rough: bogs, cliffs, rivers without bridges, dwarf birch trees to bushwhack trough, or, at the easiest, grass or moss fields over rocky outcrops. Precious vistas, but hard to earn them.

I recommend the experience wholehartedly to anyone who likes hiking, learning about sheeps or simply getting a glimpse of Icelandic life beyond Reykjavík 101.

(Excellent )

05/12/2020

Left by Workawayer (Vera Kirk) for host

I had a fantastic time with Silja and Doddi. I stayed with them a little over two months, which were filled with a lot of great experiences despite covid. It was truly a great place to be during this time, being far away from bigger cities it didn't feel as restricting. They took me in as part of their family and I was always invited to be part of… read more

(Excellent )

13/08/2020

Left by Workawayer (Christine) for host

It is nearly 2 month now that I had returned home from Iceland, and I've just realised that my feedback is still missing. I am sure that you, Silja & Doddi, would love to know how I'd summarise this extraordinary and for sure unforgettable time at your refuge in the West(fjords), while every other place in the world was locked down due to Covid-19… read more ;-)
First of all I must explain that initially my stay was planned and organised for 3 weeks, starting beginning of March. I should have come back short before easter to have my final exam at university. But in this case everything turned different... instead I spent more than 3 month at Silja & Doddi's home, being unable to get any flight - and it wasn't any disadvantage at all! Sometimes life just surprises you with gifts that you do not dare to dream of and you just need to accept and enjoy.
This little remoted farm in the south of the Westfjords was the best place that I could have found and I am really greatful for every single day that I could spend with Silja & Doddi, all the wonderful moments we had. They truely kept their promise when saying "being part of an Icelandic family" - it couln't be better explained like that. Their hospitality and generosity is outstanding. I didn't miss anything at all, even if shopping tours are rare (not only because of Covid-19 regulations, but due to far distances and weather circumstances) and life works a little bit different than in the rest of our civilized and spoiled world. I found it super interesting and inspiring, how they manage everything in a self-reliant manner. But it also means lots of work, sometimes hard work, not knowing what the next day will bring. Being inventive, creative, tough as well as relaxed and full of humour is something that Silja and Doddi can teach you in any aspects. I just love that mixture and hope to turn some of it to my personal life style back home.
Especially the morning Yoga and QiGong sessions with Silja down at the sea will stay in my memory, but also the work in the sheep house when more than hundred lambs were born around May, the numerous picknick afternoons in wonderful sceneries, artwork in so many differnt aspects, the wonderful talks and laughters, the visits at relatives, and so much more that it would never fit onto this page.
Previous workawayers have explained enough about Icelandic food preferences, their difficulties with the natural lack of vegetables and fruits. I just want to add that everything I got to eat was of fantastic quality, most of it home-made and from their own farm (especially meat and eggs), plenty of sweet desserts and cakes. It bacame my routine of baking own bread. Finally, and not only to Siljas joy, a big project was to build a garden house for planting all kinds of vegetables. I am excited how the tomatoes & Co. do meanwhile?
For me it felt like an unforgettable retreat, soemthing totally differnt than a normal journey or holiday, like having found a second family. I already miss you, Silja and Doddi, and I would like to come back one day, for sure! THANK YOU so much!!! :-)

(Excellent )

10/12/2019

Left by host for Workawayer (Florian & Ellen Camille )

No project they did not try and solve with teaching and instructions. Nice to have them in our home. can recommend them in assisting with various outdoor / farmer and indoor jobs. They will always be part of our family.

(Excellent )

05/12/2019

Left by Workawayer (Florian & Ellen Camille ) for host

First of all: We could fill a whole book with beautiful moments and unforgettable experiences which Silja and Doddi enabled us, but Silja told us to also write about the exhausting and hard tasks of our stay at their farm - to show the following workawayers, that this stay is nothing for everyone. Here we go:
We are a german couple, stayed at… read more Siljas and Doddis place for two months, from the beginning of september to the beginning of november. Thats the typical time in Iceland to do Smala - when farmers fetch thousands of sheep home for the winter, because over the summertime all the sheep stay free in the mountains and the fields of the Westfjords.
So our main job was helping them with that. But Smala is really nothing for everyone. To be a good helper you should love hiking in the mountains for a long time - no matter if it´s raining, snowing or "just" icecold. Furthermore you should have no problem with height (you will have to climb very steep cliffs and hillsides) and it should be not a big deal for you to catch and sometimes carry a strong and heavy sheep. It is also possible that you have to run as fast as you can - to hinder the sheep from escaping out of the way you want them to go. Of course you are not alone in the mountains, but there are situations when you are the person in the best position to run after the sheep.
As a good Smala-Guy you should be: Trained, brave, strong, sustained and you should make decisions fast and independently.

Beside Smala we had also other jobs to do:
We cleaned the three guesthouses. That means for example: making the beds, cleaning the bathroom with toilet and vacuuming the whole house. To continue, we helped them with the meat-work. Making sausages, cutting the different parts of the sheep and putting some of them in their little smoking house.
To tell you something about the daily food at Siljas and Doddis place: You should love and cherish eating sheep and lambmeat with potatoes repeatedly in a week. If you are the person preferring vegetables to every meal, that is not the right place for you. But of course we can confirm all the positive feedback of the other workawayers about Siljas very tasty homemade breads and cakes.

We loved Doddis jokes and in general his lovely and funny sense of humor. We spent hours with discussing about life and played cards a lot. We definitely found a place that we will never forget and the people and memories will stay forever in our hearts. THANK YOU SO MUCH, Silja and Doddi!

(Excellent )

15/09/2019

Left by Workawayer (Dori) for host

I stayed with Doddi and Silja for about a month, in July. They were my first Workaway experience in Iceland, and I needed some time to adjust to their (food) habits. So I think I might have driven them a little bit crazy with my healthy diet (read: the need to eat vegetables, not only meat), but I would nevertheless recommend staying with this… read more

(Excellent )

15/06/2019

Left by host for Workawayer (Taylor)

It’s really nice to have a person who is so interested in learning about Iceland, food culture, history, nature and Icelandic. After some instructions, you could do independent tasks such as preparing the accommodation and helping to cook and clean the kitchen as well as cooking great meals yourself. You were fun to talk to Taylor, you have such… read more

(Excellent )

03/06/2019

Left by host for Workawayer (Charlotte)

Great in both home and work with sheep, love your laughter. Good to have you with us, always welcome again.

(Excellent )

16/10/2018

Left by host for Workawayer (Mélissa)

Great person
Quick to learn and enjoyable
The family is so happy get to know you
always welcome again you are part of our family

(Excellent )

02/10/2018

Left by host for Workawayer (Annemarie)

Anne German steel, nice to work with you in everything we did, picking blueberries, and mushrooms,
pick up potatoes

and just go for walks with you.

Really nice to have a person who can do anything. Mugison concert is not overlooked.
Good to have such a wonderful person in smalamenskum working with sheep.

Reckoning to have the same person for 6… read more

(Excellent )

01/10/2018

Left by Workawayer (Annemarie) for host

In my passed 6 weeks with Silja and Doddi I got:
traditional icelandic food (without sheep head)
interesting stories about the area
insight in their everyday life
reasonable work
enough time for myself
wide, pure and quiet nature
tasty cakes and sweets (recipes included)
home and family member feeling
enjoyable trips together
an “openair bathtub”… read more

(Excellent )

28/07/2018

Left by host for Workawayer (Sue)

These two weeks went fast, but friendship good, you're great Sue.
You are a good person and nice to meet you. Your work is well done and fun to work with you too.

Yes, you are now a part of our family.

(Excellent )

25/07/2018

Left by Workawayer (Sue) for host

I have just returned from two weeks staying with Silja and Doddi, two of the nicest people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. They live in a beautiful, remote part of Iceland and took me to visit different places nearby and hidden waterfalls that tourists would not usually find. They told me Icelandic stories that have been passed down for… read more

(Excellent )

28/07/2018

Left by host for Workawayer (Susanne)

All tasks were well done, there was cleaning, washing, painting and gardening. I'm grateful to have experienced such a good and fun person. Nice to speak Icelandic and share our story for such an enthusiastic student.
Susanne now you are part of our family.

(Excellent )

08/06/2018

Left by host for Workawayer (Leonie)

our Leonie
good benefits of fast learning and dedication, independent in works.
Our sheep loves her, giving lambs milk that did not get enough for their mothers. Great at watering all the sheep.
Great to have a person who loves all the food you make and who can cook too.
All the tasks that were received were done well and without a… read more

(Excellent )

27/05/2018

Left by Workawayer (Leonie) for host

I stayed almost 4 weeks with Silja and Doddi and had a really great time. I helped with cleaning the guesthouse, did some painting and garden work. When the lambing season started I also helped in the sheephouse, which I really enjoyed. Giving some lambs milk with the bottle was one of the best and cutest tasks, I loved it. I didn't have exact… read more

(Excellent )

10/04/2018

Left by Workawayer (Rebecca) for host

My time with Silja and Dotti was great!
They are lovely and funny people, with a great heart!
Very quickly I felt part of the family! We always had a great time at the table, where Dotti would tell me stories about vikings and Icelandic history (and also aliens!). I learned a lot! They were also patient to teach me some basic Icelandic (which is… read more

(Excellent )

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