Page 26 - C.A.L.L. #22 - Fall 2003

An article written for C.A.L.L. by Anna Margri t Bjarnado ttir of
So lheimar Eco-village in Iceland.
So lheimar is a self-sufficient community with a
notable past and is the first community of its kind
in the world, where people with special needs and
those without live and work together. Inspired by
the theories of Rudolf Steiner, So lheimar has
focused on cultivating the individual and the
environmental and was the first community in
Scandinavia to practice organic cultivation.
So lheimar was founded in 1930 by Sesselja H.
Sigmundsdo ttir who studied the care of children and
the mentally challenged in Germany and
Switzwerland. Sesselja was fascinated by the vision
and theories of Rudolf Steiner, and based her work
primarily on his methodologies. She emphasised
organic horticulture, healthy food and artistic
expression in her work with both children with
learning difficulties alongside with those without.
Today, So lheimar is a charming village of about
100 inhabitants, renowned for its international,
artistic and ecological atmos phere, and prides itself
on its varied cultural, social and sporting activities.
There is a famous theatre group, founded in 1931,
active all year around, a gallery with art
exhibitions, a choir, a sports club and a Scout troop.
Other attractions include a sculpture garden,
geothermally heated swimming pool with hot tub, a
theatre and gymnasium. There are also a number
of fine walking paths in beautiful surroundings.
It is really the diversity in So lheimar as a
community, the surrounding environment and the
participation of everyone which contributes to the
development of the individual and acts as a form of
therapy. Recognition of collective responsibility
increases the self-esteem and confidence of the
individual. The focus on working, social, and
cultural activities is stronger here than in other
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places for people with special needs. The main aim in
developing work in So lheimar has been to create
diverse, demanding work with an emphasis on
creativity and the environment. So lheimar puts great
emphasis on caring for the environment; cultivation
is entirely organic and for other production only
natural or recycled materials are used.
Sesselja put great emphasis on giving the children
what she called a cultural upbringing. She wanted
them to get to know the four main domains of art;
music, dance or eurithmy, theatre and visual arts.
For a long time there was a school in So lheimar. The
children also had access to musical instruction, years
before this was common in Iceland, and decades before
it was accessible to the mentally challenged.
Today the emphasis is mainly on theatre, visual
arts and music. Now Sesselja’s children have grown
and some of them are already elderly, so with time
the emphasis has changed from working with
children to working with adults. The children living
in the community are the children of the staff and
other habitants and they go to the county school. The
mentally challenged people living in So lheimar today
are all adults. They all have access to the South
Iceland Institute of Further Education and access to a
wide variety of courses in Selfoss, the nearest town,
and in So lheimar.
In So lheimar there are various cultural and social
activities, which try to meet the needs of all
residents, whatever their age. Many of the cultural
and social events have a long tradition, such as
orrablo t, a festival of food, the Christmas ball and
the first Sunday of Advent. The social program is
organised so that there is something happening every
month. In 2002 there were over 50 cultural and
social events.