PRESENCE and
PASSION Erik Berglihn & Gro Furset
W
e catch up with Erik Berglihn from Brokkestoylen Norway to find out more about how he and his wife have created their awardwinning glamping offer and what they have learned along the way. Tell us about Brokkestoylen – how was the idea born? Who are the team behind it? For many years we have been in the ‘how to make ideas come to life?’ business. We make a great team – my wife Gro Furset, who is a very creative person and the very best Chef. She is trained as a tailor, registered nurse and a nutritionist. She has also her own small
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business making the very best probiotics for gut and brain health that helps a lot of clients. She has developed her own design businesses, started cafes, and together we did the island project. As for me (Erik Berglihn) I was born in the woods and spent most of my childhood outdoors. I later developed a company to help less fortunate kids, and I have worked in adventure travel and for the last 15 years, as well as working on how to inspire and help people to make consistent changes and how to develop and run profitable businesses. Together we have a strong focus on natural health, nature and sustainability and we have been married since 1993.
www.glampingbusiness.com
One of our earlier projects was on a deserted island near the town of Kristiansand, where we restored five very old buildings (ruins almost) and made a small boutique hotel with ecological gourmet food. In the beginning we did not have running water or electricity, so planning, use and reuse was key. It was a great success and we got high-end customers from all over the world. However, the island was owned by the Kristiansand City and after 10 years and a lot of work, the city terminated our lease and gave it to the Norwegian Royal family as their new summer vacation resort. (The Royal family asked us to rent it, but we had turned them down earlier). So we decided that if we should do a new
