UNA - the official magazine of Worldwide Friends Iceland - May 2018

the official magazine of Worldwide Friends Iceland

may 2018

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the team!

Olivia Lisi

Artem Rogudeev

Artur Usk

Amandine Pinault

Cécile Kaba

Marta Gil Prieto

WELCOME TO EAST of ICELAND

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Fun facts about Iceland

Pictures of east Iceland

BELJANDI BREWERY

#1Table4All

April 19th 2018 First Day of Summer!

aluminIum factory

History, Culture & Local Life

FUN FACTS about:

In summer, after clubbing, Icelanders must wear sunglasses because day and night merge into one and it simply does not get dark. So, they have to protect their eyes from the midnight sun.

The Majority of presentday Icelanders believe in Elves and Trolls.

Hot dogs are Iceland’s most popular food and are sold virtually everywhere.

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iceland Icelanders have barbecues all year round, they know how to have barbecue in any kind of weather.

The multi award winning series “Game of Thrones” is partially filmed in Iceland.

Babies in Iceland are routinely left outside to nap.

Icelandic people love eating ice cream even though temperatures are well below zero.

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East Iceland, no photoshop!

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BELJANDI BREWERY

Microbrewery - an experiment that was started for fun became a hobby with strong long-term plans.

So it sounds like your bar is a point of aggregation for the local community?

Breiðdalsvík is a secluded village surrounded by the Eastern Fjords, in the middle of Iceland’s breathtaking nature. With less than 200 inhabitants, the small village houses a geological centre, coffee shops, restaurants, and now, thanks to a bottle of whiskey and two locals, a brewery. This is the story of that brewery.

“Yes, basically that’s why we opened it.”

What are your future plans regarding the company?

Do you export your beer?

“Not yet, but we will do it very soon. My friend Dadi is from Breiddalsvik but lives in Denmark now, so we have possibilities to export beer to Denmark. We just need more time to brew it.”

Elis and Daði were both born and raised in Breiðdalsvík. Elis left home at the age of 16 to sail, then became a chief marine engineer and spent a lot of his life travelling the world, returning home only a few years ago. Daði became a dentist with a good reputation and is now situated in Denmark.

One night, after a successful day of reindeer hunting in Breiðdalsvík, the boys sat down for a bottle of whiskey. 15 minutes into the bottle and what began as a friendly discussion, now turned into the future of the village. After an hour, the decision was made – Breiðdalsvík will have it’s own brewery.

There was no business or marketing plan, only the passion of the two beer-loving icelanders that made that dream into a reality. With money from their own pockets, they bought and renovated an old slaughterhouse, that soon became Beljandi an atmospheric local brewery with it’s own bar.

The bar had its grand opening in 2017 on Icelandic National Day, 17th of June.

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“It’s quite easy to take this company as a company and let it extend. And we do want to do that in some ways. But we don’t want to force it. Our goal is not money - we just want to let it grow on its own and keep the romantic side in it. I love this place, simply love how this house turned out. Last winter we worked so much - we did a lot of stuff ourselves in here..

Do you have plans to bottle your beer?

“The place was packed, we almost ran out of beer,” says Elis, one of the two owners who we managed to get an interview with at the brewery.

“At 5 am, when the party ended, I was so overcome with positive emotions I went outside and cheered at the top of my lungs... and I haven’t regretted the decision of opening a brewery ever since.”

The brewery, or brugghús, just meters away from the shore, has strong ties to the sea and fishing. The name itself, Beljandi, means “rapidly flowing.” Named after a waterfall, it suitably describes the beer flowing from the taps, as our host demonstrates, while filling a glass of cold local beer for us to try. The interior is decorated with various fishing-related pictures and trinkets, there’s also a pool table and a small “take one, leave one” library. The place has an authentic, atmospheric look; countertops made of 1-krona coins are especially eye-catching, as is the salvaged fishing boat “Saga” that stands just outside. “It actually sank just here in the harbour, I bought it to use as decoration” says Elis with a smile, while pouring us another beer to sample.

“No, we don’t have time to do it. And we don’t have any need for it either. We haven’t really decided whether to do it at all because I think beer should be enjoyed in a bar instead of drinking it alone at home.”

So we just want to get visitors to come over to enjoy our place, it’s gonna self-develop, it’s gonna grow, it’s gonna really “kick off” but we don’t want it to explode we just want to slowly grow.

There is a house near the brewery where we want to extend. That’s why we had the wall and everything made to look the same way.

We want to get better equipment than we have and expand over there to the next building. And then we can start selling more, export more to Reykjavik and places around us.”

So you have a long-term perspective and you have never thought about selling it?

“No. It’s a good brewery if you want a beer.”

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Do you have gluten free beers or intentions to create it?

“Not, yet. I see it but I’m not interested in it too much.”

But now you only have a few sorts of beer. Are you planning to create more?

Yes, we are thinking about some sorts of wheat beer. All the beer is from Iceland, all draught beer is locally brewed. Components for the beer come from the US and Germany. According to Elis, their best tasting beer is IPA, made up by a 28 year old brewmaster they hired.

We also asked Elis about living in Iceland in general:

“December, January and February....you should be somewhere else....but I’ve been all over the world and Iceland is still my favourite place in the world”.

In the winter, Beljandi is open for 2 days a week. 18:00 to 24:00 every day in summer, so don’t hesitate to visit them in Breiðdalsvík for a cold glass of locally brewed beer.

HOW craft BEER is MADE? Beer is made from 4 basic ingredients: barley, water, hops and yeast.

The basic idea is to extract the sugars from grains so that the yeast can turn it into alcohol and CO2, creating beer.

The brewing process!

Malting: The brewing process starts with grains, usually barley. The grains are harvested and processed through a procedure of heating, drying out and cracking. The main goal of malting is to isolate the enzymes needed for brewing.

Mashing: The grains then are steeped in hot, but not boiling, water for about an hour, like making tea. This activates the enzymes in the grains that cause them to break down and release their sugars. After this step is completed, you drain the water from the mash, which is now full of sugar from the grains.

This sticky, sweet liquid is called wort and it is, basically, unmade beer.

Boiling: The wort is boiled for about an hour while hops and other spices are added several times.

Fermentation: Then the wort is cooled and filtered. It’s put in a fermenting vessel and yeast is added to it. At this point the brewing is complete and the fermentation begins. The beer is stored for a couple of weeks at room temperature (in the case of ales) or many weeks at cold temperatures (in the case of lagers).

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Bottling and Aging: You’ve now got alcoholic beer; however, it is still flat and uncarbonated.

The flat beer is bottled and it is either artificially carbonated, or it’s allowed to naturally carbonate via the CO2 the yeast produces.

Ultimately it ages from a few weeks up to a few months.

Now the beer is ready!

water

Fresh H2O straight from the tap.

Barley

This is the primary cereal used as the source of carbohydrates for brewing beer. In ancient times it was used as a cereal for bread-making, nowadays it is supplanted by wheat in most of the world, but it still ranks as the 4th cereal grown annually. It is important for animal feed, barley breads, cookery, and for beer and whiskey production

Yeast

The most important ingredient in brewing, and the last one discovered in history, because yeast is a microorganism invisible to the naked eye. Still, brewers have long known that some unseen agent turned a sweet liquid into beer.

Modern brewers usually brew with purified strains of yeast that give exactly the result they want. Some yeast strains are fairly neutral, others add a whole range of complex side flavours.

Hops

Hops are small, green cone-like fruit of the hop plant. They provide bitterness and, above all, they provide the flavour for the beer. They also act as a natural preservative, which is what they were first used for.

Preparation

Stöðvarfjörður

On April 22nd, Worldwide Friends hosted #1Table4All in Stöðvarfjörður. The dinner event was organised and carried out by volunteers living in the old bank building. The idea of this social gathering is to connect the volunteers and the locals together, discuss environmental issues and raise awareness – all that while having homemade food.

Preparations began a few days before the big dinner itself – the volunteers printed flyers to promote the event and then delivered them directly to Stöðvarfjörður's inhabitants. For this, special teams were made that went from door to door, inviting anyone who was home, and leaving flyers in the mailboxes of those who weren't.

“Inclusion, Environmental Sustainability, Gender Equality”

#1Table4All | #RaisingPeace | #MakeChangeHappen #IVS4ClimateJustice The volunteers of Worldwide Friends decided to take part of this campaign of Alliance of European Voluntary Service Organisations because we wanted to create a space where everyone is welcomed to share their opinions on environmental-related issues.

As a multicultural group, we strongly believe in the value of diversity and the importance of the contribution that everyone can bring to local communities.

People from everywhere has different stories, and many of us experienced inequality, unfairness, and unsustainability at least once in our own everyday life.

The big day On Sunday, hours before the event, the house is teeming with volunteers getting ready for the coming of locals. People are divided into groups: some are working on decorations, some are cooking, some are cleaning and some are rearranging chairs and tables to fit everyone. Spirits are high and everyone is excited for the upcoming environmentally educating evening of integration.

When the guests finally arrive, they are welcomed with open arms and tables laden with food and cakes. With all the merrymaking, the subject of environmental sustainability fades into the background, disappearing completely when the drinks are opened.

Therefore, we want to promote a more inclusive society, able to overcome the differences among people and actually use them as an unstoppable resource to fight against social injustice.

We believe that food can bring us altogether to appreciate and enjoy a moment where everyone can feel included and equal: therefore #1Table4All

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Environmental Sustainability

Inclusion

The idea that goods and services should be produced in ways that do not use resources that cannot be replaced and that do not damage the environment.

It is the act of making all groups of people within a society feel valued and important.

Do we reflect about the consequences of our eating habits on the environment?

Do we help the small communities by buying locally produced food? Do we know how the globalization is affecting our food supply? Reflect about the links between food supply, environmental degradation and climate change.

Dinner is just the right time to share individual stories or discuss global issues. It's a moment in workcamps when everyone comes together as equals, regardless of education, skills or abilities, cooks together and shares a common meal.

With #1Table4All we shared our stories and learnt from the others, overcoming our fears and breaking down barriers of every kind.

“Cook healthy, eat local, and enjoy #1Table4All”

Gender Equality The act of treating women and men equally: gender equality does not imply that women and men are the same, but that they have equal value and should be accorded equal treatment.

“Make your table diverse and learn from diversity”

The Three Pillars of Sustainability

Food preparation is everyone's business, but kitchens are still places loaded with gender stereotypes. #1Table4All is an opportunity for people – workcamp volunteers and local – to gather, share and gain skills regarding food and cooking. And it's an opportunity to counter gender clichés and to equally share tasks between men and women.

The principle of The Three Pillars of Sustainability says that for the complete sustainability problem to be solved, all three pillars of sustainability must be sustainable.

The three pillars are social sustainability, environmental sustainability, and economic sustainability.

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“Time to break down stereotypes in the kitchen!”

Of the three pillars, the most important is environmental sustainability. If this is not solved, then no matter how hard we try, the other pillars cannot be made strong because they depend on the greater system they live within, the environment.

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April 19th 2018 Happy Icelandic First Day of Summer!

Iceland celebrates Sumardagurinn fyrsti on first Thursday after April 18th.

This feast is an Icelandic national holiday and marks the arrival of the First Day of Summer.

Why does summer come so early in Iceland? Since the arrival of the first settlers, the old Norse calendar was in use, and it divided the year into only two seasons: vetur (winter) and sumar (summer).

A local tradition states that if the temperature on the night before the First Day of Summer falls below zero degrees centigrade, then it will be a long and warm summer.

A while ago, one of the customs of the first day of summer was summer presents, and bread was a common and valuable gift immediately enjoyed at the feast. Nevertheless, by now, few Icelanders follow this tradition.

Over time this holiday has faded in terms of significance, however Icelanders still celebrate the First Day of Summer with parades led by scouts bearing the Icelandic flag and events all around Iceland.

Even though the climate in late April cannot be considered as summery, we were blessed by a warm sunny day, which revealed to us the colors of Stöðvarfjörður.

Therefore, they celebrated Sumardagurinn fyrsti on the first day of Harpa, the first of the six summer months. It is likely that this day was also considered as the start of the new year, as in many other parts of Europe.

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April 19th 2018

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Aluminium

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Factory

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The Alcoa’s Fjarðaál smelter

How is aluminium produced?

The Alcoa’s Fjarðaál smelter was built in Reyðarfjörður between 2004 and 2007 by the contractor Bechtel.

(The design began in the autumn of 2003, followed by earthworks in 2004 and first concrete in April 2005) The name Fjarðaál means “Fjords aluminium” in Icelandic.

The construction required thousands of workers from many countries, most notably from Poland.

At one point, the town had the highest concentration of foreign residents of any community in the country, and the number of workers reached as high as 2800.

In order to provide energy for the smelter, the Kárahnjúkar Power Plant (Kárahnjúkavirkjun) was built in the municipality of Fljótsdalshérað. This plant is the largest hydroelectric power plant in Iceland: it involved damming 2 rivers with five dams, creating three reservoirs.

The aluminium smelter reached full production capacity in April 2008 and the hydro-power plant was completed in 2009.

Alcoa’s Fjarðaál smelter contains a smelter, a cast house, a rod production and a deepwater port.

First stage - Bauxite

It employs around 450 people and produces around 940 tons of aluminium a day, with capacity of 346,000 metric tons of aluminium per year.

The plant is the largest in Iceland and exports annually the equivalent to 10% of GDP (Gross domestic product).

Aluminium is the most common metal on the planet but pure aluminium does not occur naturally. Atoms of aluminium easily bind with other metals, forming compounds.

At the same time it's impossible to isolate aluminium by simply melting down the compounds in a furnace, as is the case with iron, for example. The aluminium production process is much more complex and requires huge amounts of electricity.

The aluminium production process can be broken down into three stages: first bauxites, which contain aluminium, are extracted from the ground. Second, bauxites are processed into alumina or aluminium oxide, and finally in stage three, pure aluminium is produced using electrolytic reduction, a process in which aluminium oxide is broken down into its components using electric current.

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Bauxite is a mineral made up primarily of aluminium oxide mixed with some other minerals. About 90% of global bauxite supplies are found in tropical and subtropical areas, with 73% found in just five countries: Guinea, Brazil, Jamaica, Australia and India.

The most common way to mine for bauxites is by using open pit mines. Special equipment is used to cut one layer after another off the surface, with the rock then being transported elsewhere for further processing.

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Second stage - aluminium oxide The most common method of making the bauxite into alumina is the Bayer process, which was first discovered over 100 years ago but is still in wide use today. About 90% of alumina refineries in the world use the Bayer process.

Alumina is the direct source of aluminium in the aluminium production process, but in order to create the right environment for electrolysis another component is necessary, and that component is cryolite.

It's a rare natural fluoride mineral which due to its scarcity in natural form has been manufactured artificially. In modern metal production, cryolite is made by mixing hydrofluoric acid with aluminium hydroxide and soda.

The final stage - reduction process The aluminium reduction process requires huge amounts of electric power, so it's important to use renewable energy sources that don't contaminate the environment.

The most common renewable energy source is a hydroelectric power plant, as they can deliver the required power without contaminating the atmosphere.

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The reduction area consists of several rectangular buildings whose length sometimes exceeds 1 kilometre. Inside there are hundreds of reduction cells or pots arranged in rows and hooked up to power sources via massive cables. The constant voltage at the electrodes of each reduction cell varies in the range of between 4 and 6 volts, while the amperage can reach 300, 400 KA and more. It's the electric current that is the main production force in this process. There are only a handful of people in a typical reduction area as all the key processes are automated.

In each reduction cell, aluminium is produced from alumina via the electrolytic reduction process. The entire cell is filled up with molten cryolite that creates a conductive environment at a temperature of 950oC. The bottom of the cell works as the cathode while the role of the cathode is played by special cryolite-carbon blocks 1.5 metres in length and 0.5 metres in width that are lowered into the cell. These blocks look like massive hammers.

Every thirty minutes an automatic alumina feeding system dumps a new portion of alumina into the cell. The electric current flowing through the cell breaks down the bond between aluminium and oxygen, causing aluminium to settle to the bottom of the cell and form a layer 10-15 cm deep while the oxygen binds with the carbon in the anode blocks to form carbon dioxide.

Two to four times per day, aluminium gets extracted from the cell with special vacuum buckets.

Molten aluminium is transported in buckets to the casthouse of the smelter. At this stage the metal still contains a lot of iron, silicon, copper and other elements. However, even the smallest amounts of admixtures can have a drastic impact on the properties of aluminium.

Interesting facts!

How cryolite looks

About 4-5 tonnes of bauxites get processed into 2 tonnes of alumina from which about 1 tonne of aluminium can be made.

For every tonne of aluminium produced, 280,000 cubic metres of gases are emitted. For this reason, every reduction cell, regardless of its design, is equipped with a gas removal system that catches the gases emitted during the reduction process and directs them into a gas treatment plant.

When hydroelectric power is used just 4 tonnes of carbon dioxide is emitted into the atmosphere per each tonne of aluminium produced.

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aluminium factory interviews Where are you from?

Reyðarfjörður, I've lived here for 27 years. I like it here.

Do you like to live here?

Yes, it’s very nice, fun, quiet. I really like this place.

What do you think about the aluminium factory?

I work there...it's good to have some factories.

Where are you working?

At home. I have some small business.

Do you think the gases from the factory are toxic?

Maybe a little bit, but we have to live.

What do you think about Aluminium factory?

My boyfriend is working in this place. For me it’s horrible. You should go and see how this factory looks like inside. It’s really horrible and warm.

My boyfriend feels heavy in the chest. A lot of aluminium dust inside the factory.

It’s not good for people working inside?

Yes, I think not. The working environment is really dangerous.

They do get extra money for health problems though.

Oli from Reyðarfjörður is working in the Alcoa aluminium smelter. He likes the job, is happy with it and says that before Alcoa built it's factory, Reyðarfjörður used to be a ghost town. However, having worked in the factory for 11 years, he says life gets repetitive in the small town – work, eat, sleep, work, eat, sleep. Still a lot better than before.

What did you think about the life here before the factory?

Life always went down....but now everyone has a job.

And what about the working conditions?

People usually choose to work 10 hours, although 8 hour shifts are allowed. The safety regulations are always followed, they can take water breaks when they need to.

Polish girl Patricia from Reyðarfjörður

History, Culture & Local Life

History What we know of Iceland’s history is in the Landnámabók, or the “Book of Settlements”, a manuscript that tells the story of the Norsemen settling the country in the 9th century. Many settlers came to Iceland from Norway and the Viking colonies in the British Isles. They all were led by a Norwegian chieftain named Ingólfur Arnarson. The population in Iceland soared and, by 930AD, there were 60,000 people living in Iceland.

They created a constitutional law code and an assembly governing the whole island called the “Althing”. This parliament, still in force, is the world’s oldest national assembly.

At that time, half of Iceland was covered with forests. However, during the 12th century it was deforested, as trees were used for building or burnt for warmth. As a result, Iceland became dependent on Norway to import wood.

Introduction Today, Icelanders stand at the beginning of an exciting chapter in their country’s history. With millions of visitors discovering Iceland each year, an ongoing flow of immigration and the urban development that goes with them, the Iceland of yesterday is coming to an end. To face the challenges of the future, Icelanders have to look back to their country’s history, from its early settlement to its declaration of independence after World War II, and understand how these events shaped their culture.

How did Iceland become the modern republic it is today? What were some of the positive and negative chapters in the country‘s history? Is this history still shaping the behavior of the Icelanders? What are the main characteristics of their culture?

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Some Icelanders began to look up to the king of Norway and as feuding between Icelandic clans begun, he was considered capable of bringing peace to Iceland.

Iceland became a Norwegian province and as Norway united with Denmark in the 15th century, Iceland came under the reign of the Danish crown.

Icelanders celebrating their independence at Þingvellir.

Credit: Reykjavik Museum of Photography

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During the 18th century, a smallpox outbreak, volcano eruptions as well as famine devastated the country. By 1786, the population had fallen to 38,000 and Icelanders were fleeing to North America. Today, it is estimated that 60,000 North Americans have Icelandic roots.

Icelanders maintain strong links with their past. Legends and folk tales abound here, with many Icelanders claiming to have seen elf-like creatures. There is even a museum in Reykjavik dedicated to their lore. Also, the Icelandic language is largely unchanged from that of Old Norse, meaning that the Landnámabók is as accessible today to native speakers as it was 1000 years ago.

In 1949, Iceland joined NATO and thirty years later, Icelanders elected the first woman president in the world: Vigdís Finnbogadóttir. Since this, the economy has grown considerably, especially in aluminium smelting, information technology and tourism whilst the reliance on fishing has diminished. However, Iceland suffered in the world financial crisis in 2008, as unemployment rose and its main banks failed.

After years of foreign domination, Iceland stresses equality between genders and ethnic groups. As evoked, many women are in leadership positions in government.

Also, on our way to the blue lagoon, our guide confirmed:

Thanks to a healthy economy, Iceland soon recovered.

Culture & Local Life Iceland’s culture is strongly rooted in their history as well as in Norse traditions. It can be described along the following cultural dimensions: their degree of collectivism, the importance given to quality of life, their attachment to their history and their need for equality.

“We consider everyone as equal, that is why migrants are always welcome here.“

Conclusion So, what do we know now? Well, that the history of Iceland is one of survival, that has always been shaped by events on the larger political stage of the Nordic Countries.

Rich with legend and lore, modern Icelanders have a great deal of pride in their Viking history and heritage. Even though their past experiences still strongly influence their daily lives, Icelanders were in 2006 the fourth happiest country on Earth. Also, Iceland is now one of the richest countries in the world, with a high standard of living. Thanks to a stable economy and the island’s natural resources, Iceland and its 335,000 inhabitants are now looking forward to a bright future.

Iceland’s history of harsh conditions has resulted in high collectivism backed up by regular contact with family and friends. An employee of the swimming-pool in Eskifjörður, …, told us “I feel strongly connected to my family. I see them everyday”.

On our way to the blue lagoon, our tour guide Svanhildur explained: “For the holidays, my children are currently at my parents’ house. It really matters to me that my children spend time with their grandparents”.

One of the icelandic values is appreciating a quality of life they lost for centuries.

In front of the swimming-pool entrance, … explained: „I am very happy here. I love Eskifjörður. When I go on vacation in Spain or anywhere, I feel always happy to come back home. We have everything here.” …, an Icelander in the sauna furthered “If I had the opportunity to live anywhere in the world, I would stay in Iceland“.

Church of Hallgrimur in Reykjavik

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AMANDINE 18 year old girl from France, loves basketball. The time in Iceland changed her life.

ARTUR Young man from Estonia who loves making music and taking pictures. Always up for an adventure.

ARTEM 23 year old man from Russia, who loves adventuring, photography and music.

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CÉCILE

who

am

I

?

24 year old girl from Germany , who wanted to travel with a purpose and found it in WF journalism camp.

OLIVIA

Hi, I'm Olivia from Italy. This 6 months experience in Iceland is changing my life, and I'm eager to know what the future holds for me!

MARTA ÂĄHola! I am an Andalusian girl, lover of nature and the art. Where can it be better than in Iceland?

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