About us

Two generations run the farm Eyvindartunga. The owners of the place are Helga and Snæbjörn; and two of their five sons; Magnús and Jón Forni, together with Magnús’s wife Stephanie, who are involved in the operation. This refers to the Barn, the accommodation facilities and the power plant Sandár. They all live in Laugardal in Bláskógabyggð.

The barn, the event space, was renovated in 2019 on the occasion of Magnús and Stephanie’s wedding. Stephanie, who traces her ancestry to Australia, experienced there the meaning of the Icelandic proverb it gets sorted out first hand. Construction on the barn began in mid-June 2019 and the wedding was planned for September 1, 2019. However, quite a lot was left undone. It should be noted that the whole family, friends and relatives came to this work.

Stephanie brought good experience in organizing events and festivals in a suitcase from Australia. She also draws on her own experience of getting married in the countryside and therefore knows well how to organize such events; in addition, she has a master’s degree in management in tourism from the University of Reykjavík. Her husband and carpenter Magnús, is quick to “fix” things if needed.

Sustainability: Eyvindartunga’s operation is based on sustainability in a broad sense, e.g. all electricity on the farm and for Laugarvatn is produced by the two hydroelectric power plants in Eyvindartunga, Sandárvirkjun IV and Sandárvirkjun V. They are located in the river Sandá that flows through the ground from its source in Rauðagili until it joins Djúpá on the border with Útey.

The first hydroelectric power plant, Sandárvirkjun I, was commissioned in 1929. It was built to provide electricity to the district school in Laugarvatn. The advantage that it was possible to produce electricity in the immediate vicinity of the school was one of the reasons why Héradsskólin was assigned this location at Laugarvatn. Subsequently, more schools were built on the spot and Laugarvatn became a center of education in the countryside.

In 1997, Eyvindartungu farmers started forestry on the land. Mainly it has been planted below the main road near Laugarvatn and there are about 170 ha. of land dedicated to this project, i.e. almost 40% of Eyvindartunga’s land. In addition to carbon offsetting with this event, the forestry has become part of the beautiful view that faces the visitors of Hlöðinn, where Djúpá flows down to Laugarvatn with the famous volcano Hekla in the background.

In 2021, Eyvindartunga became a participant in the project, “Farmers grow the land”, and bivalent land planting fertilizers have been distributed annually along with herbology to stop erosion in the flour pits and cover them with vegetation.