audio, stills, text and or video: Go to http://www.zReportage.com to see more - In Iceland as elsewhere in the world people seek to the bigger towns and cities for more opportunities in their daily life. What connects this declining farming community close to the Arctic Circle is that the same trend can be seen globally; traditions, heritage and knowledge die out since there is no one to take over the family farm. This is the story of the inhabitants, the farmers who live in one of the oldest community's in Iceland, dating back to the settlers time. The deep fjord Isafjardardjup, in the western part of Iceland is one the oldest farming communities in Iceland. Where hardship and harsh weather conditions have put a mark on their daily life from the times of the first settlers in Iceland. The area is isolated and unspoiled and spectacular in its grandeur. Nevertheless, some farmers still cling to the traditional way of life rooted in the oldest settlement in the country. This community has been under decline in recent years and few farms are now inhabited. This remote cultural landscape is transformed, the organic relationship between humans and nature as well as the loss of know-how and the passing away of traditional culture is sadly, inevitable.
© Thorvaldur Orn Kristmundsson/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
March 2006 - Hrafnabjorg. Iceland - Farmer SIGURJON SAMUELSSON.
© Thorvaldur Orn Kristmundsson/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
Feb. 2007 - Mjoifjordur, Iceland - An abandoned farmhouse and the remains of a small wooden rowing boat lies still in the snow. What used to be home and places for families for centuries are now only reminders of history.
© Thorvaldur Orn Kristmundsson/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
April 2005 - Latrum, Iceland - Farmer SIGMUNDUR SIGMUNDSSON. One of few remaining full time farmers in the community.
© Thorvaldur Orn Kristmundsson/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
Feb. 2007 - Iceland - Wintertime in the deep fjords of Iceland. Once inhabited by hundreds of people and farms in every fjord, now only few remain.
© Thorvaldur Orn Kristmundsson/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
Sept. 2009 - West Fjords, Iceland - Sheep round-up in West Fjords. Every Autumn the farmers gather their sheep from the mountains for a round-up. More than 20 years ago, tens of thousands of sheep were herded every year but today only 600 to 700 hundred are herded.
© Thorvaldur Orn Kristmundsson/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
2009 - Vigur Island, Iceland - In springtime, the Arctic Tern migrates from the Antarctic to Iceland, flying over 22 miles twice a year. It's welcomed by farmers in the West Fjords, for the protection it brings. A farm boy is attacked by a flock of terns when walking in their habitat on the island.
© Thorvaldur Orn Kristmundsson/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
Feb. 2007 - West Fjords, Iceland - The winters in west Iceland can be extremely cold with harsh winter storms, blowing from the North Atlantic ocean.
© Thorvaldur Orn Kristmundsson/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
Aug. 2009 - Vigur Island, Iceland - Cows are put out in the morning to roam the island for fresh grass and some exercise. The farmer has given up all hope in farming as a business and has cut down his stock on the Island.
© Thorvaldur Orn Kristmundsson/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
Aug. 2008 - Hvitanesi, Iceland - KRISTJAN KRISTJANSSON, has sold all his stock of cattle but remains on his farm with a few horses and a couple of sheep.
© Thorvaldur Orn Kristmundsson/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
2008 - Aedey island, Iceland - Wild goslings are flocked like sheep. They are getting prepared to be put into a gosling house over the night. The farmer raises them for one year and they are used as food for the farm.
© Thorvaldur Orn Kristmundsson/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
Feb. 2005 - Strandseljum, Iceland - ADALSTEINN VALDIMARSSON, a farmer, stands in front of his old sheep house, built over 100 years ago. He is one of the last remaining farmers in the community.
© Thorvaldur Orn Kristmundsson/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
Aug. 2008 - Svansvik, Iceland - A child from a farm plays in the harvested grass. Only a few children remain left in this community.
© Thorvaldur Orn Kristmundsson/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
Aug. 2008 - Udey Island, Iceland - Farmer JONAS HELGASON is on the lookout for mink or foxes that swim from shore to his island on the hunt for eggs and young birds.
© Thorvaldur Orn Kristmundsson/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
March 2006 - Laugaboli, Iceland - RAGNA ADALSTEINSDOTTIR, a farmer in the west fjords lost two of her children and a grandchild in avalanches a long time ago. Over the years she has learned to live with this tragedy.
© Thorvaldur Orn Kristmundsson/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
June 2010 - Laugaboli, Iceland - JON GUDJONSSON, a farmer, helps his grandchild sit on a Icelandic pony. Jon has lived in this community for over 40 years. Now he has retired from farming, but stays there only in the summertime. What used to be one of the biggest farms in the fjord, with over 600 sheep's, 100 horses and cattle's is now only a part of history.
© Thorvaldur Orn Kristmundsson/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
Feb. 2007 Nauteyri , Iceland - A portrait of the last farmers at Nauteyri Farm.
© Thorvaldur Orn Kristmundsson/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
Aug. 2008 - Aedey island, Iceland - Young workers prepare to have lunch after harvesting eider down. After school ends in the Spring, the kids spend the Summer helping out in farming.
© Thorvaldur Orn Kristmundsson/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
Aug. 2008 - Vigur island, Iceland - A flock of eider ducklings walk the shoreline, seeking shelter. The island is a home for thousands of birds - eider ducks, arctic terns, puffins, black guillemot and more.
© Thorvaldur Orn Kristmundsson/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
April 2005 - Vatnsfjordur, Iceland - Pastor and farmer BALDUR VILHELMSSON is the last pastor to serve in the west Fjord farming community after a long history of over 700 years of priests in Vatnsfjordur.
© Thorvaldur Orn Kristmundsson/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
