Ancient farms

Local and traditional knowledge systems, Food and livelihood security, Landscapes and Seascapes Features.

In the middle of the Norwegian fjords, close to the longest fjord Sognefjord, we find the region of Lærdalsøyri, with small villages that subsist through their farms
scattered in the valley of the fjord.

These farms, usually small, less than 1 hectare, use different techniques to irrigate their fields, such as capturing water from the mountains or taking water from the upper reaches of the river and redirecting it to the farms. In this case, the Keyline technique is used where a channel is generated on the edge of the right mountain in the photo that captures the water and has a continuous slope that feeds all the farms that are in this area.

We find ourselves with a small rural building totally integrated with the landscape of the Norwegian fjords, where modern techniques of its time were used in its foundations, but ancestral in its wood of the facade and in the green roof, making the small building stable with respect to the strong winds in the area.

Despite the passage of time, evidenced in the photo, farmers have chosen to maintain the same ancestral customs and techniques, reducing costs in food production but
maintaining great effectiveness.

Rural landscape category:
- Food and livelihood security
- Local and Traditional Knowledge Systems
- Landscapes and Seascapes Features

Author(s): Sergio Andrés Gómez Barrios
Photo Credit: Sergio Andrés Gómez Barrios
Country: Norway