Sustainable tradition and generational knowledge

Icelanders and the eider have had a mutually beneficial relationship on the rocky shores of this North Atlantic island since the first settlers arrived in the year 874. The settlers supported and protected the migratory eiders’ nesting environments in exchange for the opportunity to harvest the down’s uniquely soft, insulating, and ethereal feathers.

The eider is a wild animal, so Icelandic eider farmers are not “farmers” in the traditional sense. Instead, they are caretakers of the birds’ environments and nesting sites. They harvest the downy feathers that the females shed from their breasts to line their nests once they are no longer needed by the birds or their young. In this respectful way, generations of Icelanders have served as stewards to eider nesting grounds, supporting populations to encourage their annual return. 

Today, Icelandic eider farmers care for their beloved annual visitors by constructing basic shelters where birds can build their nests and safely incubate their eggs. They also hang flags and erect scarecrows to ward off the birds’ natural predators. These minimal interventions have been developed and built upon to preserve the peaceful relationship between eiders and people. Eider harvesting is an activity that brings together families, each with little nuances in how they go about the process as the tradition passes from one generation to the next.

Icelanders and the eider have had a mutually beneficial relationship on the rocky shores of this North Atlantic island since the first settlers arrived in the year 874.