Today we visited a Norwegian Certified GreenCare Farm - a working farm that is certified to provide care to children and adults with special needs through animal-based therapy. We spent time with Norwegian heritage breeds of sheep, pigs, chickens and horses and learned about how these animals help kids and adults to learn and thrive.
It was a rainy day and we got wet and some of us were a bit cold, but the animals absolutely didn’t care. First we spent some time feeding the sheep.
We spent some time in a modified lavoo learning about how Britt came to build the farm and its services to clients, as well as some elements of Sami culture that have been integrated into the operations. We also learned a lot about the Norwegian education system, and how funding cuts have severely limited options for non-traditional education and therapy.
Then we met the horses - who were wonderful! There were two of them, different breeds, which just walked around the arena for a while, coming up to take a look at us while we all sat quietly as instructed. Then we entered the arena in small groups where we could pet and groom them. That was fun.
We finished up with a delicious traditional stew, and a debriefing, where Britt demonstrated a bit of how she helps groups to process their experiences. She was skillful in responding to our group’s questions, pushing back on assumptions and helping us to understand her methods. It was a truly rewarding morning.
On the way home, we stopped at the oldest church in the Lofoten islands. The Trondenes Church dates from 1114, and was the farthest northern outpost of Christianity for centuries and the center of medieval Christianity in what is now Norway.
We visited the Trondenes museum, which was very interesting, with innovative and clever ways of displaying information and artifacts. We learned about the Sami tribes in the area, as well as the Vikings, medieval trade and practices, the development of the town, its role in the herring industry, WWII and the modern era.
The museum also included a medieval farm with a “long house,” smithy and a cod fish drying shed! There were two large looms in the lobby that were in use while we were there. In the long house there was a loom on which unprocessed wool was being woven into the cloth.
We walked home along a beautifully maintained coastal pathway, seeing lovely views and gardens along the way.
