ABOUT Ásta

In this interview, we'll discuss about a woman who stays in her hometown over the years and observes the changes that take place.

In 1974, 14-year-old girl, Ásta from Stöðvarfjörður would run out to her balcony and walk straight off of it onto the meter-high snow that covered the ground. She was making her way to school in Eiðar, where the older kids from all around the Eastfjords would study. Back then, she recalls the snow reaching above the pillars on the road, which came up to her waist.

Whether she likes it or not, life is not the same anymore in her small hometown, which remains as a slowly changing time capsule for the old ways of the Icelandic people, as they slip into the effects of climate change and globalization of the world. Ásta has lived in Stöðvarfjörður her whole life. When I asked if she would ever move out of the country, or even to Reyjavik, her answer was a strong “no”, stating that she enjoyed the quiet community compared to the hustle and bustle of the big city. The life here seems quiet indeed - in a town of 180 people, with nothing but wild mountains surrounding it, one has to be a certain kind of hardy to live here.

Stöðvarfjörður harbour

Many of the locals take solace in the mountains, enjoying the many hiking trails, and berry picking in the autumn. Like many Icelanders, their lives revolve around the seasons and the weather, which makes the effects of the warming climate even more noticeable.

Before the construction of an alumninium plant in Reyðarfjörður, most of the inhabitants of the Eastfjords were fishermen. Stöðvarfjörður was used as a herring port, complete with a fish factory and a salt factory for the fish.

However, when the plant was built by American company Alcoa due to Iceland’s abundant cheap energy, many people began to work there instead, and the fish factory that used to employ many citizens closed down.

Ásta does not work in the factoryinstead, she co-owns a small shop in Stöðvarfjörður’s center, known as the Brekkan, which has become a community hub for the small town. It sells a small amount of fresh produce, as well as canned goods, locally handcrafts, and random necessities to save the townspeople a trip across the mountain pass to the nearest large center.

We asked her what she liked about living in the Eastfjords, and she replied that she enjoyed the lack of people, and the peaceful nature to be able to escape to. She mentioned berry picking in the fall, an activity that many Icelandic people partake in.

She has no problem with the long winter nights, having lived with them her entire life.

The Christmas lights in the small shop twinkled, and Ásta remarked on the Christmas traditions of the town, saying that nothing is as big as it was years ago. The children used to dance and sing and hold festivals during the holidays, but it is not so much anymore - though on the 7th of December, the town still holds a small party to erect a Christmas tree in the center.

375 people used to live in Stöðvarfjörður - now, the population is only around 180, which is a significant decline for such a small community.

The town used to have a salt factory, a larger grocer, a fish factory, and a book store - now, it has none of those, and the old concrete buildings remain as a memory, slowly crumbling into the fjord.

The reason for this can even partly be pinned on climate change. Back in the 20th century, there would be so much snow in the winter that selfsufficiency in each fjord was a necessity. Now, snow hardly ever falls before December.

Throughout the winter it hovers above freezing, with rain most days, which has impacted the fisherman as well, forcing them to reroute their old practicies and adapt to the changing ocean and fish populations.

The continued globalization of the world impacts this town as well, as countries grow more and more connected through the internet, and small communities like Ásta’s slowly begin to die out, or be forced to merge into a changing world. Still, Ásta remains in Stöðvarfjörður, and volunteers from around the world continue to visit the camp there, spending their days tending to the beaching and lupines in the surrounding landscape. It might seem like a lonely lifestyle for some, but for Icelanders who have survived for generations on this land, it is the only way of life. With a changing climate, the future of Stöðvarfjörður is uncertain, but for now, it continues to exist in its little fjord among the mountains, lending itself to change and time.

This interview was conducted in November 2022. As of March 2023, the Brekken has closed permanently, or until new owners are found. Ásta and her co-owner Rosmary are retired. Article by Erin Helgason.