At the end of November, 2017 I have travelled to Reykjavik, Iceland to take part in HI Connect Exchange Program. HI Iceland is also called Farfuglaheimili, which means the home of migrating birds in Icelandic. The main purpose of my visit was to learn about the sustainability and environmental work they do at HI Iceland. Year 2017 was also international year of sustainable tourism. HI Iceland owns 3 hostels in Reykjavik - City Hostel, Loft Hostel and Reykjavik Downtown Hostel. Borgarnes Hostel joined recently and is located in the town with the same name, about an hour away drive from Reykjavik. All three hostels are sustainable and certificated with the Nordic ecolabel "Swan". This means they have strict criteria to work to regarding their environmental impacts. The chemicals which they use are required to be eco-certified, and chemical usage is monitored very closely to ensure the correct amounts of chemicals are used. Energy consumption is also monitored closely per overnight, along with water and waste.
My "Farfuglaheimili" Experience
Upon the arrival, together with the co-visitor on the exchange, Alberto from Spain, we received a warm welcome from the entire HI organization. Our mentor was Helena W. Óladóttir, the Quality and Sustainability manager. She shared her tasks and responsibilities with us which ensure that hostels operate in a green and sustainable way. Two Green Messengers, international volunteers who join HI Iceland for one year are also her support. They ensure a sustainable awareness of employees and guests in the hostels on. They also organize all kind of events to raise awareness on environmental issues between tourists and locals. This time the volunteer was Fanny from France. The hostel staff at the beginning receives a "green training" which is done by Green Messengers. All the staff do secondary sorting of waste, to ensure everything that should be recycled goes to the correct place, as recycling is collected individually for each type of material. Every hostel has an evidence of their environmental commitments, such as each hostel having a wall displaying information for guests regarding the environmental projects they are involved with.
During the visit, we carried out regular ecological check-ups. Every day we were at different hostel locations. We helped with the traditional "Swap till you drop" event, which takes place once a month at the
Loft Hostel. At the event, the lost and found items from the hostels are exchanged. The event is extremely visited by the locals, as it allows them to bring some books or cloths and swap them. All remained things are donated to the Red Cross.
We had weekends off, so I also had the opportunity to explore the Icelandic landscape and see the Northern lights. Winter days in Iceland are extremely short, so the Icelanders make sure they make good use of every hour in daylight. On the other hand, it is extremely cold outside so they spend a lot of winter time by soaking in thermal pools (there are many in Reykjavik) and creating a pleasant atmosphere at home.
Through this experience, I have learnt many new and useful things for the protection of the environment, which could also be implemented in Slovenian HI hostels. I think that such an experience is valuable for anyone interested in a sustainable work process in hostels and connecting tourism with local people. I would like to thank HI Iceland, especially Helena and Ágústa for the warm welcome and support before and during my visit. Special thanks to Anja Žepič, for introducing me to this exchange and who made possible a fresh flow of the ideas.
