Eco Lodge/Wilderness Adventures, Family farm
Troms og Finnmark
Hei !
Here is Ingunn and Mathieu. We are a Norwegian-French couple and since mai 2021 a happy family of three.
Our family house "Karnes Gaard" is a farm since the 16th century. In 1912, Ingunn's grand father gave part of the land for the Tromsø county to build "Solhov", prestigious boarding school and largest wooden building north of Trondheim.
When Ingunn took over the farm in 2009, running it organically felt something obvious. And when Solhov was for sale the next year, a dream became possible : sharing our love for the Lyngen Alps by hosting guests who seek breathtaking surroundings, healthy stay and organic local food, peaceful lifestyle and carbon-free activities.
Our dream is to serve as much as possible our organic and local products to these guests.
Originally we grow potatoes and strawberries. We are trying several small scale production to see what is possible to grow here up north. At the moment, we are focusing in :
- increasing our honeybees park, hives and flowers
- building a chicken coop
- 2-300 sqm building for the sawmill
- maybe to create a goat pen since our baby boy seems to really like goat cheese.
Everything here is weather/season dependent and you can read more about our global schedule/organisation in the "opportunity=>current projects" section
With the short summer, organic farming in the Arctic is quite challenging.
As is the administrative work to change the use of a 3000sqm building from a school to a hostel.
As is the intense skiing season with guests (march april).
As is taking care of all these old wooden buildings in the farm and the school. This is especially important after the rude winter, painting and fixing roofs are necessary to protect the timber.
Challenging but so much rewarding, and with your help we will manage these interconnected projects.
Sami people says we have 8 seasons up north, and the farming activity last from the spring (end of april with seeding) to the harvesting season (beginning of september). Since we don't have animal yet except bees, during our 3 winters there is not much to do related to the farm itself, except forestry work (cutting trees and making lumber) and making firewood. Depending on snow or not, we use "Valmet" or the snowmobile. About woodworking, we can teach you about all the work from planting a tree to cutting timber on our small sawmill. And of course the drying process. Cutting wood is also important because the winter is the longest season up here, and of course not really warm.
We will buy horses one day that will help in the farm. But for now it is our small old tractor "Valmet" (the famous one), 40 years old, which is helping us to plough the ground and do all the heavy work. If you like to become his friend, you can learn how to drive him. If you have special skills, we also have a really really old tractor MF35 that we are not able to start.
We do not use any pesticides and therefore we spend a lot of time weeding. It can be boring or it can be fun, it depends on the people’s nature. So we prefer if you appreciate pulling weed for the strawberries not to be attacked specially by the insect ‘tege’ which lies eggs in the weed and thereafter stings the strawberry plants when blossoming that destroys the strawberries.
People often call this place a ‘Perl on Earth’. But also this nature and buildings needs to be taken very well care of. And this is what you can learn and be part of if you’re coming here.
If you have been patient enough to read until this point, you probably understood that we are never bored at our place, with plenty of different tasks, projects and possibility to enjoy our free time of course.
Lyngseidet is a small village (two hours drive/bus from Tromsø). There are two grocery shops here, an electrical and sportswear shop and a small cafeteria and a grill. But the nicest thing Lyngen can offer is the beautiful and vulnerable nature. We will join you for activities or recreation when we can and if you wish ! We love to go hiking in the forest and the mountains. We also have invested in some equipment for our guests we can enjoy together (snowshoes, fat-bikes, kayaks) that do not injure the nature. Of course we have cross country skis also. By the fjord we have a boat house and a hot tub. There is a really nice bonfire place also. Bonfires under norther lights and midnight sun is both magic!
We hope to see you here!
Certifications: Debio
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Learning opportunities
Vegetable farming
Fruit or nut farming
Grain farming
Forestry
Beekeeping
Wild foraging
Vegetable or fruit preservation
Bakery
Green Building
Mechanics / tools / technology
Methods or systems
Biodynamic agriculture
Holistic management
Permaculture
Host type
Self-sufficiency property
Certified organic
Ingunn Rivertz
Member since 2021
Languages spoken:
English, French, Norwegian
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Response rate: 98%
Response time: typically within 3 days
Troms og Finnmark
Tromsø
Reviews
Kristian
Netherlands
•
November 2024
I had a wonderful time at Karnes Gård with Ingunn and Mathieu. Getting to learn about their farm and helping out with different tasks taught me so much. I am truly grateful to have had this experience and for them to allow me to stay at their beautiful place in the north. Thank you for the fun and mesmerizing time!
Jessica
Germany
•
October 2023
I stayed for 5 weeks at Karnes Gaard and I would go back in a heart beat! It was such a great experience. Once I got Mathieu’s humor I had such a fun time with him. Haha
Inguun and Mathieu are really kind, humble and hard working people who know a lot about farming and setting up a farm. Especially Mathieu, he knows a lot- so don’t hesitate to ask him for some advice and tips. They have a really big project going on so be prepared to give a helping hand. We had quite some free time too and sometimes Mathiue took us to beautiful hiking places and hidden gems which was simply amazing!
I really enjoyed spending time at the farm and helping them out. The nature surroundings are simply stunning and I miss it everyday.
My tasks were harvesting potatoes, preparing baby strawberries, painting a house and sometimes some babysitting as well as some wood work.
I enjoyed every opportunity to help out. The cooking nights were a lot of fun (we took turns in cooking- some days the hosts cooked and some days the helpers took a turn). I would go back any time and I hope to see you guys soon again!
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Ida
United States
•
July 2022
I had a great stay for the month of June at Karnes Gaard and Solhov. The nature surrounding the area is really beautiful, and we were able to go on several hiking trips and do some kayaking with Mathieu, which was really cool!
The work consisted of preparing strawberry beds, weeding, cleaning the guest rooms/bathrooms in the hotel Solhov, preparing breakfast/dinner for the guests, planting potatoes, and more. Sometimes I was able to do special tasks such as plumbing, beekeeping, painting the house, and babysitting. There was a good variety of tasks, and Ingunn and Mathieu are happy to accommodate your interests :)
During my stay, there were 3-6 other helpers, including some from HelpX. The accommodation is either in Solhov or in the farmhouse, and I was sharing a room for most of my stay.
Ingunn and Mathieu are very busy people and always have plenty of tasks you can help with, so be prepared to show some dedication and hard work! Most days I worked about 4 hours, other days I worked about 6 hours. There was not really a consistent schedule or planning for days off, but Ingunn and Mathieu are working on an organizational system for the helpers.
This is definitely a very special and beautiful place that will teach you a lot. In my opinion, it can be slightly disorganized/chaotic at times, but as long as you stay flexible and relaxed, you will have a great time :)
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Guénola
France
•
June 2022
Ambitious project in a spectacular landscape, where volunteers energy us definitely needed.
Hard work to be expected, with some significant part in the guest house depending on the season.
Matthieu shared his passion about kayak and helped us to reach some nice hiking spots, which was very enjoyable.
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Teresa
Spain
•
March 2022
Mathieu, Ingunn and littleFredrik are an amazing family, they make you feel part of it. It has been a unique experience in a completely spectacular place, the strawberry fields overlooking the fjords blows your mind, it is a place to enjoy and never stop, there are always interesting activities to do, both on the farm and in the surrounding area, mountain walks, kayaking, cycling....
During the months that I was there the main tasks on the farm were the care and harvesting of the strawberries, preparing the potato field for future harvesting, putting the wood in their hut, preparing new greenhouses for the rest of the crops and taking care of the bees, but these are just some of the tasks you can do, you have a great variety to choose from.
I don't have enough words to describe what a wonderful experience it has been to live at Karnes Gaard.
It's a place I can't wait to go back to. I miss the life and family of Karnes Gaard.
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Luce
France
•
January 2022
Well. As a starter, I think the best comment I could have on Solhov & Karnes Gard, is that I initially arrived there early July, planning to leave by the end of the summer... and ended up staying until winter. Ingunn and Mathieu are passionate, generous and kind people, who will do their absolute best to make you feel at home in Solhov & Karnes Gard, while introducing you to their great, hard-working (but so rewarding) lifestyle. Surrounded by an incredible nature, you will get to meet their sweet family (Randi & Fredrik <3), and work hands-on their different projects, all geared towards preserving and enriching the legacy of their beautiful place.
Depending on the season you visit them, the tasks will vary. I personally arrived in time for strawberry season (July & August), and stayed all the way through potato picking and sorting season (my favorite ! From late August to October), even catching a glimpse of the winter lifestyle until late November. Outdoors, I also got to cut and sort wood, and help build (and paint... well, mostly paint ;) !) a gorgeous green-house. Some of my indoor tasks also included renewing wooden floors and taking care of the ecolodge, which was always a blast for me : I grew really attached to Solhov, a gorgeous, history-filled wooden building, filled with interesting people and stories !
In a nutshell, I remain very attached to Ingunn, Mathieu, Fredrik and Randi, and wish them the absolute best. Until next time we meet !
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