The Embla award for: Nordic food producer 2019

Grøna Oyggin, translated as ‘Green Island’, is a collection of farms on the island of Sandoy in the Faroe Islands.

The neighboring farms of Miðstovugarðurin and Uttastovugarðurin are situated in the village of Sandur on the island of Sandoy.

They have pioneered the challenging art of growing vegetables on the Faroe Islands, which had been abandoned for several generations due to the difficult natural circumstances and cheap imports.

Through trial and error, they have developed specialized approaches to vegetable-cultivation in the harsh environment, and the availability of high-quality local produce has been instrumental for the development of the Faroese gastronomical environment.

The farms have tirelessly promoted the awareness of high-quality local produce, for example through a local potato-festival, which is now an annual island-wide tourist attraction.

The latest development is the formation of an interest group based in Sandur called Veltan, which works to promote the production of vegetables on the islands, both for own use and for distribution. Veltan also works as a sales platform and is the basis of a new Folk High School centered on vegetable-production.

 

Grøna Oyggin won ‘Nordic Food Producer’ at the Embla Nordic Food Awards in 2019. Embla creates visibility for Nordic food and innovative people behind it, both in the Nordic countries and internationally. The purpose of Embla is to strengthen the knowledge of Nordic food.