Growing up on a farm in a group of 6 siblings, with different animals, vegetables and daily chores has been a blessing in my life.

I spent my first year living in the old house, which was originally built a hundred years earlier and was very cold and crowded.

In the 50’s my family had no electricity or water in the house. Instead, my parents used a well in the basement where we pumped up water as needed. And we had an outdoor toilet by the barn.

1960 was the last year we lived in the old house and a new house was built on the property. A good deal of wood from the old house was used in the new house.

The first winter in the new house we had no water, so my mum defrosted snow on top of the oven every-day so we had water for both food and laundry.

With the new house came larger expenses that had to be paid, so my father went fishing for money.

Up until that point, the only income we had on the farm came from animals that were slaughtered, eggs, berries and vegetables such as potatoes.

Since my father was away fishing a lot, it was my mother who ruled the home and was responsible for all the children, animals and farm operations. With so much heavy work, it was natural for us children to help where we could.

Transporting milk and vegetables into the city wasn’t easy at that time.

We used 20-Liter iron buckets to transport milk. After milking, the buckets were set to cool in the river during summer time and out in the snow in winter time. Then they would be driven up the road in a small carriage in the summer and on a sledge in the winter and placed on a milking ramp by the road and then picked up by a milk truck (open truck) which arrived 2-3 times a week. They were incredibly heavy and became difficult to deal with, especially as children.

We could also travel with the dairy car and bring potatoes and vegetables in bags in the fall. The dairy car drove to the wharf (3 km), to the dairy boat (Slettind), which transported milk, vegetables, people and sometimes animals to the city (Tromsø). There were often so many people travelling that someone had to be up on the open deck on the crossing to town.

With as many siblings as we were, it became natural for mom to sew clothes for the bigger siblings as we grew up.

I remember having to help with many duties. Naturally, most of the work was in the spring, summer and autumn. There was a lot of stone-picking in the potato and vegetable fields during spring, and in the summer we had to help with mowing and picking berries and potatoes as part of the vegetable harvest. In the fall we often had to be present when animals were slaughtered.

Our playground was at the shore, in the woods and all around the farm. Seashells have the same name as farm animals, so we took them home and pretended they were pigs, sheep, cows and horses.

Spring was exciting along the shore, as we could walk long distances and look for objects that the sea had washed ashore during the winter.

There is also a natural occurrence of clay along the shore so we made different figures and things out of clay, as we dried in the sun on the mountains nearby.

I grew up with a mother who was very good at cooking from scratch, showing me the beauty of proper home cooking. And she knew very well how to make use of everything from the animals, be it both internal organs and blood, or how to preserve fish, meat, berries or vegetables.

This became a valuable lesson for me and influenced my decisions when I was younger. It was therefore natural for me to choose to pursue a cooking profession. And it was also then, while attending cookery school, that I started baking lefse to earn some extra money.

I returned home in 1994 and took over the farm after my father’s death the year before with a deep desire to make a living from the farm.

I bought 7 sheep, planted an acre of strawberries and sowed some flower and vegetable seeds to grow and sell.

At that time I also baked small scale lefse in my private kitchen.

I had never owned my own animals or run a farm before, but I remember what my mum did and had amazing neighbours I could ask for help. Sometimes they were able to give me good advice or lend me a tractor for example.

I had never grown flowers or vegetables before, but I had a schoolmate who was an educated agronomist and ran his own horticulture business. I asked him for advice when challenges emerged along the way in the plant world, and they absolutely did. There was a lot of ‘learning by doing’ in these early years of the business, but I was determined to succeed.

After 5 years of producing flowers in two small home-grown plastic houses, I set up a full-year greenhouse in 1998. I also bought a used barracks (15m² ) the same year, which served as a baking house until 2016, when I dared to make some major investments…

When food production turned out to be the most profitable income from the farm, I built a 100m² food production room which was completed in the fall of 2017. There, I have a separate baking room, and a lovely, easy-to-use, professional kitchen and farm shop, that can also be used as a mini café.

Then in the fall of 2019 I also set up a lavvo for various types of events and dining experiences.

The farm now combines both food and plant production.

On the plant production side, I produce top quality summer flowers and herbs for sale in season (June). Otherwise, I produce herbs, berries and vegetables for further processing.

In the kitchen, some of the traditionally baked products are produced in the form of several types of lefse and bread. But I also make other products from recipes handed down from previous generations.

I provide quality cuisine by mixing unprocessed food from my farm and from local producers. Sometimes I also use wild edible plants depending on the seasons.

I also provide courses on the farm, involving bakery and edible plants.

The farm shop is also a café with indoor seating and becomes an outdoor café in the summer due to the lovely patio at the front. The lavvo has enough space for approx. 30 people to sit around a big open fire, which provides an amazing atmosphere.

More recently, I have started serving to small companies and catering for events. During winter 2020, I also used my farm, café, lavvo and boathouse as a base camp for Northern Lights tourists.

Finally, I participate as often as I can at local Farmer’s Markets and community initiatives around Tromsø.

The farm has all the rights and rates for both local food and drink, and I continue to serve both the local community and tourists. My goal is to share Norwegian traditions in food and horticulture, no matter who walks through my doors.