Eiderdown
Eiderdown is the incredibly soft, lightweight and warm material under the feathers of the Common Eider. Throughout history it has been used by monarchs, nobility and those fortunate enough to afford such a luxury to keep warm at night. In more modern times it is used by explorers and mountaineers in the harshest of environments. Yet it is a very rare natural resource that requires a unique, mutually beneficial, collaboration between human and duck.
Since the Viking settlement of Iceland, eider have nested in colonies protected by eider farmers who defend the colony from predators such as mink, seagulls, arctic foxes and sea eagles. At first this was in order to collect eggs, but once methods of cleaning eiderdown were developed in the 17th Century, the farmers collected the down that the eiders shed naturally and incorporate into their nests. As eiders often return to the place they were hatched in order to breed, some farmers enlarge the colonies by incubating eggs and rearing eider ducklings who may otherwise not have survived.
Somateria Mollissima
(Common Eider)
The Common Eider
The distinctive black and white drakes with more subtly feathered females can be seen around the coasts of Vigur all year round but the colony arrives to breed in May when the island becomes covered in over 3,500 amazingly well-camouflaged nests. Collecting the down begins in June and is by tradition a community activity with all hands helping to harvest the precious fluff.
Worldwide, just 3 tonnes of eiderdown is collected every year and some 85% of that originates in Iceland. Considering that this global yeild of eiderdown is sufficient to produce just 3000 duvets, it is clear just how rare and how valuable eiderdown is as a commodity. It takes down from approximately 60 nests to amass 1kg and Vigur produces around 50kg of eiderdown each year. It is processed initially on the island using a handful of traditional machines that can be seen by visitors in the Down Processing Plant. The eiderdown is finally picked clean by hand before the majority is sold in Germany and Japan.
Vigur is a member of Æðarræktarfélag Íslands (Eider Farming Association of Iceland)