Amphoux, Chapouly, Djurdjevic & Paturet

What if the smooth space of a nomadic vision could help Iceland find its correct narrative? Can we reestablish a nomadic vision so inherent to the Icelandic culture. The storytelling activity that is the lifeblood of Iceland might help guide a possible scenario for this country lost between two different scenario: one highly connected to a capitalist, consumer-oriented economy based on personal ownership and another which is linked to a life of leisure, learning, sharing and minimal impact.

Rather than being simply a catalyst of neglected differences, however, the island could become a space of resistance and emancipation from the mainstream. As for the nomads of the Sahel, the communities of the island could develop a certain resilience against the unpredictability of their environment, the lack of any security in terms of ownership of land and resources and the persistent ignorance and aversion of institutional and public opinion about them.

This resilience finds expression in the richness and creativity of the use of space and its assets, and in attempts to establish networks linking different communities. Resilience, then, needs to be fostered more, and this can only occur through a renunciation of both the unrestrained commodification of land and the employment of a top-down approach to its governance, which could be precisely the case in the monastery island.