In the remote beauty of Tálknafjörður Fjord in Iceland's Westfjords region, Hannes and Birna tirelessly protect their eider ducks while running a thriving eiderdown operation.

It's an early summer morning in Tálknafjörður in the West Fjords, and the day is bright and windy. The eider ducks are unconcerned, minding their nests in the expansive nesting grounds. Hannes Bjarnason and Birna Jónsdóttir take turns watching their eiders from their car at night. "There are more foxes, ravens, and seagulls now we must be on the lookout for," explains Birna. They run an extensive operation, producing around 30 kilos (66 lbs) of eiderdown for export, and also offer eiderdown cleaning services for other farmers.   

Eiderdown cleaning is a long and arduous process. "After we've dried the eiderdown for one month in the barn, we bring it in here," says Hannes of an outbuilding where the first cleaning stage occurs in machines Hannes built. He demonstrates the function of the machines he has built himself. "We heat the down to 120–125°C [248–257°F]. We have heat sensors." The sensors guarantee that the temperature is high enough to disinfect the down and make debris, like straw, brittle so that it's easier to remove, but not so high that the down might burn.   

Next is the rough cleaning process in a krafsari machine, or "scraper," equipped with a speed regulator. "The debris drops to the bottom, and then we can vacuum it." In a different building, Hannes has a wood chip vacuum that removes leftover rubbish before the down is transferred to the next machine. "It takes 15–20 minutes for the feather picker to finish," Hannes stresses that although he made these machines – and has sold some to other eider farmers – they are refinements of older Icelandic inventions.    

There are always some feathers left in the down, so the final cleaning stage is hand-picking all remaining feathers and debris, which Birna is responsible for. It's time-consuming hand work, but the view of the fjord from her worktable is stunning.  

Before the down can be used for production, it must be washed, and Hannes and Birna still need the facilities. But Hannes has big plans for the future. "There's 24°C (75°F) hot water in the ground here. We have drilled for it. My dream is to establish our own washing facilities and fill the duvets with eiderdown for export and double or triple our income. I must do something clever before I die!"  

The operation is based at Birna's old family farm, Sveinseyri, which her grandparents built and where she was raised. Eider farming has been practiced there since 1960, and Birna grew up helping out with down collecting and cleaning. "We also use some of the down ourselves," she says. "Our grandchildren always receive an eiderdown duvet as a confirmation present."   

In the remote beauty of Tálknafjörður Fjord in Iceland's Westfjords region, Hannes and Birna tirelessly protect their eider ducks while running a thriving eiderdown operation