”The Farmers time on earth” is a nature documentary movie, it’s about Styrbjörn Ejneby and his wife Solveig in their struggle for preserving the old landscape with all its traditions and invaluable natural resources. They live outside the small city Oskarshamn in Småland, Sweden. (See more about the movie under “News”)
Styrbjörn drives his machines by natural horsepowers, Solveig works in the garden, all this while the mosquitos are swarming around them. Out in nature they’re having coffee, just when the first beams of the sun are stretching over the trees. A few meters away one can hear the soothing, heavy breaths of their horse, Lukas. The caddle is being brought home on the gravelroad, same road where wood was earlier brought home for the open fire. The rounds are taken around the land, the fences are being checked, the farmhouse cleaned, the animals are being fed and brought water, later on, dinner is being served under the appletree. The birds are singing and the grandchildren are playing in the hay. Snow falls, fog lays thick over the fields, water flows in the brook, seasons turn and the circle once again closes, as every other year. But destiny has something else in mind for this year, and Styrbjörn knows it…
Going back over 50 years the landscape consisted of hundreds of small farms like this one. People lived their lives on what the earth could bring them, in the same old traditions and routines. But now, will these landscapes be forgotten, and what will then happen to the biological multitude? Can we afford loosing this part of nature, this part of our history, this part of ourselves? Do we have the right to extinguish species and nature to our own benefit?
-”Who will look after the flowers and birds when Lasse and Lisa no longer can?” This is one of Styrbjörn’s retorical questions, after a moments silence he realises that this question might be even more relevant for himself.
Styrbjörn’s strong personality and arguments has had an impact on many people and been of decisive importance to many issues regarding the preservation of nature. As chairman of the local organisation for preserving the nature ha has been able to accomplish a lot for this cause.
Peter Gerdehag who lives in the neighbouring village, is the photographer that has documented Styrbjörn’s way of life since 1978. “Styrbjörn is like my second father”, he says. He has taught me everything I know about nature, its inhabitants and also how to relate to life. By this one can say that the movie in many ways also is a portrait between friends during an increasingly difficult part of Styrbjörn’s life.
In 1998, the book ”Bondeboken” (sold in about 40000 ex) was published with text by Jan Danielsson. In 2000 Peter started filming in Hycklinge where Styrbjörn lives, he followed and documented his two friends during almost 2 years.
- ”It’s good that you’re filming Peter. More people need to see this. There’s always something for them to learn and would something happen to me, it could mean continued caretaking of these landscapes even after my death!”
To read more about ”Bondeboken” and see pictures from the farm, go to
www.gerdehag.com and click on “Utställningen” (gallery).
