Our Name

What is Eventyrgaard? (Aven-Tir’-Gard) Quite simply, it is Norwegian for “Fairy Tale Farm.”

We knew that we wanted a Scandinavian name for our farm, but nothing we thought of sounded quite right. Our daughter was spending a semester of study abroad in Norway, and in one of her phone calls shared how much she enjoyed going 15 minutes out of her way to walk down a special street called “Eventyrveien." “Why?”, we asked, "Is is a pretty street?” She excitedly responded, “No, but you just have to walk down a street called Fairy Tale Way!! ”By combining Eventyr- ("Fairy Tale") with our family name Nygaard ("New Farm"), our name found us!

During a visit to Norway, we were able to meet many of Airell’s relatives and visit the original farm where his great grandfather was raised, and where members of his family still live. We loved exploring and learning of our connections to this beautiful and historic country. We were fascinated by its ancient architecture, where intricate wood carvings adorn even the most modest household items.

We especially fell in love with the colors, with houses displaying a vibrant rainbow palette….an antidote to the long dark winter.

This fascination with their colors led us to a particularly interesting Norwegian subculture in the artic north, the Sami or “reindeer people.”

These modern day nomads follow traditions that date back over a thousand years, as they follow their reindeer herds in yearly migrations across the barren northern artic regions of Norway. They also possess a virtual symbiotic relationship with their herds, striving to be at one with nature, and leaving no unnecessary physical marks on their land.

With her love of color and texture, Gretchen was strongly attracted to their exquisite and vibrant attire. Even their choice of colors mirrors their respect for nature: red for the sun and blue for the moon, while yellow and green are nature’s colors.

“Yes, this may be quite interesting,” you might say, “but what on earth does it have to do with alpacas?”
One of our favorite texts on alpaca is "Gold of the Andes: The History of the South American Camelids". In this strikingly beautiful volume, the author quotes: “The survival of the Andean Civilizations went hand in hand with the conservation of the Camelids, and this obliged the people to become intimately acquainted with the animals habits and requirements in order to base their economy on them……life in the high Andes was impossible without the help of Llamas and Alpacas.”

Another author described a glimpse into the heart of the Sami people as, “an image filled with harmony, an ancient bond between a people, a herd and a landscape.” Couldn’t this just as easily describe the camelid herders?

Two distinctive cultures, on opposite sides of the globe, both dependent on and respectful of their unique animals for their very survival. What an awesome link we are a part of!

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