Hei hei, I'm Vivienne

I was born and raised in Switzerland in 1998. After graduating high school in 2017, my biggest dream was to take a gap year to see wild horses in their natural environment. This desire led me to a lovely little farm in the middle of Norway – Dreamvalley. Never could I have imagined that just about two years later – at the age of 22 – I would come back here to take over the whole place and call it my new home. Back in Switzerland, I've had a good job and a great surrounding – a loving family, supportive friends and my boyfriend. However, I took a leap of faith and decided to leave all that behind to follow my heart into the nature of another country. I have to admit, it’s been a long and extraordinary journey, but I am infinitely happy to have made it with all its ups and downs. It led me to a place that gives me space to develop and do the things I love: Being in the heart of nature, taking care of horses, working on the farm and getting creative with pottery and painting. I can without a doubt say that I am living my passion, a passion that I would like to share with others. Feel welcome to get to know more about my journey and discover my Dreamvalley. And who knows? Maybe one day you’ll stop by! I would be happy to meet you, show you around this special place, and let you feel the magic atmosphere it inherits.

Yours, Vivienne

HOW A DREAM GOT PASSED ON

The very first beginning

Welcome to Dreamvalley. The story of the place, where this web documentary takes place, can be traced back to centuries ago – long before it became the beautiful home it is today. Dreamvalley is located in the east of Norway near the small village of Sollia and surrounded by the mountains of Norway's oldest National Park, the Rondane National Park. In the late 18th century, the first farmers settled on the land alongside the river and secured it for farming and keeping animals. Back in the years so-called Nordre Finstad has been inherited by families ever since, longest from the Finstad family. Some of the present buildings are more than 150 years old and clearly show traces of stories from long ago – until the 21st century, when the German artist Tina Mareen Buddeberg bought the farm and wrote new stories there.

Vivienne´s way to Dreamvalley

Vivienne first set foot at Dreamvalley in 2018, immediately falling in love with the place: "It felt like coming home." After her first summer as a volunteer, she returned every year to help Tina taking care of the animals and connect with nature and other creative people. Dreamvalley slowly turns into her second home – and soon into her real one. After Tina's death, she takes over the farm, along with all the buildings and animals. At first still indecisive whether she could fulfil this task, she bravely follows in the footsteps of a visionary woman. At the beginning of 2021, as the whole world falls into the first COVID-19 Lockdown, Vivienne starts her biggest adventure that would change her life forever.
In March, she sets off alone in her car from Switzerland, all the way up to Norway. On this journey, she does not only bring her own belongings but also her own visions for the place. Under all the external pressure and high expectations she puts on herself, Vivienne tries to find her very unique way. Tina always has been dreaming big and that dream was passed on to Vivienne – who transformed it into her own eventually.
Find out how Vivienne experienced this time and how she feels about her dream coming true.

The very first beginning

Welcome to Dreamvalley.
The story of the place, where this web documentary takes place, can be traced back to centuries ago – long before it became the beautiful home it is today. Dreamvalley is located in the east of Norway near the small village of Sollia and surrounded by the mountains of Norway's oldest National Park, the Rondane National Park. In the late 18th century, the first farmers settled on the land alongside the river and secured it for farming and keeping animals. Back in the years so-called Nordre Finstad has been inherited by families ever since, longest from the Finstad family. Some of the present buildings are more than 150 years old and clearly show traces of stories from long ago – until the 21st century, when the German artist Tina Mareen Buddeberg bought the farm and wrote new stories there.

In 2009, Tina found a home for herself and her dreams in this little corner of the world. Soon afterwards a herd of wild horses followed. Dreamvalley, a new place was born and embodied Tina's vision of living art. She herself described the farm as “relational artwork” that focuses on the quiet, slow, and timeless interplay between humans, nature and animals. Sadly, Tina's journey with Dreamvalley was cut short when she died unexpectedly of cancer in late 2020. At this point, another story started.

Viviennes way to Dreamvalley

Vivienne first set foot at Dreamvalley in 2018, immediately falling in love with the place: "It felt like coming home." After her first summer as a volunteer, she returned every year to help Tina taking care of the animals and connect with nature and other creative people. Dreamvalley slowly turns into her second home – and soon into her real one. After Tina's death, she takes over the farm, along with all the buildings and animals. At first still indecisive whether she could fulfil this task, she bravely follows in the footsteps of a visionary woman. At the beginning of 2021, as the whole world falls into the first COVID-19 Lockdown, Vivienne starts her biggest adventure that would change her life forever. In March, she sets off alone in her car from Switzerland, all the way up to Norway. On this journey, she does not only bring her own belongings but also her own visions for the place. Under all the external pressure and high expectations she puts on herself, Vivienne tries to find her very unique way. Tina always has been dreaming big and that dream was passed on to Vivienne – who transformed it into her own eventually. Find out how Vivienne experienced this time and how she feels about her dream coming true.

"Make life real, do not just dream"
- Tina and Vivienne

WHERE IT LEADS TO DREAM BIG

For over a year now, Vivienne has been living her dream and put her heart and soul as well as a lot of effort and hard work to build a "Creative work and retreat space in Norway'' at Dreamvalley. All her life she was seeking freedom, and found it on a remote farm with six horses and two cats; three goats will join her side soon.Vivienne would like to offer this unique experience to others. Everyone who is interested in experiencing this special lifestyle close to nature can visit Dreamvalley and help out on the farm, just as once Lisa, the volunteer, did. Or you can become part of the growing Dreamvalley community and join the retreat courses Vivienne is offering together with mindfulness coaches and yoga trainers as well as other visionary guests. In the summer of 2022, Dreamvalley is inviting everyone who is seeking to (re)connect with themselves and nature, get creative, go through ceremonies and do yoga practices and mindset training, to various retreats. You can find more information about self-development in nature on Vivenne’s website.

The motto: Uniting human being and nature awareness.

"Be adventurous and always believe in miracles"
We would like to thank Vivienne for the time, trust and for the good food she gave us during this production.
Also special thanks to Lisa Lottevanos who was willing to participate in our documentary and provided us with her laugh.
This project has been a lot of fun and gave us a lot of experience in many many ways.
Editors
Jasmin Schol
Niclas Reichelt
Sönke Schaak
© 2022 Høgskulen i Volda
© 2022 Høgskulen i Volda