Tómas Ponzi grows tomatoes that are every bit as good as those from Italy. Outside, the temperature is just 12 degrees Celsius, but inside his greenhouse it is a pleasant 20 degrees — ideal conditions for this nightshade plant. The software developer now grows over 30 different varieties, and supplies top restaurants in Reykjavik. The secret to his success lies buried deep in the earth.

Here in Iceland, volcanoes and geysers bring heat from the earth's interior to the surface. Icelanders use this geothermal energy to heat their homes and, increasingly, greenhouses. This means they can produce more of their own food. Today, almost 70% of the tomatoes eaten in Iceland are also grown there. For cucumbers, the figure is almost 100 percent. This reduces the country’s dependence on vegetable imports from mainland Europe. The energy from the earth's interior can even be used to grow exotic fruits. The world's northernmost banana plantation can be found in Iceland.

But not all vegetable fans in Iceland want to be dependent on geothermal energy. Hildur Arnardóttir is a dedicated self-sufficient farmer in the Westfjords of Iceland. She and her family are daring to do the unthinkable and growing vegetables in the open air. In doing so, she relies solely on the energy of the sun and her own skills. In the community of Ísafjörður, with its 3,000 inhabitants, she defies the cool summer climate with her own cultivation methods: "I feel a spark igniting in more and more people,” she says. "They gain an understanding of how food grows, and start to develop a deeper connection to nature."

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