1997
Lithuania, The Baltic Book
A 448-page introduction to Lithuania, published in English and German.
Career · Five decades of work
From door to door
to the world
Door to door across Iceland, then to presidents’ offices on four continents. Each chapter of Halldór’s working life grew out of the one before.
- 1968–1978
Iceland Telecom
Technical manager, North Iceland
- 1978–1984
Samhjálp
Door to door across Iceland
- 1984–1988
Insurance salesman
Iceland
- 1987
ABC Children’s Aid
Founded with his sister
- 1988–1990
The Red Cross
First aid and new members
- 1991
Publishing begins
Johannesburg, South Africa
- 1996
The Nordic Book
English and Chinese editions
- 2000
Vindorka
An early wind turbine venture
- 2005–08
The Today Series
Five publications
- 2010
Video production
Iceland and the Faroe Islands
- 2022
Landnýting established
High-tech greenhouse development
01 / THE FOUNDATIONS · BEFORE 1991
Learning Iceland,
one door at a time
Long before the presidents and prime ministers, there were the households of Iceland. Those years taught Halldór persistence, and how to meet people where they are.
1968–1978·North Iceland
Iceland Telecom
Halldór is a master craftsman in electronics. From 1968 to 1978 he was Landssími Íslands (Iceland Telecom)’s technical manager for North Iceland. Alongside his main work, he was a driving instructor, bus driver and taxi driver on the side, in Akureyri, Reykjavík, Raufarhöfn, Þórshöfn, Kópasker and Borgarfjörður eystri.
1978–1984·Across Iceland
Door to door
Leaving Landssími Íslands was not his own idea. After six years of training he had a good position there that he truly enjoyed. But he felt a calling from God to give it up and go door to door across Iceland with Christian literature, with no fixed salary, to help finance Samhjálp, an aid organisation for people struggling with alcoholism. One of the books was Krossinn og hnífsblaðið (The Cross and the Switchblade). It was demanding work, and it became his real education in people. Facing rejection every day and learning to connect with strangers at their kitchen tables taught him persistence. The driving work continued on the side through these years as well.
1984–1988·Iceland
Insurance
After years at the door, presenting insurance felt comparatively straightforward, and he became one of the most productive insurance salesmen in Iceland. More importantly, those years gave him the ease to talk with anyone as an equal, whether a family in the countryside or, later, a head of state.
1987·Reykjavík
ABC Children’s Aid
When his sister, Guðrún Margrét Pálsdóttir, came home from a year travelling around the world, she wanted to leave again as soon as she could to help children in Africa. Instead of her going alone, she, Halldór, Georg and a few close friends founded ABC Children’s Aid, raising support in Iceland and sending it where it was needed most. Guðrún Margrét went on to lead the organisation for 27 years, almost entirely as a volunteer.
1988–1990·Iceland
The Red Cross
From 1988 to 1990, Halldór worked as an independent contractor for the Red Cross in Iceland, teaching first aid and recruiting new members. He also sold six short first-aid programmes to Ríkissjónvarpið, then Iceland’s only television station, and appeared in them himself.
1990–1993·South Africa
Johannesburg
He moved to South Africa with his family and studied theology at Rhema Bible School in the first year. He also founded a real estate agency in Johannesburg, which did not go as well as he had hoped. His publishing career began there in 1991.
02 / THE FIRST PUBLICATIONS
South Africa.
Iceland. The Nordics.
Publishing began in Johannesburg in 1991. After returning to Iceland, Halldór produced books introducing Iceland, the Nordic region, Slovenia and other countries to readers abroad.
03 / INTERNATIONAL PUBLISHING
The New
Millennium Series
Twenty books about ten countries, written with local contributors and published in multiple languages. His publishing projects involved governments, presidents, prime ministers and institutions across several countries.
- 20
- Books published
- 10
- Countries
- 224
- Pages per standard volume
04 / PLACES, PEOPLE & EDUCATION
The Today Series
Between 2005 and 2008, five books introduced Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Shetland and Slovenia. The publications were also used as teaching material in schools.
05 / INDIVIDUAL STORIES
More stories
1994
Ekkert Mál!
A promise kept: a biography honouring Jón Páll Sigmarsson, four-time World’s Strongest Man.
2000/ AN EARLY BET ON ICELANDIC ENERGY
Vindorka
In 2000, long before wind energy was a common conversation in Iceland, Halldór and his friend, the inventor Nils Gíslason, founded Vindorka ehf. Their aim was a new, quieter wind turbine suited to Icelandic conditions.
The prototype worked well and received recognition in Ireland and Japan. It was later destroyed in a storm, and agreements that were to be signed with partners in Japan never went ahead. The project came to an end, but it remains an early chapter in Halldór’s interest in Icelandic energy and new industry.
06 / VIDEO PRODUCTION · FROM 2010
Iceland and the
Faroe Islands, on film.
After his publishing years, Halldór turned to video production. Through Kaja Studios, the Iceland Channel and the Faroe Islands Channel, over 300 promotional videos were produced in Iceland and the Faroe Islands.
300+promotional videos produced
07 / LAUFEY · OPENED AUGUST 2024
Laufey Welcome Center
Halldór founded Laufey Welcome Center and assembled the team around the project. After roughly seven years of development, Laufey Welcome Center opened in August 2024 as the first automated self-service centre in Iceland, with self-cleaning toilets, a self-service store, interactive information tables and fast charging for electric cars.
Ideas through the years
1991–2010
The New Millennium Series
Books that introduced countries to one another, made with governments and local contributors in several languages.
2000
Vindorka
A wind turbine prototype, developed with Nils Gíslason. The project ended after the prototype was destroyed in a storm.
2024
Laufey Welcome Center
After years of preparation, Iceland’s first automated self-service centre opened, with a store, self-cleaning toilets and electric-car charging.
Today
Landnýting
Halldór’s current focus: high-tech greenhouses, with tomato cultivation planned for the first phase.
The thinking behind the ideas
Food security
A country that grows more of its own food is better prepared for whatever comes.
Cooperation between nations
Decades of publishing taught him that countries gain most when they get to know each other.
Iceland’s own resources
Clean energy and water are a chance to build new industry at home.
Thinking ahead
From wind power in 2000 to automated service in 2024, he has often worked on ideas before they became common.
Bringing people together
His projects start with finding the right people and getting them to work toward the same goal.
Something that lasts
Work that benefits the next generations, not only the next few years.
08 / THE PRESENT · LANDNÝTING
His focus
today.
Halldór is now fully focused on Landnýting. As Founder and Board Member, he is developing a large scale high-tech greenhouse project in Iceland, drawing on geothermal energy, renewable electricity and clean water.
Explore LandnýtingEstablished 2022 · A long-term development vision
THE DOCUMENTARY RECORD