Shear Madness: These Islands are Overrun with Sheep!
Not many people know about the Faroe Islands, where there more sheep than people. From the perspective of sheep, Sheepview360 hopes to show people what the islands have to offer.
Have you heard of the Faroe Islands? Probably not—but don't worry! In fact, if you look at a world map and see a few fuzzy dots just north of Scotland, there's nothing wrong with your eyes – those are actually the islands. It’s one of the last countries to be discovered and spans about 540 square miles (that's about half the size of Rhode Island).
However, that’s not what makes these islands so special.
Also known as “Sheep Islands,” it’s the inhabitants that really make it unique – as it’s home to more sheep than people. Nearly 70,000 woolly animals and only about 50,000 people call this remote location home.
"They're walking on the streets, almost everywhere,” said Guðrið Højgaard, CEO of Visit Faroe Islands. “They think they own this country, I think." The Faroe Islands don't show up on Google Street View (NASDAQ:GOOGL) — a tool that allows people to check out an area from their computer before deciding whether or not to discover it in person.
"We have a big job to do to put the Faroe Islands on the map and to tell everyone what there is to see and do in this lovely place," said Højgaard.
This also impacts the tourism industry, an important source of revenue for the Islands.
"It gives two sorts of income you can say -- both economic income but also other income in terms of widening the labor market here in the Faroe Islands that is very much focused on fishing and these kinds of things," said Højgaard.
After reaching out to Google and not having much luck, Højgaard and her team decided to take matters into their own hands. Taking a 360 camera and mounting it on a sheep marked the creation of Sheepview360 -- the Faroe Islands’ version of Google Street View.
"We sent them mail in the beginning of this process and we didn't really get an answer," said Durita Andreassen, Sheepview360 Project Manager. "So, instead of [continuously] mailing and contacting them that way, we thought, okay… Let's do something creative."
What better way to show what the Faroe Islands have to offer than through the eyes of its most popular resident?
"The idea was a bit crazy, with cameras on sheep," said Andreassen. "So, we worked very slowly, making this harness, trying it on the sheep. And it worked out very well."
Sheep Island is counting on these videos to help spark international attention.
"The whole idea is also to get the attention from Google, and now, we're kind of out there and the media around the world knows about the story," said Andreassen. "But we will keep on until Google says, ‘We will come to the Faroe Islands and make Street View.’"
To see their world through the eyes of a sheep, watch the video above, and to learn more about Sheep Island’s mission check out their website.