The brothers Esben and Bjarne Marcussen and their families bought the farm, roughly 15 hectares (about 36 acres) of fields, forest and shoreline, in 2019. It had fallen into disrepair: the buildings were in poor shape and the land was growing over. Since then the family has been restoring it, patiently and across generations, with the help of skilled local craftspeople and many cheerful work weekends. 

A long history

There has been settlement and farming here since the viking age. There are grave finds from the 800s nearby, and the earliest written mention of the Ramsjord farms is in a document from 1322. The present farmhouse was raised in 1935 and extended in 1953, though one of its timbers is carved with the year 1852. From 1928 the farm belonged to Torberg Kalsnes, a fisherman who, the story goes, rowed all the way from western Norway in search of work and a place to settle. He and his wife Olga raised seven children here. 

The cabin on the knoll

Up on a rocky knoll, a "kolle," sits a small year-round cabin with the project name Oslokollen, designed by the architects at Agde and built in 2024. It was shaped to sit gently in the terrain, with a sedum roof, local stone and natural colours, so that it barely interrupts the landscape and walkers can still pass freely in front of it on their way toward the sea. 

Growing on nature's terms

A large part of the project is cultivation, inspired by permaculture and forest gardening: perennials, plant guilds, no-dig beds, and building living soil. Stufeda is the main growing field, with a kitchen garden, apple, pear and nut trees, berries and a pond. Litlefeda is becoming an orchard, and Geideflikken, a clearing among oaks more than a hundred years old, is being turned into a forest garden. The name Geideflikken suggests goats were once kept there, so in the summer of 2026 the family brought goats back to graze. 

You are welcome to visit

Walkers have always been welcome to take a "round" over the farm and out into the forests and hills, and they still are. If you pass by, enjoy the view, and feel free to say hello. 

To read more, browse the Norwegian pages, which your browser can translate automatically. You can also open a translated version of the site here, or go directly to read about the Cabin, The Farm, Cultivation or see the Pictures. Questions? Write to post@oslokollen.no.