Swedish Ecovillagers come together

By: permaculture.co.uk

During three days in November, the recently restarted Swedish ecovillage association, Njord, hosted a big ecovillage gathering – the first one in Sweden for almost 20 years!

50 people from ecovillages and projects all over  the country came together to share, network and inspire each other. There were talks on topics from mindfulness to transition and solar panels, open space groups about community bonding, starting ecovillages, Ecovillage Design Education, financing and eco social business, how to create truly alternative systems and much more, as well as circles on the future and role of the ecovillage movement and the Swedish network. We were lucky enough to also have Danish and Finnish guests, so that we could learn from neighbours and start talking about plans for a future Nordic GEN. 

As always though, it was the informal talk, late night dancing and simply meeting each other that made the greatest impression. From the first shared cup of tea, the room was filled with good atmosphere and the excited conversation of people who meet as strangers only to realize they have more in common than they could imagine. When time came to end the last circle, strangers parted like friends and Njord had been reborn as a true network and platform for the more than 50 ecovillages in Sweden.