Skogsnäs ENG

Skogsnäs:

Skogsnäs Collective was founded in 1973 by a group of "green wave" pioneers who, in one way or another, had grown disillusioned with society and decided to come together to create something different. Together, they purchased a large piece of land with an accompanying farm near Ramsele (southern Ångermanland).

There, they could fully dedicate themselves to self-sufficiency, agriculture, crafts, and forestry work.

During the 1970s, the collective attracted more free thinkers who joined by moving in with caravans or building their own houses on the land. Suddenly, the small collective had grown into one of Sweden's largest alternative villages.

In 1979, the village’s own independent school was built, and about 15 years later, the village’s cultural center and collective meeting place were established.

Skogsnäs holds regular collective meetings where major decisions are made together through consensus, and all the buildings in the village are jointly owned by the collective.

Today, the preschool Skogis operates in the old school building, and a cultural association organizes theater performances, concerts, and parties in the village’s cultural center.

Links to active projects in Skogsnäs:

https://skogisbarn.com/

https://skogsnasteatern.se/

I first came to Skogsnäs in 2006 when I participated in a theater production called The Song of Taråberg. On the website alternativ.nu, I found an advertisement where Skogsnäs Theater was looking for actors who, in exchange for food and accommodation, wanted to spend a summer in Skogsnäs, rehearsing and performing 12 shows.


The Song of Taråberg was about the small farm Taråberg.

Taråberg was a farm not far from the Skogsnäs collective in Sollefteå Municipality, Ångermanland. After standing abandoned for over twenty-five years, one of the collective's families settled in the only remaining house on the farm in the fall of 1976. After years of legal battles, the landowner, Graningeverken, managed to get the state to evict the occupants. As a result, on March 14, 1980, over a hundred state officials (nearly one hundred police officers) led by the bailiff were sent to carry out one of the largest police operations ever in Norrland.

My journey to skogsnäs:

Moving back & Theater projects:

In 2008, I moved back to Skogsnäs and started working as a teaching assistant at the school and as a preschool teacher at Skogsnäs Preschool. I lived in Skogsnäs for about a year, but since then, I have returned to the village to participate in various performances with Skogsnäs Theater.

In 2022, I was an actor and musician in the production Paradiset, which was performed outdoors next to the village preschool.

In 2023, I returned to Skogsnäs to perform as an actor in the play Steppenwolf, which was staged in a large circus tent during Skogsnäs’ 50th anniversary celebration.

Home 2008
Home 2008
Home wiev
Home wiev
Wood
Wood
School job
School job
Jamm
Jamm
Paradiset poster
Paradiset poster
Paradiset ensemble
Paradiset ensemble
Paradiset outdoor theater
Paradiset outdoor theater
Skogsnästheater with Lasse
Skogsnästheater with Lasse
Steppenwolf
Steppenwolf
Steppenwolf ensemble
Steppenwolf ensemble
Theater in tent
Theater in tent
Circus tent 1
Circus tent 1
Circus tent 2
Circus tent 2
Steppenwolf press
Steppenwolf press
Steppenwolf program
Steppenwolf program
Tinyhouse
Tinyhouse
Studio in tinyhouse
Studio in tinyhouse
skogsnäs 50 yers
skogsnäs 50 yers
Skogsnäs exhebition
Skogsnäs exhebition

Min relation till Skogsnäs

For me, Skogsnäs is more than just a small village in the forests of Norrland.
There is a spirit there that still lingers from a time when people came together to explore new ways of living.

Through strong ideals and a shared set of values, they were able to inspire one another to create the kind of world many of us long for—a world where we are connected to each other and to the landscape we are a part of.

Of course, such a journey is filled with many challenges. Living collectively is one of the hardest things, and many difficulties arise when we are constantly shaped and tested by one another.

But along the way, we can learn a lot from each other, grow as individuals, and work together to create an alternative to the individualistic society we live in today, which separates us from one another and from the nature that surrounds us.

Throughout my upbringing, I have felt a deep resonance with the spirit that the alternative movement of the 1960s and 70s managed to convey. It’s like an atmosphere that lives within me, reminding me that another world is possible.

As life has repeatedly led me to alternative village communities and collective meeting places, I have been able to cultivate this spirit within myself and in my surroundings.


Film:

Skogis på skogsnäs (Liam Mårskog)

Skaffa dig ett liv! (Håkan Berthas)

Music:

The third ears music mixes inspired by the swedish progg scen in the 60s and 70s:

unsplash