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.