Summary
Ecovillages aren't exactly a novel phenomenon; they were already being built in the 1980's and 90's and in many parts of the world. The Scandinavian closeness to nature and a lifestyle that offers ample opportunities to lead a life that puts family and quality time outside of work on par with career and work does, however, generally make the Nordic societies a perfect fit for these 'new' living conditions. The main principle is to build houses as environmentally friendly as possible, using renewable energy whenever feasible, recycling garbage, and bringing human waste back to nature. There's often a social ambition in these ecovillages: share tools and machinery, and work together in order to leave as small a carbon footprint as possible. Add to that a desire to use locally grown produce. New ecovillages pop up all the time and are now found from north to south. The concept develops further with locally produced energy, nursing homes, banks, and carpools.
It's not quite done yet. Their dream project. [Gabriella Passe] and [Karl Gustavson] run an architect's office, and have been working on a house of their own for the last few years. We take a tour and they show me what "living sustainable" looks like. They don't use any plastic, they keep the house well insulated, they take note of weather and wind and how to find lee, and they use recycled and locally produced material. They show me their beautiful closet doors, found at a flea market. Their huge windows create well-lit rooms, and wood burners keep the house warm along with solar cells."Our house, when it's done, will cost around 200,000 SEK. We're doing everything ourselves, from sweeping the chimney to decorating the bathroom. It's a lot of work, but it's worth it," [Ninni] says.See the full content of this document
Extract
Living Sustainable in Scandinavia
But ecovillages aren't exactly a novel phenomenon; they were already being built in the 1980's and 90's and in many parts of the world. The Scandinavian closeness to nature and a lifestyle that offers ample opportunities to lead a life that puts family and quality time outside of work on par with career and work does, however, generally make the Nordic societies a perfect fit for these 'new' living conditions. The main pr...
See the full content of this document
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