Tag Archives: Down-sizing

Are there alternative ways of living our lives? The people of Skattungbyn are trying different options! No015

 

Last week we had the pleasure of investigating living in homes on wheels, this week we further investigate alternative ways of living in Skattungbyn, Sweden. Maybe you will find something in Skattungbyn that might inspire a change in your own life?
Text: Domi.  Photo: Agata Mazgaj, AnnVixen, Daniel Zetterström.  Tellus Think Tank 2016-02-17.

The village of Skattungbyn has about 350 inhabitants and maybe half of them have at one time taken a course at

At the top of the slopes of Skattungbyn. Photo: AnnVixen
At the top of the slopes of Skattungbyn. Photo: AnnVixen

Mora Folk School. After having finished the course, some remain in the village and keep exploring alternative ways of living.

ABOUT TELLUS THINK TANK…read 

What fascinates me most is not the beautiful landscape, the fresh air and the harmonious atmosphere of the village but the insight that it is possible to live quite differently to what I am used to from my suburb life in Stockholm. f

  • A person in Skattungbyn can live for less than 200 Euros a month, including rent, food and phone costs – further ahead in this article.
       In most parts of Sweden the normal monthly rent for a one roomed apartment would be between 300-700 Euros, food costs of about 150 Euros per person to be added. City life is much more expensive!
  • Several people in Skattungbyn have chosen not to work full time or have more radically decreased the amount of hours they work a week.
       In most other parts of Sweden adults work full time, regardless of marital status. Generally we talk about the treadmill of the 24 hour day divided into:
    8 hours work, 8 hours sleep and 8 hours for organising one’s life so one can keep on working – i.e. picking kids up from school, commuting to and from work, cleaning, washing and shopping.
Tiny Home on wheels. Photo: Daniel Zetterström
Tiny Home on wheels. Photo: Daniel Zetterström

How can the differences be so big between a group of people in the village of Skattungbyn and the rest of the western world?

The answer is that there are several things that contribute to the possibility of living inexpensively in Skattungbyn:

  • Land is cheaper than in urban developed areas.
  • The trend for Tiny Homes on wheels – see last week’s article
  • Good prerequisites to grow or buy inexpensive food and other things that might be needed in special types of local shops – read more below

Markus arrives at Skattungbyn

Markus Skoog, 34 years old, left the rush of the city for an alternative life in Skattungbyn.

The farmland sleeps under its snowy cover, awaiting the farming season. Photo: Agata Mazgaj
The Flurlundar farm land sleeps under its snowy cover, awaiting spring. Photo: Agata Mazgaj

He grew up in a suburb of Stockholm and soon understood that his high school teacher’s diploma would never enable him to buy his own apartment in the Stockholm area. He changed course and started off as a carpenter’s apprentice and was soon making more money but the life he led, building small exclusive apartments in the city, didn’t give him the  satisfaction he was looking for. Markus searched for ways of living closer to nature and shortly after was accepted to the Mora Folk School.  

 

Mora Folk School

The course at Mora Folk School followed the farming year and started in January, continuing throughout the season. Sessions were held in growing and preserving food, how to eat more nutritiously and lessons in different crafts such as weaving and making homespun clothes. The pedagogical narrative of the school is sustainability and global human rights.

A cozy Tiny Home on wheels in Skattungbyn! Photo: Daniel Zetterström
A cozy Tiny Home on wheels in Skattungbyn! Photo: Daniel Zetterström

-During the course, my fellow students and I came to understand just how much work lays behind just one t-shirt sold by the retail industry, says Markus.

Markus initially moved into the dorms of the school dorms but soon he and a couple of other fellow students decided to build their own homes on wheels, according to the Skattungbyn-way.

The most important lessons for Markus where on how to grow food and living in collectives can not be done successfully with just anyone. One needs to be selective when choosing with whom to live.

What kind of people have chosen to investigate alternative ways of living in Skattungbyn?

Three Tiny Homes on wheels by the woods at Flurludar farm. Photo: Agata Mazgaj
Three Tiny Homes on wheels by the woods at Flurludar farm. Photo: Agata Mazgaj

Skattungbyn villagers that investigate alternative ways of living have often attended the Mora Folk School. Markus first calls them “hippies”, “greens” or “alternatives” but in the next breath he says people are difficult to group.

Persons that after school succeed in finding a job in the area often stay. They start off living in the dorms at the school and some move into Tiny Homes on wheels, others buy their own land. After a couple of years most look for a somewhat more spacious way of living and often keep a strong alternative focus in their lives.

We make a short stop at the home of Anna Berggren that came into possession of an old farm high up on the south slopes of Skattungbyn. She has an amazing view over the nature of

Annas orangery on the mountain! Photo: Agata Mazgaj
Annas orangery on the mountain! Photo: Agata Mazgaj

Orsa Finnmark and herds her sheep on the mountain. Anna recently built out the old farm with an orangery that gives her lemons in the midst of winter!

Markus tells me about the 86 year old woman who down-sized as she got older and moved into a home on wheels to avoid an old peoples home.

-She was the most hard-core person of all Tiny Home dwellers, says Markus Skoog. He was very impressed by

Markus shows us the outhouse of Flurlundar farm, built of wastewood. Photo: Agata Mazgaj
Markus shows us the outhouse of Flurlundar farm, built of wastewood. Photo: Agata Mazgaj

her. She only had about 7 m² which gave her space for a bed, a small cabinet and a wood stove. She lived there without electricity and running water and loved it!

Markus has his home on wheels on a plot of land that belongs to FrejaLina. FrejaLina recently bought the estate of Flurlundar farm and started a collective on the property. Today there are five persons living in the mother house of the estate and another four residents that live in their own homes on wheels. Some of them have access to electricity and fresh water, and some of them live totally “off grid”.

Life at Flurlundar farm reminds me of my university dorm where we also had a very positive fellowship community going on with film evenings etcetera. There are several differences here such as, members of the collective are involved in their community farm and also take turns in cooking vegetarian dinners for each other.

There are no children in the collective, yet. One person owns the dog, Birk, that is one of the most cherished dogs I have ever seen – he has a lot of different people to take him for a walk!

Dumpster diving for food

Most of the people who have chosen an alternative lifestyle in Skattungbyn eat vegetarian and buy or grow their own food. Markus tells me that there are some that dumpster dive for their food, meaning that they “dive” into dumpsters behind food stores for food that has past  its best date. Markus avoids dumpster diving as some locals find it annoying. He was once invited to a friend for a really lovely salmon ceviche dinner, and learnt that the salmon had been found in a dumpster!

Are the alternative of Skattungbyn idlers?

Skattungbyn is becoming known to be “hippie” and is famous in the Swedish alternative circle but the village also has a lot of inhabitants that do not count themselves as “alternative”. Markus says that there are some prejudiced ideas circling about the alternatives, such as that they probably idle and live on welfare. He strongly opposes this.

Open on Saturdays only! Photo: Agatha Mazgaj
Open on Saturdays only! Photo: Agatha Mazgaj

Markus says that it is possible to live very inexpensively in Skattungbyn, if one wants to, and that neither a full time job or welfare is needed to survive. A friend lived during a longer period for under 50 Euros a month. How could he do that? He took care of people’s houses when they were abroad, dumpster dived for food, worked for food doing things like chopping wood. One job gave him a couple of Euros that he put used for his mobile phone subscription.  

-It is difficult for some to understand that such inexpensive living is possible, says Markus, which might lead some to believe that welfare is in the picture, which it is mostly not.

Some people he knows work a couple of hours a month in the Folk School and live for under 200 Euros a month. Markus lived with costs less than 180 Euros a month, during a period. Costs included rent for his Tiny Home on wheels, electricity, water, mobile subscription and food.

-Vegetarian drygoods are pretty cheap, Markus explains with a smile!

Slåttergubben is open on a Saturday afternoon. Photo: AnnVixen
Slåttergubben is open on a Saturday afternoon. Photo: AnnVixen

Today Markus works fulltime at a refugee camp in the neighboring village of Orsa and estimates that his monthly living costs have increased to 500 Euros as he needed a car for work. Some of his friends also work at the refugee camp and others work at the local hospital or in youth care.

There are several “shops” in Skattungbyn and none of them can be considered normal but they all help the inhabitants to live more inexpensively!

Slåttergubben, bring your own container! Photo: AnnVixen
Slåttergubben, bring your own container! Photo: AnnVixen

Skattunge Handel was once the only food store of the village but was deemed unprofitable and about to be closed. To avoid having to drive 15 miles for food or gas the villagers took over shop and founded a cooperative association. Today the shop holds the same assortment as a small food store. It has employees to run it but much of the administration is done by the co-op members.

Slåttergubben is the second food store in the village. It is also co-owned by some of the villagers but classed as a procurement association. The shop buys large sacks of locally grown food or European organic food. Customers bring their own packages to fill.

The shop is very much cheaper than a normal store. It is only open between 13 pm and 15 pm on Saturdays so that it doesn’t compete with Skattunge Handel. The village is too small for competition but big enough for cooperation it seems!    

Hansen House Folks kitchen is serving lentil soup today! Photo: AnnVixen
Hansen House Folks kitchen is serving lentil soup today! Photo: AnnVixen

Hansen’s House is run by the Swedish study association for study circles and theatre groups. On Saturday afternoons Hansen’s House becomes a meeting places for the alternatives of Skattungbyn they then hold a “folk kitchen”, serving vegetarian meals to anyone that might be interested. The kitchen is financed by donations from both guests and donors.

The Free Shop – this might technically not be a shop but rather a place where villagers can bring unneeded clothes, books or utility articles and also help themselves to anything that they find. Markus Skoog tells me that the Free shop isn’t owned by anyone and doesn’t have a formal administration but is run by anyone who is interested. We meet Malin who

Pick what you need in the Free shop. Photo: AnnVixen
Pick what you need in the Free shop. Photo: AnnVixen

currently has chosen to organise the Free shop, it looks absolutely lovely and pittoresque!

Interestingly enough, all of the shops in the village are non-profit making and run either by a cooperative or by driving spirits helping other villagers to a more inexpensive life!  

Some people in Skattungbyn do their Saturday shopping tour by first visiting the two food shops and then passing the Free shop to either pick up or leave stuff off and then continue to Hansen’s House for a meal. The latest news is the recently opened tool library where villagers can borrow good quality tools.

Malin Haglund is currently the spirit running the Free shop! Photo: AnnVixen
Malin Haglund is currently the driving spirit running the Free shop! Photo: AnnVixen

Markus and the blogg

Markus started the blog “Att Leva det Levande Livet”. 

-Because “life must be able to be better than this”, he smiles!

He wanted to document his own learnings of alternative living and share it with others that might be interested!

What about the farming?

At Flurlundar farm the collective recently laid the foundation for a 2000 m2 farming plot. The soil isn’t as good as it could be yet and the collective is planning for an all organic farm. It might take up to 8 years before the yields hit their highs and make the collective self sufficient in beans, peas, red

A snowy shower when opening the Dome! Photo: Agata Mazgaj
A snowy shower when opening the Dome! Photo: Agata Mazgaj

cabbage, kale, artichokes, onions, squash, pumpkins and potatoes. They also built a greenhouse, “The Dome”, to be able to grow their own chili, basil, cucumber and tomato.

A second greenhouse will soon provide the collective by providing the possibilities of biannual crop rotation to avoid pests.  Most of what they know about growing food was learnt from their very appreciated teacher Patrik Ytterholm at Mora Folk school.

Will Markus always live like this?

Markus is happy in his Tiny Home on wheels but is planning to buy his own plot of land and build a real house on it. He also has plans to allow others to move onto his property to

The inside of the green house. Photo: Agata Mazgaj
The inside of the green house. Photo: Agata Mazgaj

gain a passive income from rent. He doesn’t mind working but wants to do things that matter to him such as giving a course this summer on how to build you own Tiny Home on wheels!

The visit to Skattungbyn has been an eye-opener showing that life can be more free and not so structured as life often is in urban areas. There are of course pro’s and con’s with every lifestyle but Tellus Think Tank is happy to understand this alternative!

Next week we investigate the development of Stockholm as a green and environmentally friendly city from a traffic perspective, would you like to be notified when it is available, click here!

Thinking of down-sizing? Could you consider living in a sustainable Tiny Home on wheels? No014

 

Do you live a fulfilling life in the midst of the rush, the fumes of the city with high costs of living and

Sunrise in Skattungbyn. Photo: AnnVixen
Sunrise in Skattungbyn. Photo: AnnVixen

the need to commute to work or school? Do you ever wonder if life could be lived differently? From the 70’ies until today at least 200 people have had the same thoughts as you and moved to the small village of Skattungbyn in the rural district of Dalarna in Sweden.
Text: Domi, Tellus Think Tank. Photo: Agata Mazgaj, AnnVixen, Daniel Zetterström

My friend Agata and I often have long discussions on everything from sustainable living to Swedish media and Polish politics.

ABOUT TELLUS THINK TANK…read

One day she told me about a Swedish blog she found on the theme of living in small quarters and in this way making as small a footprint on our planet as possible. Would this be a life for us? All of a sudden we are on a road trip to Skattungbyn in the Swedish district of Dalarna, tag along!

The view of the vastness of Orsa Finnmark from the village of Skattungbyn. Photo: Agata Mazgaj
The view of the vastness of Orsa Finnmark from the village of Skattungbyn. Photo: Agata Mazgaj

Tiny homes on wheels in Skattungbyn

The roads are empty when we drive into Skattungbyn this sunny, frostbiten Saturday morning in January. We get to experience the village in sunlight as it clutches on to the hillside with a fantastic view over the nature of Orsa Finnmark. This at once feels like a harmonious place, a feeling that endures through our full visit!

In the village of Skattungbyn one can find a rather unique way of living, Tiny Homes on wheels. We have the privilege of meeting Markus Skoog, that some here would say personifies, thanks to his blog , “AttLevaDetLevandeLivet”, the Tiny Home dwellers.  

The first Tiny Home in the village of Skattungbyn was built in the beginning of the 2000’s. There are currently 20 people living in Tiny Homes in the village and the word is spreading throughout both Sweden and the world.

The people that build their own Tiny Homes on wheels later seek permission from a landowner in the village and roll their home onto the designated part of the land. The rental agreements differ from situation to situation.

Also read the next article about Skattungbyn and the community there, it will be available next Thursday! Would you like to be notified, click here

Why live in a Tiny Home on wheels?

Markus tells us that there are several reasons behind the Tiny Home residents in Skattungbyn:

Markus and Agata in the magic forrest of Flurlunar farm. Photo: AnnVixen
Markus and Agata in the magic forrest of Flurlunar farm. Photo: AnnVixen
  • One reason is that Skattungbyn is a lovely place to live but it is difficult to find land to buy in the village.
  • Another reason is that living in a Tiny Home on wheels makes a very small dent on nature and a very small carbon footprint as the houses are not attached to the land and don’t use concrete. Living in a Tiny Home on wheels is easy and simple and a way to live an  alternative life.
  • A third reason is that it is very cheap to live in a Tiny Home on wheels. Read more about costs below.

What I find the most interesting is the insight that it is possible to live so much cheaper than we currently do in the city, and it isn’t hard to come by this simpler life. Depending on how the perspective living simpler might even bring a higher quality of life? Ofcourse, there are pro’s and con’s connected to every way of living!

Living in a Tiny Home on wheels in Sweden compared to the American way

Swedish Tiny Homes on wheels are all about simple living. Photo: AnnVixen
Swedish Tiny Homes on wheels are all about simple living. Photo: AnnVixen

The Swedish Tiny Homes on wheels differ a lot from the American Tiny Homes. Markus tells us that Tiny Homes in the US want to hold their distance from the trailer people and that they pretty much squeeze every comfort into their Tiny Homes, at almost any expense.

-The kitchen areas in the US Tiny Homes cost a fortune even though the size of the houses are very small. Also, every Tiny Home in the US has a toilet and a shower. They look like normal houses in a mini format.

The Swedish Tiny Homes on wheels are all about living simple.

Markus’s Tiny Home on wheels

Markus built his first Tiny Home on wheels and quickly sold it. During the

One of the beautiful wood stoves in the Tiny Homes on wheels. This specific one is not used for cooking. Photo: Agata Mazgaj
One of the beautiful wood stoves in the Tiny Homes on wheels. This specific one is not used for cooking. Photo: Agata Mazgaj

coming winter season he borrowed his friend Lorraia’s Tiny Home, which he smilingly describes as a “glorified tent” as the house was very badly insulated. The heating system consisted of a wood stove and when Markus came home late at night it would be so cold that he would have to be quick to light the wood stove fire, jump into his sleeping bag and fall asleep.

After a while he found that he could heat water on the wood stove and pour it into plastic bottles that he would snuggle into his sleeping bag to keep the heat during the night. After that particularly cold winter Markus felt a strong urge to build his own, well insulated home.

The day Agata and I visit Skattungbyn we read -17°c / 1,4°f and we understand how important insulation is in this climate!

Markus’ new house, designed with a “broken” gable roof like the cutest Astrid Lindgren cabin, is very well insulated! The Tiny Home on wheels was built in 2013 and it took Markus about two months to finish it to the point where he could actually move in. He didn’t have everything in place from the beginning, and finished bits and pieces when he could afford it. In the beginning, until he was able to afford indoor paneling, he dressed the walls with colourful cloths!

A Tiny Home on wheels, 17 square meters of living space, tin rood, organically insulated. Cost 80 000 kronor / 8 000 Euro. Photo: Agata Mazgaj
A Tiny Home on wheels, 17 square meters of living space plus a loft, tin roof, organically insulated. Cost 80 000 kronor / 8 000 Euro. Photo: Agata Mazgaj

-It was lovely to finally get the panel in place, smiles Markus!

The cost for the Tiny Home on wheels initially added up to 50 000 kronor / 5 000 Euro. After having chosen to improve the quality of the house with a tin roof and some other comforts Markus estimates that he has paid about 80 000 kronor / 8000 Euro for his Tiny House on wheels.  

-I chose not to equip the kitchen part with a drain but there is a kitchen bench and I have a large pitcher of water and a large bowl for kitchen use! says Markus!

Agata and I are invited into Markus “one roomed apartment”. It feels airy, warm and minimalistically decorated. On the right short side of the room we find a kitchen bench, in the middle of the room the wooden stove is crackling. By one of the windows we find a second heating source, an electrical heater, that works since Markus has electricity installed. At the other end of the room Markus has built a wooden sofa covered with mattresses. From the sofa we can just make out an almost hidden ladder leading up to a so called mezzanine loft, half storey loft. That is where Markus has installed his sleeping quarters, just under the roof.  

Markus Tiny Home is 3.1 meters x 6.0 meters / 10 x 20 feet and it weighs about 6 tons. The height is 4.5 meters / 15 feet. The living space is 17 m² / 182 f² and the Home stands on wheels!  

The house is properly insulated with old newspapers, that can be bought in large sacks at any local home depot. The

A Tiny Home on wheels, 15 square meters of living space, plus a loft. Cost 50 000 kronor / 5 000 Euro. Photo: Agata Mazgaj
A Tiny Home on wheels, 15 square meters of living space, plus a loft. Cost 50 000 kronor / 5 000 Euro. Photo: Agata Mazgaj

papers are put into a large mill and blown into the space between the columns of the walls of the house. The newspaper insulation works really well and is  a much more sustainable alternative compared to Rockwool or such, says Markus that is a professional carpenter!

The Tiny Home, just like the other Tiny Homes in Skattungbyn, is built on boat trailer wagon structures or similar. Markus chose to build his Tiny Home on a two wheel wagon structure. Most Tiny Homes here are built without drains and toilets but have possibilities for cooking on the wooden stove.

Owners of the Tiny Homes on wheels can sign for a comprehensive household insurance allowing the Tiny Home to be moved twice during a year.

A Do-It-Yourself staircase. Cost: zero Kronor / Euro. Photo: Agata Mazgaj
A Do-It-Yourself staircase. Cost: zero Kronor / Euro. Photo: Agata Mazgaj

Markus has films on youtube, with soon above 60 000 views, on how to build his Tiny Home.

It is icy cold in Dalarna today and Agata and I have dressed accordingly but are still freezing when we move around the grounds to look at more Tiny Homes on wheels.

Costs of building Tiny Homes on wheels

Costs of the Swedish Tiny Homes on wheels differ depending on the type of material and the origins of the materials.  Markus Tiny Home on wheels cost 80 000 kronor / 8 000 Euro. Flurlundargård, the farm that Markus house stands on, has another three tenants in Tiny Homes on wheels. The other houses have cost far less ranging from 4 000 kronor / 400 Euros to 50 000 kronor / 5 000 Euros. The Tiny Home with the lowest cost was one where all the wood was donated from a de-construction site, total cost of zero kronor / zero Euros.

Interested in running costs of life in a Tiny Home on wheels, read more in next week’s article, get a notification when it is available.

If Markus would have built his house today, what would he have done differently?

-I have a long list of improvements that should have been thought of! he laughs and tells us he would have built higher

A mezzanini sleeping loft provides more living space when living on 15 square meters. Photo: Agata Mazgaj
A mezzanini sleeping loft provides more living space when living on 15 square meters. Photo: Agata Mazgaj

walls and a normal gable roof. He would also have built the house much smaller than 17 m² / 182 f² as the current house is a bit big for his personal needs and needs a tractor to move it! The current design places the wood stove in the middle of the room to match the aesthetically placed chimney, set in the middle of the roof. If he could re-do this he would have placed both the wood stove and chimney along one of the walls.

Living without running water and electricity in a Tiny Home on wheels

Markus has access to both electricity, a kitchen, a shower and fresh water in a tap system as he is camped on the land of and affiliated to the FrejaLinas collective, that locally goes under the name Flurlundar farm. He estimates that about half of the Tiny Home dwellers in Skattungbyn do not have direct access to either electricity or water.  

-What, is it possible to live this way, I wonder curiously? How?  

A sustainable outhouse by the edge of the woods. Photo: Agata Mazgaj
A sustainable outhouse by the edge of the woods. Photo: Agata Mazgaj

Without fresh water toilets
Markus says that most of the people that want to live in alternative ways in Skattungbyn have access to large plots of land and in some cases also to water toilets but they choose to build and use an outhouse.  

A Tiny Home on wheels, 7 square meters of living space. All but the inner paneling was built with recycled material. Cost 10 000 Kronor / 1 000 Euro. Photo: AnnVixen
A Tiny Home on wheels, 7 square meters of living space. All but the inner paneling was built with recycled material. Cost 10 000 Kronor / 1 000 Euro. Photo: AnnVixen

The sewage from a water toilet is difficult to clean and far from sustainable and

expensive for society.  

An outhouse, composted in a correct manner, is transformed by bacteria to very good farming soil in just two years. The soil can be used as fertilizers to farmlands or tree- and bush cultivations.

Without fresh water
The Tiny Home dwellers of Skattungbyn have several possibilities to shower and even take a sauna.  There is the “village sauna” at the cost of 10 kronor / 1 Euro per visit. The village also has a small sports auditorium that also provides a shower, for free. Markus tells me that several people who live

Markus is just about to take a winter bath! Photo: Daniel Zetterström
Markus is just about to take a winter bath! Photo: Daniel Zetterström

without direct access to water heat water on their wood stoves and wash with soap and towel at home. Water can be fetched from the snowy winter slopes or from many of the lakes and streams that run through the village during the summer.

Without electricity
Almost everyone in Skattungbyn has a smart phone and if they don’t have access to electricity in their home phones are charged at work or with battery chargers.

Electric lighting is replaced by gas lamps, battery lamps or oil lamps. The Tiny Homes are  often solely heated by wood stoves. Cooking is also mainly performed on the specially designed wood stoves. Many Tiny Home dwellers are vegetarian or even vegan. Food that is cooked could be oatmeal porridge, lentils, soups or boiled

A Tiny Home on wheels, 7 square meters of living space. Cost 4 000 Kronor / 400 Euro. Photo: Agata Mazgaj
A Tiny Home on wheels, 7 square meters of living space. Cost 4 000 Kronor / 400 Euro. Photo: Agata Mazgaj

eggs.

Markus is more of a flexitarian, as he eats meat if someone invites him to it. The Flurundar farm collective however cook all their meals together and only cook vegetarian food.

Do you find that life in a Tiny Home on wheels differs quite a bit from other Western lives? Read more about the community of Skattungbyn next week. Do you want to be notified when the article is available, click here!