Page 12 - C.A.L.L. #23 - Spring 2004
P. 12
FEATURE SWEDISH CO-HOUSING
This issue we are happy to feature and are responsible for it.
correspondence with members of different Co-
housing communities in Sweden. On the next Like in a traditional kibbutz we have committees
two pages, Sol, our secretary, corresponds with for culture, dining room, absorption and so on.
Richard Jandel from a community in After serving a few times on the board I am now
Gothenberg, and on the following pages, we working in the absorption committee and I am
hear from Ingrid Eckerman from also responsible for contacts with the mother
Kollektivhusföreningen Sockenstugan: organization and other contacts. We have a
dining room which serves food three times a
I am 40 years old and I am dividing my time week, a garage for fixing cars, a cafe, workout
between working as a journalist (freelancing), room, sauna etc. etc. We also have meetings. We
writing books and teaching. So far I have written do not having a common economy so everyone
six books on different subjects ranging from the pays for their food, electricity etc.
Spanish civil war to a cookbook about vegetarian
food and how to take responsibility for our This is an unusual way of living in Sweden but
environment. different ways of co-housing are slowly making
progress. Partly, I would say,
I was in Israel for the first because of the cutbacks on all
time as a kibbutz volunteer levels in Sweden which force
and was captured by people to cooperate, and
kibbutz life. Since then I partly because I believe that a
have been back several larger group of people,
times and have also worked compared to 20 years ago, are
with volunteers for a short interested in a more
while. My wife is by the cooperative lifestyle.
way from Kibbutz Givat Oz,
if you know where it is. What ‘captured’ you to
kibbutz life?
With our basic values shared with the kibbutz The answer to that question could fill a book but
movement, it was not difficult to choose a I will try to answer very briefly. I think it was a
communal life here in Sweden. Unfortunately combination of different things. One thing was
there are no kibbutzim in Sweden, Denmark has the companionship; the togetherness that I felt
one, so a sort of co-housing has been our choice. existed on the kibbutz, an atmosphere that
people took care of each other. As long as you
Since 1992 we have been living in a community. did your best for the community the community
There are about 40 houses included in this did it’s best for you. I felt, and still feel that this
movement from north to south. They are all was a natural way of living for human beings. I
pretty much organized in the same way. In our never felt at home in the ‘normal’ society with its
house there are 38 apartments. Everyone who extreme egoism and consumerism, where there
lives in the house above the age of 18 are are few bonds between people, and everything,
members of our local community organization or almost everything, is counted for in money. I
called Tradet. The house is owned by a private also felt that I, for the first time, was counted as a
company and the organization rents the house. human being at work and in the society. People
Each family is renting their flat from the appreciated my hard work and I appreciated the
organization. We are taking care of the house work and the companionship.
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