https://idg-2022.confetti.events/?fbclid=IwAR2Ak5abD4trDWOrZwXZ3t4CPFiwwZVCZFKIajb3QyB73w2yLh6jkX3Rhp8
this is hosted by the Inner Development Goals group: https://www.innerdevelopmentgoals.org/
Most of these efforts are rooted in a larger ideal known as The Nordic Model <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nordic_model> which the Ekskäret <http://ekskaret.se/>foundation <http://ekskaret.se/> (sponsor of the workshop) tries to implement more broadly. When I first encountered this idea I was leery, it seemed to rhyme with the likes of Aryan Nationalism. But only on the surface of the surface IMO. Many might criticize the Nordic Model and the Scandinavian source of it for many reasons... half of these remain constitutional monarchies, they are relatively culturally homogenous (across as well as within each nation). Others may note the roots in Lutheranism and the broader brush of Christianity, etc. I myself tripped over the fact that these nations have been fairly rich in natural resources (in particular energy: oil and gas, hydro, and biomass (wood)) and have had the benefit of geographic isolation (no boat-refugees washing up on their shores or traipsing across a few 100 km to their borders on foot)... climate change will only (mostly) improve their lot while other regions of the world may become uninhabitable. I feel they are being very pro-active about understanding how to meet those challenges in a positive way (no Border Walls with big Ts on them).
Nevertheless, in it's purest ideational form, I find it inspiring, and in the particular spirit of many of the individuals I met along the way. Rooting do-gooder instincts in self-development, but not stopping with the self the way so much of our own professional class seems to do.
I did a short farmstay outside the community of Husqvarna (yes, the home to the Swedish powersports/powertools brand) with a host family who had a teen refugee from Afghanistan living with them and were active supporters of a larger community of Afghan refugees living in town. They were recovering an old orchard/farm themselves and the community ran a small-industrial scale biogas facility fed by the local water treatment (sewerage), yard waste, and home/restaurant food-waste sources. The family owned one of dozens CNG vehicles modified to run on that particular mixture of methany products in biogas. The husband is a design engineer for Husqvarna the company and was on a one-man campaign to move their design principles away from the very lucrative powersport/powertool hypercapitalist model the company had grown into in the modern era. (Husqvarna apparently once meant "mill on the river"?) The industrial effort (under the Monarchy) began as a musket-barrel factory in the 1600s to support/respond to another lucrative capital endeavor: constant war in Europe. By the late 60s they were entirely commercial and had entirely transformed away from military and even civilian weapons. Consider the solar-robotic mower they introduced in the 90s.
https://www.husqvarna.com/us/discover/history/I arranged two other home-stays (through airBnB) with less elaborate stories behind them, but both were inspirational.
A 30-something single father (of two young teens) who had rebuilt the farmhouse he inherited from his parents, much with his own hands... holding a conventional day-job but also putting his energy behind the "Fridays for Future" campaign centered around Greta Thunberg. He commuted order 10 miles RT in a used Leaf EV, dropping his kids at school then taking himself the local trainstop to go into Stockholm (20 mins). The Leaf was charged from an array of solar panels on his barn (weekends) and at the trainstop during the week (free from the Swedish govt or part of the park/ride system). The younger teen (boy) chatted with me in good Swedelish about his homework and interests and a recent trip to Egypt with his mother he had declined (in honor of Greta). He had ideas about "greening the Sahara". I think he was 12. The daughter (~14) was just returning from Egypt, jetlagged and tired. Details aside, they had very meritable intentions. I didn't know *any* of this when I booked. Luck of the draw?
The other being a young Pakistani couple with three children who had carved a separate space out of an apartment in Stockholm to run the AirBNB from. The husband arranged his schedule to pick me up and drop me off at the airport (small fee compared to Uber). His wife fed me breakfast while the children peeked out of their rooms at me, giggling. The husband was in tech and spoke fair English, the wife spoke Swedish to me, I nodded a lot. They had been there about a year. They claimed to feel very welcome/supported by Sweden (people and govt.).
All three had very good home internet, even though 2 were moderately rural.I could use this to be critical of (most of) what I see here in the US, but I also found it inspirational. I saw no reason many of us in this country couldn't evolve quickly in that direction. Inertia is what it is, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't try.
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