Port of Call LAST UPDATE July 14, 2009
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June 5, 2009

Stockholm, Sweden – A Sustainable Present, a Sustainable Future – Learning From Sweden’s Environmental Activists and Education System
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The Swedish government has implemented a variety of deterrents and taxes against the use of cars in the urban environment to help reduce traffic congestion and pollution. Many Swedes enjoy cycling as a healthy alternative, particularly during the summer months.
Situated on the same latitude as Alaska and having to face extremely long and cold winters, the Scandinavian nations were among the most affected by the first oil shock in 1973 due to their reliance on fossil fuels for heating. Amongst them, Sweden was no exception. Since then, the national government of Sweden has been developing and implementing a variety of ecologically sustainable policies in order to lessen their reliance on fossil fuels whilst simultaneously supporting their tight cultural bonds with nature. Approximately 80% of Sweden consists of lakes or natural forests, and the Swedish law, Allemansrätt, allows Swedes to roam free within their country regardless of property laws. Sweden is arguably one of the greenest societies in the world due to their environmental awareness and willingness to implement ideas to try and affect change, highlighted by an announcement by the Swedish government recently that they plan to be completely carbon free by the year 2050.

On its first ever visit to Sweden, Peace Boat wanted to experience first hand the implementation of these ecological principles in everyday life and also meet some of the people active in campaigning for further developments to make Sweden an even more ecologically sustainable nation. Peace Boat Participants had this opportunity through visits to the Centre for Environment and Development Studies (CEMUS) at Uppsala University, an organic farm, and an eco-village.
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CEMUS co-ordinators Isak Stoddard and Malin Ostman receive gifts from a Peace Boat participant during their information seminar about CEMUS’ work and why they are involved with the centre. ‘Knowing about the issues give you a sense of strength. It’s doing something I feel is right, even if I won’t work in the long term’ said Malin.
B Uppsala University, located approximately two hours from Stockholm, was founded in 1477 and is the oldest university in northern Europe. CEMUS is a unique student-run initiative based in and supported by Uppsala University that was started in the 1990s due to students’ concerns that the important issues of contemporary society, such as humanity’s survival in the world, were not being addressed by their tertiary education. By consulting with senior academics and members of civil society, these students decided to create the education that they wanted and succeeded in creating a course entitled Man and Nature.

Since then, CEMUS has grown to offer a number of courses to Uppsala University students, always maintaining the unique concept that embodies CEMUS – its being student-run, organized and co-ordinated - meaning that the interests of the students, of the present generation, are always being represented with a focus on really discussing the important issues of today. CEMUS’ courses are interdisciplinary, meaning they are available to all students regardless of the faculty they belong to, allowing a wide range of students to apply the concept of sustainability to their own discipline and increasing the capacity for change towards environmental awareness and sustainable development.
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Henrik Johansson explaining to participants how his farm came to form a part of the organically minded Dairy co-operative 7 Farmers. Farming has been in Mr Johansson’s family for generations and he plans to build a sustainable legacy for his family to come.
A very real and practical example of the type of sustainable practices and ideas that the participants heard about at CEMUS, Östanå (East of the River) and then had the chance to visit is an organic dairy farm situated approximately 30 minutes from Uppsala. The farm’s owner, Henrik Johansson, lives on the 3km2 property with his family. The farm is part of a small collective of local farmers who combine their resources to produce local dairy under the moniker of 7 Farmers. All of the farmers involved in the project employ organic farming techniques and think in terms of sustainable production.

Mr Johansson gave participants a tour of his property explaining the different techniques that he uses and how he created the 7 Farmers co-operative. Some of the techniques employed by Mr Johansson to keep his environmental impact to a minimum include the growing of plants that are rich in Nitrogen, so that his cows manure will be rich enough to avoid using harmful fertilisers. Approximately half of Östanå is still forested land, left that way, said Mr Johansson ‘so as not to disturb the natural beauty of the land and to preserve the natural habitat of the wildlife.’
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Hågaby local resident Per Berg explains the solar energy panels mounted on the roof of the community centre located behind him that aid in the towns central heating.
After visiting the organic farm, participants travelled to Hågaby, a village located within close proximity of Uppsala and an ‘advanced model area for sustainable community development.’ It was built in its present state between 1995-2000 and at present includes approximately 114 families, 350 people and 10 businesses. The design and existence of Hågaby embody the concept of sustainability, exhibiting no less than 50 different aspects of sustainable living, with a strong focus on local food autonomy, transportation and housing. The village co-ordinators have thought much about the issue of sustainability and have dedicated their attention on different areas of foci into sections including habitat agenda, social strength, ecotechnology and ecohousing. Habitat agenda is perhaps the broadest area of focus, as besides advocating a lifestyle that has a minimal impact on the local environment, it also focuses on the importance of aesthetic values of sustainability such as the appeasement of the senses, the opportunity to express oneself creatively through music or art, and the retention of cultural values, all contributing to create a better quality of life. Hågaby’s village-based businesses are also very active in the community life and help to facilitate, cultural festivals and music nights throughout the year.
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As a town that can trace its origins back archaeologically to the Bronze Age, Hågaby is perhaps the earliest known settlement of Sweden. This hill is known to local residents as ‘the birthplace of Sweden’ and was historically located alongside the ancient marketplace.
‘The sky is the limit, anything is possible’, explained one of the co-founders of Hågaby, Per Berg. Participants were given an explanation of the villages’ history and developments and shown various aspects of its ecologically friendly style by Mr Berg. After the visit, Peace Boat participant Yamashita Tomoe reflected on the aspects of Sweden’s sustainable lifestyle that she had seen. ‘I don’t think I can do anything big [to affect change] but I realised there were small things I can do on my own [to make a difference] by acting locally.’ Tomoyama Hiroshi realised ‘that there are things that we can do to help affect change in the world [but] that we need to be active about it and not passive.’