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<p>I just got notice from a colleague in Sweden who I met on the
visit Merle coordinated in 2019:</p>
<p><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://idg-2022.confetti.events/?fbclid=IwAR2Ak5abD4trDWOrZwXZ3t4CPFiwwZVCZFKIajb3QyB73w2yLh6jkX3Rhp8">https://idg-2022.confetti.events/?fbclid=IwAR2Ak5abD4trDWOrZwXZ3t4CPFiwwZVCZFKIajb3QyB73w2yLh6jkX3Rhp8</a></p>
<p>this is hosted by the Inner Development Goals group:
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.innerdevelopmentgoals.org/">https://www.innerdevelopmentgoals.org/</a></p>
<p>Most of these efforts are rooted in a larger ideal known as <a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nordic_model">The Nordic
Model</a> which the <font color="#2b3dff"><a
moz-do-not-send="true" href="http://ekskaret.se/"><font
size="2"><span style="font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: 0.18px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline !important; float: none;">Ekskäret</span></font></a></font><a
moz-do-not-send="true" href="http://ekskaret.se/"><font
color="#2b3dff"> </font>foundation</a> (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).<br>
</p>
<p>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. </p>
<p>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. <br>
</p>
<p><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.husqvarna.com/us/discover/history/">https://www.husqvarna.com/us/discover/history/</a></p>
<p>I arranged two other home-stays (through airBnB) with less
elaborate stories behind them, but both were inspirational. <br>
</p>
<p>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?<br>
</p>
<p>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.). <br>
</p>
<p>All three had very good home internet, even though 2 were
moderately rural. <br>
</p>
<p>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.<br>
</p>
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