Lessons from a Collective Paradise
The grey granite is tinged red by the last rays of the sun over the fjord, as tranquil as it only gets on these magical summer evenings by the North Sea. The seals have settled on their rocks just a short distance from the coastline, out into the almost mirror-like water. Some children from the segregated working-class district of BergsjΓΆn in Gothenburg make their way down to the water over the cliffs. It's a scene that shouldn't be able to unfold on an island where summer houses can cost 30 years' worth of wages for a worker. But yet it does. As the future looks increasingly bleak regarding the climate issue, xenophobia and widening gaps of income and fortunes, it may be worth pausing and reflecting on the glimmers of hope that can be discerned. The society we need and want doesn't have to wait for the next election, reform package, or even a revolution; it can be created here and now, by you and me.
One such example is the formation of the economic association that bought a summer camp in BohuslΓ€n, Sweden in 2021. Over the last hundred years, the coastal strip has slowly transformed into a holiday paradise for the affluent, becoming increasingly inaccessible to citizens with low or even normal incomes. The summer camp is located right by the sea, with a large plot of land that naturally invites exploitation. But those who scraped together the millions for the site were not polished property developers or a wealthy family looking for a summer villa. They were people already active in clubs and organisations, old camp participants, and other curious individuals, whose common denominator was a desire for the place to continue being a place for many, for another part of BohuslΓ€n not to be privatised and closed to outsiders. Now the site is owned and operated by a cooperative economic association, a holiday collective that takes care of buildings and nature and rents out the site at low cost. How is it even possible? How can such projects be carried out in a society so permeated by self-interest and profit motives? Are there still people out there that are naive enough to desire something else, and act on it? Several lessons from the project can be drawn, most of which are quite obvious. Be warned, for not everything is a pleasant read for the good-hearted optimist.
You are not alone. There are many people around in society who also want change and are willing to contribute to it. They must be sought out though, for they may not be in your immediate vicinity. Use many different channels and encourage spreading the word. But also be a bit picky, one rotten apple can destroy the whole basket. Many projects fail when the atmosphere and momentum of the group is lost. Do a bit of research, in this case, a convicted paedophile was turned down, but also some other people that group members just felt a bit uncomfortable with. Itβs all about finding the right people.
Call, call, and call. Cast your net as wide as possible. The most efficient way is always to talk to people if you can't meet them personally. But unfortunately, you have to give in to your inner salesman, otherwise it won't work. Convince, flatter, be persistent. Eventually, some will become tangled.
A strong idea and a clear goal. Most of the collectivesβ members dream of a society where everyone has equal access to the countryside, but that canβt be the goal for the organisation. Instead the goal for this project was just to βraise the money to buy a summer campβ. Projects aiming to achieve the impossible need extremely clear goals, achievable within a short timeframe. Momentum can not be built around vague long-term goals.
Be well organised. People need to feel involved; democracy is important. But governance needs initially to be tight. Only a small group is needed to make operational decisions so that the project doesn't lose momentum. Within that group, the work must be distributed so that people don't get burned out.
It needs to be fun. Everything must remain pleasure-based. It just has to be fun; otherwise, there's no point in anything. But also encourage breaks if it stops feeling fun for a while.
These points are not supposed to be formulaic, or even much of a guideline. Theyβre written here so that when things may seem overwhelming we can remember that they can be wonderfully simple. This project required no new skills to be learnt nor the abandonment of our day-to-day normality and most of the points outlined are probably techniques that we apply to our lives daily. That is what is crucial. When we fret about the challenges that we face to change our world we forget about who we are changing the world for, itβs not the βotherβ, itβs you and I.
There are powerful lessons to be learned from the project described above. The goal of buying a summer camp takes society one step further to the goal of equal access to the countryside. You and I can create a paradise here and now, if we only want to.
