It’s been 7 months since I arrived in Sweden as a volunteer. I remember feeling both excitement and expectation for the adventure ahead, for at that moment I was filled with dreams and hopes of what I would encounter there. The place I was heading to was called Mundekulla, which literally translates to ‘the world on a hill’. Located in the vast region of Småland, the project is an eco center that holds various retreats and festivals related to nature and well-being. This was the meeting point for all of us – 8 volunteers from all over Europe – and even though we carried different backgrounds and stories, we all shared the same longing: to learn how to live more connected to nature, the people around us and essentially, ourselves.

As a community, we started our days gathering in a circle and checking in with each others. Every day would be a changing landscape of emotions, thoughts and feelings, and through this practice we learnt how to share from an authentic place while caring for the whole.

A fundamental pillar of the project was organic gardening and permaculture. In that field, we were able to experience the garden through all the seasons, from the very moment we arrived and built the greenhouse, to the moment we collected the last pumpkins and sunflowers to dry their seeds.

Another important area of the project was sustainable cooking and circular gastronomy. In this domain, we helped in the kitchen to cook for the retreats and festivals (sometimes serving food for 150 people during the high season!), and we learned a lot about vegetarian cooking, as well as how to make  sourdough bread, kimchi and kanelbullar.

Every week we would also visit the Permaculture principles  and we would use them as a lens to look at the project through a more holistic and empowering view.

We also participated in several workshops related to entrepreneurship, creativity and personal development, and often they would make us reflect on our personal learning process, giving us insight about our wishes and challenges.

Once per week we would also gather in the sauna and organise ectastic dances, finding a way to relax our bodies after the hard work and expressing our creativity through movement.

As part of our program, we also went on excursions to visit similar projects in the area, and that gave us a wider perspective of the supportive role of the local community.

During the high season, we could also join and participate in some of the festivals, like the Embodiment Festival, and we got to meet many of the participants that came from all over the world to this unique place.

Finally, we also participated in the volunteer trainings that took place in Stockholm, and there we had the chance to meet other volunteers from other projects and share views and experiences about living and working in Sweden as a volunteer.

Now that the project has ended, I realise I’m carrying with me many pearls of knowledge, learnings, inspiration and beautiful moments of celebration. In that sense, I believe the journey is not yet finished, quite the opposite: it will continue to transform us, bringing us closer to our values, what is meaningful for us and guiding us towards our visions.

For all of this I am deeply grateful, to the place and to the amazing team of humans behind it who put their love and passion into it and share it with the world!

Tack för allt!

Clara

The first day when we arrived and walked together to the top of the Eco Tower. It was cold!

After a day of work in the garden, fika time! Fika is a sacred tradition in Sweden, it is a moment to enjoy a coffee, a sweet pastry and meet-up.

A day in the garden building compost boxes with recycled wooden palettes.

Midsommar, celebration of the summer solstice. That day we made our own flower crowns!

Holding a salad from our garden during the high season 🙂

One of our last evenings together, when we gathered to celebrate the German Christmas tradition. It was cozy!