Duved is a village in the North of Sweden where a unique process of using the village's DNA of sharing and cooperation has been tested to develop innovation in all segments of societal development, based on a cooperation between the citizens, the public sector and private investment. It develops an updated democratic model where the citizens are part of creating the future vision, with the food systems is used as a pilot within the pilot to achieve local sharing based on digital green.
The process of developing Duved, a small village in the North-West of Sweden, is based on the insight that today it is no longer cities that has the potential of being the innovation engine for societal development, as in the industrial era. On the contrary, today it is the village – with its tradition of sharing and cooperation – that has the possibility to generate solutions to address the challenges that the world - on both local and global scale - scale asking for. In the transformation from industrial systems to circular systems the village of Duved has turned out to be a perfect tool to achieve innovation on many parallel levels, from an updated democracy where the citizens are included in also the initial process to develop the village; new business models where the public side the citizens and private investment work tighter, new accessible housing; where the food systems is used to generate a comprehensive and engaging pilot within the pilot - using the local possibilities for self-sufficiency as a guiding force; where generating a knowledge system beyond "the house", i.e. the urban idea of a built center, to show that in a rural area also a knowledge system from cradle to academy can actually take place in a rural village and thus redesign the very idea of knowledge production; where citizens local wishes and ideas are given to high-end creatives to generate solutions that have not only an aesthetic quality but also generate a content that provide answers to global issues for the point of view of the local - i.e. where macro needs are generated from the micro-level.
Please highlight how the project can be exemplary in this context
As the world urgently need to move from industrial, centrally driven models, the village is the needed tool to generate a shift – where the local and the handicraft can be turned into the accessible and affordable through digital tools and efficiency. In order to do so – which is one of the key issues to handle a transformation to a more sustainable way of life – it is necessary to work with the entire social structure and not singular solutions. That is what has been done in Duved. In this way the necessary goal can be set – to develop a more self-sufficient society (which the pandemic as well as the war in Ukraine has learnt us) – and then gradually developed by matching and curating a process where different entities collaborate to generate a larger system change. In urban areas the focus has been on start-ups, which is good, but in Duved a necessary broader image has been painted. The food system in Duved is designed to generate a long term and scalable change, where the different agents of the system are brought together to achieve a sustainable system. Local farmers, like Forsa Fjälljordbruk, provide local players with the best and most sustainable meat there is. A restaurant, Trägårn, has been established that is much more than a restaurant. It is the starting point of the sustainable food system, serving a new "people's food" totally based on local produce - which, in the North, means to handle preservation for all seasons. A local garden was started in the summer of 2020, which provides with enough greenery. A greenhouse has been commissioned to Japanese architect Shigeru Ban, based on the wishes of the citizens. Step by step a sustainable system is being put in motion, already in use, and will continue to be developed in the coming years.
Please highlight how the project can be exemplary in this context
The process of developing Duved is based on generating a new relevance for the aesthetic and for design. This is done in many ways. One level is the democratic one. The process has started through what is called "village meetings", where around 20-30% of the citizens has been participating in meetings where they have been able to come with ideas of how the village should be developed, i.e. participating in creating a vision for the future of the village. These ideas have thereafter been given to high-end creatives in order to achieve results that no-one could have foreseen. So, at the same time as starting local small farms, generating an interest from the locals, their wish of green-hose was given to Shigeru Ban, the Japanese architect who is also an advisor for the New European Bauhaus. His design generated, as design, a new content, where he also came with an idea for construction that has been a generating force since it allows the locals to be part of the building process. To show that Duved is keen to handle issues of gentrification in order to develop a long-term accessible village, a house with 39 small rental apartments was built in the most central spot in the village. Built entirely in wood it is now a landmark for sustainable architecture as well as social development. In order to always be spearheading the future Duved has been based on academic collaboration. The architectural school of Umeå had a summer course in 2021 where 14 students suggested solutions for future development of communal food system, some of which as now implemented.
Please highlight how the project can be exemplary in this context
The process of developing Duved has been unusual from the very start (in the winter of 2018). The starting point was to invite locals as well as politicians, investors, senior citizens, the local school and many more - to a small moveable hut (25 m2). Around 100 people came to deliver there ideas on the future of Duved, without getting an idea served to them. Therefore the process has been driven with total inclusion for the very start. From there a series of "village meetings" was arranged where 70-100 people came on each occasion. On most of these there were on locals that worked in groups to deliver ideas of how they saw what was need both regarding food, infrastructure/mobility, education, housing and culture/living environment. On one occasion the same process was done with the public and political side. The private side has also been part of the process. All in order to generate a feeling of understanding between different segments and creating an idea of participation instead of - as usual - just having opinions on what others have already decided. With this knowledge collected things were put in motion and a common corporation (inc) was created. This has already been a matter for researchers to look at. The company is an ordinary company, started by the public real estate company. But to generate finance there are also strong private partners. But the "golden share" is given to the village association, giving the final vote in the board of directors. Thus has a new system for inclusion and long-term collaboration been started.
Please highlight how this approach can be exemplary
As said, the process in Duved is based on developing all segments and all "visions" at the same time go generate cross-effects between different segments. This can be done because it is rather small village, with around 1.000 inhabitants. From the starting point of the "village meetings" a strong narrative on why this process is necessary was formulated. A story that contained all the above - why the local initiative in the village could have an impact also on cities and larger cities at the same time as being comprehensive on a local level for and with the locals. It is also important to stress that all partners involved have been carefully selected so that each goal is grounded in the hearts of everyone involved. This has been possible to do since it was started by the public real estate company with the idea of inclusion on a very large scale - but also because it was directly, from the very start, addressed on a regional and national level. Several universities has been involved in the process and Duved has also been lectured on at top universities such as Harvard GSD and the ETHZ in Zürich. All this because the idea of sustainability has been - in every single step - been matched by the idea of inclusion as well as that of a new design process with aesthetic vision. And the fact that the level of creative competence – Douglas McMaster of Silo on London has been advising on food, Farshid Moussavi of Harvard GSD on architecture, Adam Davies of Wales on regenerative design, has been important also in generating engagement and a wish from many to be part of the "Duved story".
In order to answer this question it is necessary to relate to the book The Lonely Century by Noreena Hertz. The development both through technology but also by a neo-liberal tendency need new methods, new strategies if we are to come to terms with gentrification spirals and a segregated society. Not to speak about problems of sustainability. Duved is all about regaining a sense of belonging, of generated gradual change for systems on each level - food, leisure, education, service, culture, trade - that are based on belonging and sharing. And with the aim to find business models that make way for accessibility and affordability. And it is actually done! In Duved the very core of the process has been to involve the citizens from the beginning and giving the village association a strong position in the process - in part challenge the current system with one where the citizens are given more direct power. This has been possible since both the local, the regional and the national political structures have been involved from the very beginning. The locals are involved. They have the golden share in the board of directors. Their ideas are being realised and built. The food system has come a long way. People travel to Duved to experience and learn, since it is graspable and understandable. With future additions it will be even more so. It is a challenge. We can not say it isn't. It is a challenge to current systems and it is a challenge to change mindsets. But with Duved large parts of the Swedish society have joined forces to be part of the process. We are proud of this.
Please also explain the benefits that derived from their involvement.
The idea of Duved is based on the need for a more general system change, to go from the industrial system to something new. This new system is rather to be described as system, i.e. plural, and it has digitalisation as a component, but it is as much based on rediscovering lost knowledge of taking care of the nature and the animal and recycling what we have on the planet. The starting point has been to develop it from the point of view of the public system, from the municipal real estate company. And then to involve the locals, the citizens from he very start. It has been a very stimulating process - even though not always smooth - where a new kind of dialogue has been achieved. It is important to stress that the involvement of the citizens and the idea of generating a strong narrative has also had an effect of the private partners, as well as on politics. And here time is an important factor. The process has been very efficient in the four years it has been going on, achieving results. But it will continue. And must continue. It is important to stress that there has, from the start, also been an emphasis to engage capital and investments as well as business knowledge in order to make things real. For instance the restaurant Trägårn were given three months payment to develop a model for a local and sustainable restaurant.
The global challenges are not one but many. Duved has followed the Agenda 2030. On just about every single point. But it is done though the local soil. And it is done with the village as the "tool". The village means possibilities to find real solutions that can be used on a global scale. They can never be a product on paper, or manifested through a traditional industry. No, they need to be searched for in an inclusive process, such as in Duved. They need a societal context to be addressed, not just new solutions from a new company. Therefore, more than anything, Duved provides a new model for societal innovation, for driving a process of how to generate the answers needed for a sustainable and inclusive future.
The project of Duved is turned most usual ways of development upside down. Both in terms of engagement and inclusion and through legal formats of corporations and democracy models. Also the involvement of both politics and finance have been part of the process from the very beginning. This means that in all cases - food systems, design processes, democracy processes, investment - system change has been tested for real. The success of the project come from having a clear goal from the beginning, and from involving all parties from the very beginning - as well as involving leading creatives from the very beginning, but also challenging them to work in teams with expertise and to develop prototypes for future development for other places. This means very unusual ways of developing results - to demand innovation on all levels. But always, always, to bring that down to something that is not scary but welcomed by the citizens. The presence for the project team on a local, regional and national leven at all times has been necessary.
Please provide clear documentation, communication of methodology and principles in this context.
A large part of the Duved project is to constantly develop and communicate the process and each result. This means toward very many parties. It also means to develop and initiate new models of local involvement from people that can tell the story. Duved has been develop in close dialogue with the Swedish Association of Architects, of SVID (Industrial design organisation) as well as several university structures in Sweden and abroad. A Duved-podd has also been a tool for communicating both a local and a national level. A clear structure for long term communication has been set, with a Innovation Summit planned for September 2022 and a Duved exhibition for 2025-26. Again, with the strong initial narrative - based on developing a new Swedish model for the post-industrial society, it has been attractive for the media. In the biggest Swedish daily there has been a three page + front page cover and the same has been in Helsingin Sanomat, the largest Nordic newspaper.
@Duved Framtid AB, 2022
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