Tuggelite

Tuggelite, the first completed ecovillage in Sweden, is a source of inspiration for many ecovillage associations in Sweden. The seed for Tuggelite was planted, long before the first stone was turned, by a group of academics from Gothenburg who, in 1974, were working on the Välsviken ecological housing project. The Välsviken group splintered in 1979 when the developer backed out, but a core of diehard members persisted. Three families who joined the Välsviken project in 1977 still live in Tuggelite today. Most of the others who later joined the Tuggelite project, were either friends, or acquaintances of this core. Over the fourteen years of its existence turnover in Tuggelite has been minimal. Only three families have moved away. Tuggelite is the only area I surveyed where the majority of residents revealed that their closest friends live in the ecovillage. However, it isn’t an exclusive club. The newest residents, who moved in just three years ago, said they felt immediately welcome. Their children made new friends right away. Neighbors stopped by to help orient the family. It wasn’t long, they said, before they felt like one of the “gang.”

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