Hurdal Norway

Making sustainable life accessible for the mainstream

by Simen Torp

The story of Hurdal Ecovillage

After more than ten years of planning, the first new Norwegian ecovillage gains momentum; linking up with the business world, politicians and other mainstream players, it is the hub of a growing ‘Sustainable Valley’.

Establishing Norway’s first new ecovillage has been a long, demanding and exciting journey. Our idea was to buy a farm and turn it into an ecovillage. In 1998 we were more than 100 people in Kilden (‘the source’) ecovillage group, trying to find the ‘right’ place. We visited more than 40 potential sites in three years. Finally, the mayor of Hurdal municipality contacted us; they owned a parish farm, called Gjøding gård. I had a strong sense that this was the place. The farm had 16 ha of fertile farmland, a lot of forest, a beautiful beach by the lake and a river nearby. Hurdal municipality is 30 minutes north of the Oslo airport Gardermoen, with 2,700 inhabitants (in 2016).

However, most of Kilden’s members wanted to live closer to the city of Oslo. Only my wife Kristin and I, and another young couple decided to focus on Hurdal. In 2002 we were there: two young families with a vision of an ecovillage. I was 24 years old, with no formal education, no money, no experience in building or creating a community. But I had two important things—a clear ‘inner voice’ and a limitless, powerful vision that was slowly turning into a life mission.

After meeting with the administration of Hurdal municipality we realized that we had to create a master plan for the whole area, to be able to build the ecovillage. The Gaia architect Rolf Jacobsen agreed to help, and the process of turning the farm into an ecovillage began. With a group of ten adults, we moved to Hurdal. We made an agreement with the council to rent the farm, while we were working on the plan.

As the Gjøding farm and church have historical significance, we had to consult archaeologists. It was a shock to hear that the senior archaeologist would never accept us building new houses there. The green pine forest just behind the ancient church was protected. We tried to argue that our plan was to create a green, permaculture fruit forest, but that didn’t help. The project seemed impossible to continue, since nothing could be built. One person had stopped the whole project. Then something magical happened: a freak storm blew down the whole pine forest in the exact area where we wanted to build. 

Active houses in Hurdal ecovillage.

ACTIVE HOUSE NATURAL BUILDING:

• Efficient space use and flexibility
• Good quality and durable
• Easy to use
• Built with environmentally sound materials
• Energy efficient
• Uses renewable energy sources
• Natural hybrid ventilation
• Comfortable with a good indoor climate
• Rich in outdoor areas
• Well designed

This effectively removed the reason for stopping the project, and silenced the archaeologist. We were able to continue our process.

In 2004 we got a loan from the only ethical bank in Norway, Cultura, to buy the farm, a horse and a tractor. After three years of hard work to make the new master plan, the local council gave us approval. In 2003-04 we built eight small temporary houses close to the farmyard as places to live while working on the bigger building project behind the farm. At first, our building philosophy was to self-build natural houses. However, we had no experience, many small children and little money—a very difficult start for our group. Most people building their homes were exhausted before their house was finished, so we had to abandon this concept.

Aktivhus—Active House

We tried to find a building company that could help us build small, simple, natural houses: 100% wood, wood fibre insulation, no plastic in the walls, self-sufficient in energy and electricity, a wood stove, non-toxic materials and natural ventilation. But no companies were interested. After two years of searching, we decided to start our own building company called ‘Aktivhus’. After five years in the market, and to our surprise, the company is a success. Every week people contact us interested in buying or building an Aktivhus.

In 2011, it became clear that our village group was not able to finance and build what we had planned, most people were tired and we were close to bankruptcy. At this point, I made contact with an experienced building entrepreneur, Pål Lund-Roland. I had a strong feeling that he could be the man to help us. It is the first time that I have met a businessperson who understood our holistic lifestyle and valued our project and its philosophy. Together with Pål and his team, we developed our concept. They were responsible for the ‘hardware’, while we, the ecovillage pioneers, took responsibility for the content of community life. Pål created a company to develop the Active House concept further for industrial production. Because of the high start-up costs with the infrastructure and other innovative solutions, there had to be 70 houses and apartments built in the first construction phase, a lot more than in our original plan. The total price of all the ‘hardware’ in the first building site was around 2 million euros.

Master plan of Hurdal Ecovillage.

An Active House.

Until then, the way to join the project was to attend an introductory course, apply to be a member and wait for approval. Now I had the task of selling the houses on an open market. An Aktivhus apartment with a plot costs between 200,000 to 540,000 euros. In August 2013, when we had sold 22 houses, the developers started work and in a few weeks the new village road was ready and the first foundations were laid.

We have now started an ecovillage company called Filago, that is a driving force for making sustainable homes and an eco-friendly lifestyle available for everyone. Filago is founded on the triple bottom line of sustainability, the three P’s: People, Planet and Prosperity.

In the autumn of 2013, neighbours, visitors and the media came to see the construction site. Finally something ‘big’ was happening in little Hurdal. Even conservative locals started to become proud. Other municipalities contacted the Hurdal council saying: ”You guys are lucky to have this fantastic ecovillage project.” In November 2016 more than 160 people were living in Hurdal Ecovillage and 70 houses had been sold.

Interiors of Active Houses.

The café and bakery are already a popular meeting place for both locals and ecovillagers.

We plan to be fully developed by 2020 when the ecovillage will consist of 200 apartments or houses with about 500 people.

Since starting our project we have aimed to build bridges to authorities, politicians, neighbours, entrepreneurs, banks, media and the rest of mainstream society. I don’t believe in creating isolated islands, but rather an attractive ‘lighthouse’ that demonstrates sustainable practices and consciousness, and attracts positive attention from all levels of society. The time has come to demonstrate ‘luxurious simplicity’. People will understand that everything we do in ecovillages is based on common sense. You can experience, touch and understand sustainable solutions. Most people want good food without pesticides, to live in a healthy house, not to destroy our planet, more peace and love in their lives, less stress and a more healthy life, and being able to spend more time with their family and neighbours.

To me, the ecovillage concept is all about creating win-win-win solutions. One of the key factors is to build bridges into the financial world. Many wealthy people are ready to invest in what we are doing. Deep within, we are all ‘farmers’ who want to sow our seeds in fertile soil, take care of the small plants that come up and share and enjoy the harvest together with people we love and care about.

Framtidssmia: Smithy of the Future

Close to the ecovillage, we have bought an old local school, with 2,200m². A Visitors Centre is being developed, with an eco-playground, space for offices, workshops, shops, a wood-fired bakery with Schauberger mills, a village café, and a holistic health centre. We want it to be a ‘sustainable experience centre’, where people and families can come and taste delicious organically produced food from our own fields and be taken on a tour through the ecovillage. The café and bakery are already a popular meeting place for both locals and ecovillagers.

The Smithy of the Future Visitors Centre is being developed, with space for offices, workshops, shops, a wood-fired bakery, a village café and a holistic health centre.

Lokal bakery, and a summer concert.

Established: 2013

Location: Hurdal, 1 hour north of Oslo, Norway.

Area: 60 ha (150 ac) farmland.

Homes: Single houses, detached housing, apartments.

People: 2015: 150 people.

Common areas: Framtidssmia: local community centre, parish house on farm, bakery, health centre, Gjøding Farm.

Hurdal ‘Sustainable Valley’

by Frederica Miller

The ecovillage in Hurdal came about thanks to a visionary municipality. As the ecovillage has been built the municipality has also developed its visions and plans for the future. The concept of Hurdal becoming the first Sustainable Valley was born. Close to the airport and Oslo, with the first new ecovillage under construction, Hurdal can be Norway´s chance to take the lead into a sustainable, carbon neutral future. We don´t need more Silicon Valleys, we need Sustainable Valleys. Runar Bålsrud, the mayor of Hurdal, has endorsed this vision, and in 2014, a unanimous municipal council decided to make Hurdal a Sustainable Valley! This is also an attempt to convince the Norwegian government to set aside 1% of its oil income for sustainable development.

The Sustainable Valley project has started with a municipal plan for a new local centre—a sustainable urban village—planned to house 3,000 new inhabitants, new green businesses and a Sustainable Academy. Frederica Miller from Gaia-Oslo architects is project leader in a team with architects Helen and Hard. The plan is being used to simultaneously encourage and develop local new green businesses. So far, several projects are under way:

• A wood project connecting local forest owners, a sawmill, and the Active House concept, with the goal of producing building elements and carbon neutral houses made entirely out of local wood.
• A sewage project—to utilize the nutrients in sewage for forest or food production.
• A food project—to focus on local organic food production, connecting with restaurants in Oslo.
• A Green Business project with the local business group to look at certification practices for existing and new local businesses. In addition, Hurdal municipality is reviewing its internal services.
• A transport project to establish a local car sharing pool, and improve public transport in Hurdal.

Greenhouse construction.