In the winter of 2023 we made radical decision: To re-open our internship- and volunteer program. In the fall of 2023 we closed it down for good. Read here why, and also how we now offer a bit of the magic that was our staff camp for those few glorious months last summer.

Photos by Sine Fuglsang

When we re-opened our intern- and volunteer program it was not without anxiety, but also high hopes. We had in the past had lots and lots of skilled people from all over the globe joining us. But for us as a family and a business the many new faces, the constant turnaround of staff and the many hours spent on training did not work well. So the programs had been closed for several years.

The beginning

In 2023 we felt that we were at a good place. We had healed a lot and learned to set boundaries. We knew what we expected and had the structure in place to make the most out of the time here, both for the interns and for us. Besides, having a community of likeminded souls around us had always been something we wanted to explore. We have had the plans for the village of our wildest dreams in our drawers for several years (if you know us you probably also know that when we say our dreams are wild, we mean it). We know that when people gather their energy for a common goal, that energy expands. 2 + 2 is not just 4, it’s much more than that. This has been a fix point for us ever since Stedsans was started with a crowdfunding campaign back in 2017 - when likeminded souls chip in to make dreams come true, magic happens and the impossible becomes possible.

So we went out and bought 10 caravans that we set up in the part of the forest.

We had a very beautiful spring and summer of 2023, and were joined by more than 20 people exploring a different way to work and live. They were skilled and hard working. We had ceremonies, yoga, breath work and concerts in the glass house, the sauna was fired up every day, we had spontaneous jam sessions outside the shop, evening bonfires and wonderful communal meals every day. And we had time to do the seed saving, the tinctures, the little fun woodwork projects, all the ‘nice-to-do’s’ all of sudden became possible. We got a little glimpse into what life in the village of the future could be. It was not unproblematic, but it felt good, overall, and we came a long way.

The end

However, we are no village. Stedsans is a business that needs to deliver at a very high standard when we have guests. We are a family who is still, after 7 years of forest life, crammed together in a little house as our dream home has not been possible to create yet. A large team also means you have to spend a lot of time on planning, which takes time away from doing the ‘fun stuff’ like cooking and hands-on creating. Again, the many new faces and the constant training was getting tiring for our little pack who originally went into the woods to pursue a simpler life with less people around. With the arrival of fall and as the days grew shorter, it was more and more apparent to us, that the dream of ‘the village’ that lift each member up was still premature. We didn’t feel uplifted anymore.

To have a place where people can truly thrive and contribute to something lasting, they need to be able to set roots. They need a home of their own, and money to spend on the things they find give their life value. These were very valuable lessons we learned this season, lessons that have made us even more confident that we will one day be able to create the village our hearts long for.

The many beautiful souls who joined us last summer were a perfect forerunner for this. It made us feel, even just for days or weeks at the time, the life we think many long for. A life where everyone works together for the greater good, an easy life where social life is not necessarily something you have to plan, where the food is fresh and homegrown in the most caring way possible, where the good, healthy and sustainable choice is the only choice, where resources are taken care of in the right ways, where the kids have many adults to go to and peers to play with. We came a lot closer to all those things this year. The big dream of another way of living on Earth was so close we could actually in moments touch, smell and feel it.

But it was just that, still a dream. The village will come in due time, when a bit more pieces have fallen into place. It cannot be forced.

Luckily, we already have a little village consisting of our steady paid team, of whom several actually are very close neighbors. In 2024 they will be the people who greet those who visit Stedsans, and help us carry our dream into the future.

The new beginning

Our caravan camp, however, will re-open in 2024. In a new form, but still carrying the beautiful spirit of the summer of 2023.

We are turning some of the caravans into accommodation for our guests, that can be booked for stays during the weekends. It’s a great opportunity especially for families or those traveling alone. The caravans are old thrifted caravans, not in any way design statements. (Although caravans always was a symbol for a more free and flexible life). Unlike the cabins they have heat and electricity, and they have bonfires to gather around.

A few last words

With these words, we also want to send our deepest gratitude out to those people who joined us and helped us grow both personally and as a project this summer. People who came for shorter or longer periods of time, who put their energy here because they heard our call for help and answered it. We know that many, probably most, had an experience that changed them, just like it did us.

They know who they are, and below you can see some of them too.

The photos below are by photographer Alexandra Marinescu who spent a small week with us documenting life at Stedsans behind the scenes. See more of her work here.