Traditional craftsmanship and sustainable construction in the Nordic Green Belt

The project builds on “Train and Traditional Handicraft — Borderless Building Management” which ended in spring 2018. Now the project owners focus on connecting more entrepreneurs to networks in both Norway/Sverig and enable more collaborations across the border in all traditional craft techniques. The project will also work to train apprentices/students/young people in traditional crafts and give them contacts to the networks the project has in the Nordic Green Belt. By connecting folk high schools on both sides of the border, the project wants to contribute to increased interest and recruitment to traditional crafts. The project continues to work for improved opportunities to get hold of locally produced materials of good quality.

Projektet bygger vidare på ”Trä och traditionshantverk – gränslös byggnadsvård” som avslutades våren 2018. Nu fokuserar projektägarna på att koppla fler företagare till nätverk i både Norge/Sverig och möjliggöra för fler samarbeten över gränsen i alla traditionella hantverkstekniker. Projektet ska också arbeta för att utbilda lärlingar/studenter/ ungdomar i traditionella hantverk och ge dem kontakter till de nätverk projektet har i Nordens Gröna Bälte. Genom att koppla samman folkhögskolor på båda sidor av gränsen vill projektet medverka till ökat intresse och rekrytering till traditionshantverk. Projektet arbetar vidare för förbättrade möjligheter att få tag på närproducerat material av god kvalitet.

In september 2018 we started the project “Tradtitional crafts and sustainable building in the Northern Green Belt”. The work ended 31th of August 2022. Jamtli was project owner in Sweden and SINTEF project owner in Norway. Our total budget was 1 514 604 EUR, EU-funding 487 302 EUR, and 262 500 EUR IR-funding. We have worked to increase employment for small- and mediumsized enterprises in traditional crafts, that work in both traditional and modern ways and are focusing on sustainability. How it all began: In several years we have been working to preserve traditional crafts in different ways. Meanwhile we have identified four problems. 1. Where do I find craftsmen with competences in historical building? How do house owners easily get the contacts to craftsmen that can restore houses in a historical way, as in building preservation? 2. Young blood! It takes many years to become a skilled craftsman. To preserve the old techniques we need more young people within the field, but how do we reach them? 3. Help! How do I take care of my old house and where do I learn craft techniques? We need more educations for house owners to become skilled in crafts and to increase the client competences. 4. Where does craftsmen and house owners find locally produced materials in high quality? We need contacts with forest owners that sell special qualities of timber, an alternative to the ordinary lumberyard. How we have worked to solve the problems: Where do I find craftsmen with competences in historical building? We have created a network for small companies within building preservation, Byggnadsvård Mitt. The members are situated in the Swedish part of the Nordic Green Belt: the region of Västernorrland and the region of Jämtland. In the network you can easily find craftsmen with competences in traditional building techniques, and the project has developed a new great homepages for the network www.byggnadsvardmitt.se Young blood! Many of the project partners have worked with internships, students and trainees to increase interest and knowledge in traditional craft techniques. Together with Bäckedals folkhögskola in Sveg and Sunds Folkhögskole in Innerøya we have developed new education programmes in building preservation, focusing on sustainability. Help! How do I take care of my old house and where do I learn craft techniques? Our work have consisted of several different efforts to reach house owners for increasing their knowledge in traditional crafts and sustainable building. Also to show than the methods and materials are useful even in modern building. This we have worked with in different arrangements, camps in traditional crafts, educations, workshops and online speeches for an example. Where does craftsmen and house owners find locally produced materials in high quality? The corona pandemic has made this work difficult. During the project period, we have not arrived at final solutions for the continuation of the application, but the work continues after the end of the project in collaboration with partnerships established during the project period.