Vuollerim is a village in northern Sweden that has successfully used crowdsourcing and social capital to revitalize its economy. Through village-owned companies and grassroots initiatives, they have created new jobs, attracted tourists, and preserved their landscape and culture. Some challenges have included centralization, funding, and outdated mindsets, but keys to their success have been trust, common goals, inclusion, and collaboration over hierarchies. They have become a model for sustainable rural development through community participation.

1. Vuollerim by the Arctic Circle
- a practical example of crowdsourcing and social village capital
Eva-Lena Skalstad and Audun Otterbech
Lapland Vuollerim Welcomes You
Twitter:@laplandvlm
FB: Lapland Vuollerim
info@laplandvuollerim.se
www.laplandvuollerim.se

2. Some numbers
City of Brussels and
Brussels Capital Region
5500 - 7025
persons/km2
Jokkmokk Municipality
0,25 persons/km2

3. Equal Teamwork can change the world!

4. 800 Inhabitants
60 Companies
40 NGOs
8 Village owned
companies
Examples
● Vuollerims Economic Association
● VIVA - Visioner In Vuollerim Area
● Hotel Vuollerim Gästgiveriet
● Lapland Vuollerim Welcomes You
● Artisan Foodhouse
● The Village Team
● Arctic Circle Products
● Vuollerim’s Charter School
● New Thinking - a Youth Project
● Dare to be yourself - a Musical
● The World’s Northernmost Go-Kart Track
● Guinness World Record in Ice Lanterns
Crowdsourcing Vuollerim

5. Some examples on broad and open
community-based initiatives

6. Common Good Development
The crowd based businesses are reinvesting
their profits into further growth of the companies
and into the local economy

7. Lapland Vuollerim Welcomes You
● From a grassroot initiative
to a best practice in
sustainable eco-tourism
throughout the world
● From 0-50 activities possible
to book

8. Arctic Circle Products
A new economic association to save
the last full time farm in the area.
● To save the nearly extinct
Swedish Mountain Cattle
● To save open landscape
● To develop local artisan food
products

9. The Artisan Food House
Delikatesser från Vuollerim

10. To Think New - a Youth Project
http://www.nytank.se/english/

11. The Village Team
Teamwork as a business model
for the development of new local
passion driven business ideas.
● Co-working spaces
● Local music production
● Vehicle storage
● Conference hall
● Mentoring

12. The Village of Thousands Ice Lanterns
Guinness World Record

13. Our experiences

14. Challenges
● Centralizing
● Economical resources
● Old mindsets
● Dealing with anonymous slander and “sabotage” from a few
● Understanding the new economy possibilities,
going from “analog to digital”

15. Keys
● Trust
● Actions for common good
● Everyone is important
● We are all change agents
● Equality - no hierarchies
● Judgements will mess it up

16. Crowdsourcing – från Vuollerim till världen och tillbaka
“When you put your ego aside and work for a common purpose,
then it is possible to achieve just about anything.“
Epi Ludvik Nekaj, CSW
CSW Arctic Circle 2015

18. Welcome
to
CSW
Arctic
Circle
March 15-17
2017