“Nya gröna vågen”- the new back-to-the-landers : Growing new pathways to the future

Abstract: In the face of climate change, political instability, ecological destruction, extinction of species and other global issues humanity is facing, various studies are showing that a radical societal transformation is needed to avoid an ecological collapse. This thesis explores the contemporary social-environmental phenomenon “nya gröna vågen” (new-back-to-the-landers) in Sweden as a response to an urgent need for societal transformation as well as a resistance to the conventional modern society. The aim of the study is to examine the material practices in which people within “nya gröna vågen” are involved, how their ideas relate to those practices, and what could be learned from the practitioners in terms of future pathways. To meet this aim, a variant of practice theory is used, which acknowledges non-human actors as well as ideas. Material practice is conceptualized as a network of associations of human and non-humans in specific time-spaces. The study uses semi-structured interviews with practitioners within “nya gröna vågen” and observations. The results show that practices within “nya gröna vågen” are connected to the physical surrounding where they are performed. The material practices of, for example, food provisioning, are understood as embodied understandings of the world made up by a network of human and non-human actors. Further, the material practices within “nya gröna vågen” are based on the idea of a co-creation of human and non-human actors shaping the world. The results also indicate how the actors’ material world-making practices responds to the current planetary situation. In response to what they perceive to be an ecological crisis, they have become involved in practices like regenerative agriculture, adapting to the evolving landscape and water projects. The results also present how the material practices bounded to a specific place as a platform for life are giving a sense of stability and belonging. A relational way of life where people are shaping new imaginations on how to navigate and make life in the future through practices in human/non-human networks.