When stories unite – Bokenäs Bok och Berättelse project

Launch event – Bokenäs Book Fair

When: XXth February 2027, 18.00

Where : Bokenäs Bygdegård, Humlehed 204, 451 97 Uddevalla, Sweden.

Theme: Fairy tales, fantasy and poetry.

More details, activities and registration below.

Stories are one of the oldest human ways to bond. This is how we make sense of the world and how a society can hold together.

What are the stories that unite us today? How can stories and books create more connections between people on the country side?

In collaboration with local associations and cultural organisations, Hästekasen Farm uses its experience with group and community buidling, cultural event organisation and role playing to create the Bokenäs Bok och Berätelse project.

A yearly thematic book fair with games and activities, an original Bibliobox to share books and ideas with strangers, and a book club with an online community and physical meetings at Hästekasen library.

Get on board a literary adventure, all the details are below !

Launch event – Bokenäs Book Fair

When: 19th February 2027, 18.00

Where : Bokenäs Bygdegård, Humlehed 204, 451 97 Uddevalla, Sweden.

Theme: Fairy tales, fantasy and poetry.

Wander through a cozy room decorated with old tales illustrations and small lights.

Book exhibitions, book loans, story telling game, translation experiment, when poetry becomes a ballad, a children’s corner, a poetry competition, a lotery, and many more surprises are to be expected at this special event.

Pictures (and featured image) by John Bauer

The Bibliobox

Book boxes have emerged in many countries. Inspired by our international community and our travels abroad where we have encountered a lot of those, Hästekasen wants to create its own – the Bibliobox.

What is it ? A protected box publicly accessible where people can bring and take books for free. A place to share books and ideas with strangers, whether they are your neighbours or visitors.

France, for example, is full of them.

A few meters inside the forest, at the junction of Orreviksvägen and Hästekasvägen, you will go through a labyrinthic path leading you towards the Bibliobox, where a tiny light is always lit.

Whether you want to share a meaningful book and leave a comment inside or get rid of these old novels that you will never read again – there is always someone who will be happy to stumble upon your donation. And who knows, maybe you will find a life changing reading experience, just by stoping on the side of the road.

Hästekasen library will donate the first books of the Bibliobox, and then it is up to its users to shape its content. All languages are welcome.

The Hästekasen Book Clubs – physical and digital

The Book Club is a space dedicated to exchange and connect through books, literature and stories.

Physical Book Club: four meetings per year at Hästekasen library, always on Sundays.

Digital Book Club: A digital meeting every months. A newsletter. A Facebook group.

What will happen concretely during our Book Club meetings ?

Get inspired: Bring a recent read or a book you like, present it to the group in a few minutes and maybe read your favorite excerpt.
Meet people: Get to know people through their readings. Exchange your books and bring them back later.
Eat: A home made fika with some products from our permaculture farm.

Schedule

	Date (always a Sunday)	Place
Meeting #1 – Physical	11th April, 15.00	Hästekasen library
Meeting #2 – Digital	20th June, 14.00	Online
Meeting #3 – Digital	19th September, 14.00	Online
Meeting #4 – Physical	21st November, 15.00	Hästeaksen library

Join the Book Club

If you want to part of the Book Club and receive our Newsletter and get reminded of our meetings, register your interest here.

Join the Book Club

Join our Facebook group

This project is made possible thanks to the financial support of Leader Bohuslän.

August 18, 2026September 1, 2026

The salvage of the Allegro 27 from Stockholm

Prelude

There was a man in Stockholm who had a beautiful sailing boat.

He had equipped it well: six different sails, for all kinds of weather. A GPS. An autopilot. A wind rudder. A depth sounder. Music. A VHF. Spare parts for the engine. Food in the kitchen. A carpet on the floor.

Everything was there.

But one day, after a heavy rain, the boat filled with water.

Several years passed.
Mold appeared.
The engine would not start.
The man had to focus on his health.

Now… he just wants to give his boat away.

The boat was found on Blocket – the Swedish second-hand online platform – by the most unlikely creature imaginable: a Hästekasen member.

For free.

The promise

A first trip to Stockholm, to meet the boat, to meet the man. He liked the fact that Hästekasen counted good sailors among its members.

The boat had some damage, but the main problems could be fixed.

The trip ended with a promise: more members would come back and the boat would be salvaged.

A few weeks later, another Hästekasian crossed Sweden on board the high-speed VR train between Gothenburg and Stockholm.

The boat had to be put into the water.
The mast installed.
The sails set up.
Some pipes replaced.
New oil. New diesel.

The boat was ready for its new life. A new Hästekasen adventure had started.

The boat

An Allegro.

27 ft (8.2 metres) long.
Built in Sweden during the 1970s – an old-school Scandinavian cruising design.
Almost three tonnes of fibreglass, ballast and machinery.
A long keel for stability and a protected rudder for offshore sailing.
An inboard Volvo Penta diesel engine for when the wind disappears.
A compact but complete interior with five berths, a kitchen, a toilet.

Built to be steady.

The adventure

THE ROUTE

About 400 nautical miles. Around the southern tip of Sweden.
8 days.

Leaving the Stockholm archipelago, then heading out in the Baltic Sea.
Seeking the protection of Öland, passing by Kalmar.
From Karlskrona, the seemingly endless Hanö Bay – the great bay between Blekinge and Skåne – before following the coast south.
This part gave way to Sweden’s Riviera – long beaches, dunes and small seaside towns, from Ystad to Trelleborg.
Passing west of Saltholm between Copenhagen and Malmö, then heading north towards Helsingborg.
Gothenburg, then a stop on Käringön, and finally Koljöfjorden – reached in a gale.
Home.

Winds came from all directions over those five days. Even moments without a single wrinkle on the surface of the sea.

Fortunately, the engine could run for longer than the 20 minutes expected before overheating.
Apart from a seawater leak that meant frequent use of the bilge pump, it turned out to be a functional engine after all.

THE CREW

With only two people on board and a schedule to meet, the trip was a challenge.

To keep up the pace, night watches had to be taken. Solitude with the stars and the wind, with cargo ships to avoid.
The autopilot was used for naps and necessary repairs.
And a few hours here and there, anchored near an island, allowed some sleep.

After Helsingborg, a third crew member, a former volunteer from Hästekasen, joined the adventure and became the official photographer of the trip.

LIFE ON BOARD

As always on a sailing trip: expect some problems to occur. The toilet tank had become blocked during the years when the boat was not used.
A rope had become caught in the stays of the mast.
These are only two examples of problems that required some work during the calmest moments.

The calm sailing moments were also used to make life on the boat more comfortable.

Scraping the mold from the floor below deck. Cleaning the deck. Cooking good food. Over the days, the Allegro 27 became a cozy home.

And there was also room for social moments and enjoyment of the beautiful weather. The crew tried the ladder at the stern of the boat and took a few swims in the cold sea.

A new life

After this journey, the Allegro is safely docked in the harbour, in the good care of Hästekasen members.

It is used by the association as a training boat, while also offering beautiful nature experiences to volunteers or visitors who wish to visit the west coast archipelago and its wonders.

It was given away.

It was given a new life.

And with a few more repairs, who knows where this Allegro 27 will sail next?

Epilogue

During the 1970s, many capable sailboats were built in Sweden. Now they’re starting to show their age, with worn-out sails and engines that aren’t running as well. But the hulls and rigs are still in good condition. Many are sold cheaply, sometimes even for free.

Hästekasen specialises in saving some of them. We have already saved three so far. If you’re interested, please get in touch.

July 3, 2026July 3, 2026

New tiny house – 2026 : the community hub

The community hub

You may know this place as the round house. It is now a community hub.

First intended as a sauna, the round house is the second tiny house that was built on Hästekasen farm, in 2012. It turned out to be too complicated to heat, and was used as an accomodation for volunteers and guests instead.

When the Dutch family settled in the main “Red house”, the association needed a new community place that fulfills essential collective functions. There is a shower, with a water heater and a water pump, a laundry station with a washing machine, and a kitchen, with a stove, a fridge, and a sink for dishwashing. There is also some storage areas as well as a few chairs for chatting while cooking.

The logistical hub will also cater for AirBnB guests.

A full year of work, with the help of several volunteers, was put into transforming the round house place into such a place. Here is the result.

WARNING! The water is not drinkable, it comes from the pond.

A house building show case

The building itself is a show case house of many different building techniques with natural materials.

First of all, the house is round… with a reciprocal roof beams that allows a round window at the top. On top of the roof lies straw, waterproofed with a pond liner covered with soil and grass.

The whole structure is timber frame, with round logs. Walls are either strawbale with clay/sand surface, or light clay /chopped straw mixed with clay/sand, or cordwood masonry (also called stacked firewood building), and lastly a part of logs.

The floor was initially a (failed) clay floor. Wooden planks were put on top, but slowly decomposed with humidity over the years. As did the lower logs that had to be replaced. Today, there is a brand new floor with grinded wooden planks that is ventilated.

The laundry – shower – water pump section has the luxury of a cement and glasfiber floor. Here, modernity meets some alterative traditional building methods ! And all appliances (“white ware” as we call it in Sweden) is second hand.

We learn from trials and mistakes. This makes the community hub the perfect place to teach several natural building techniques. It is included in our study visits.

A challenging work

Creating the hub and all its functions for the community was a challenge on many levels.

The plumbing system

In Sweden, there is frost during winter. To protect the plumbing system, pipes had to be dug down, and places for emptying them in case they are not used during the frosty season were implemented.

It is the first time at Hâstekasen that the water system for laundry, shower and dish washing is separated from the usual drinking water system. We use our pond water (be careful, it is not drinkable).

The electrical system

Four of our tiny houses have an off grid 12V electric system. But for essential community functions used by the collective, it was convenient to have a central hub that offers the comfort of 220V electricity.

The 220V system is distributed through three phases that had to be calibrated : in order to avoid over using any of the phases, the heavy electricity users (basically, everything that heats) had to be spread out.

So a new electrical substation was built.

May 23, 2026October 28, 2026

Freediving happening – 1st & 2nd August 2026

Surface seen from underwater with silouhettes.

A freediving happening featuring many underwater activities.

Date

Starts Saturday August 1st
Ends around 4 PM Sunday August 2nd

FREEDIVING HAPPENING CONTENT

Freediving flea market, excursions, depth diving (up to 35 meters), participation in games competitions, test equipment, yoga, sauna, bonfire, film, sleeping place (bring sleeping bag).

Game competitions

Guess-your-depth
Breath holding – Magic 3
CNF Noseclip only
VWT
Depth relay
Team breath holding
Underwater treasure hunt
Other

Booking

Indicate your personal best in depth diving with fins.
Also indicate your 2025 personal best, if it is different.
Indicate your personal best in static breath holding.
Indicate if you have a dive partner with you.

Registrer

Payment

70 €
Bank Giro: 5609-0384
STATE name and “Jippo26”

Equipment/suit can be rented: 30€

Bring training clothes and bed linen. Soft clothes for stretching and hat and jacket for boat excursion.

You can also come here and camp in your own tent/van, water and outhouse are available.

Bring your own food for the grill or buy food from us 20€ per day.

Possible schedule

(all activities are weather dependent)

SATURDAY

11.00 Own warm-up in pairs

12.00 Breath holding – Magic 3
Everyone starts simultaneously in static breath holding, the one who ends their breath hold closest to 3 minutes…wins.

12.15 Own diving in pairs.
Lines at 10, 20, 30 meters

13.00 Guess-your-depth
On an unmarked depth line you shall swim down to what you think is 15 meters. Do not touch the line. The one who is closest…wins.
May be repeated two times.

14.00 Depth relay in teams (FSE makes the teams)
Teams of three. 3×15 meters. Swim or pull yourself down to 15 meters and up again and switch to the next participant through hand clap above the surface.
May be repeated two times.

15.00 Sled riding
Stand without fins on a bottom weight and be lowered down, release when you want, pull yourself up. Not competition. One chance.

15.00 Underwater treasure hunt in pairs. Find things at different depths on the bottom. 3-20 meters. Area 100×20 meters. Stones in colors of gold 5 points, silver 3 points, white 1 point.

17.00 Diving ends

18.00 Sauna

20.00 Dinner, bonfire in the Tavern. Calculation of score standings.

SUNDAY

9.00 Yoga

10.00 Breakfast in the tavern.

11.00 Own warm-up in pairs.

11.00 Underwater treasure hunt in pairs. Find things at different depths on the bottom. 3-20 meters. Area 100×20 meters. Stones in colors of gold 5 points, silver 3 points, white 1 point.

12.00 Team breath holding
In teams of three hold your breath as long as you can in relay. Longest total time wins. Next participant must be under the surface before the next diver comes up.

12.30 Depth relay in teams (FSE makes the teams)
Teams of three. 3×15 meters. Swim, or pull yourself down to 15 meters and up again and switch to the next participant through hand clap above the surface.
May be repeated two times.

13.00 CNF Noseclip only
As deep as you can with only nose clip and swimsuit. No mask, no suit. This category has a special prize.

13.00 Sled riding
Stand without fins on a bottom weight and be lowered down, release when you want, pull yourself up. Not competition. One chance.

13.00 Underwater treasure hunt in pairs. Find things at different depths on the bottom. 3-20 meters. Area 100×20 meters. Stones in colors of gold 5 points, silver 3 points, white 1 point.

15.00 Diving ends

16.00 Meeting at the farm, prize ceremony.
All performances are counted together (approximately 12 competition efforts). Your placements in each competition.

First part of three

An article about extreme training in freediving.

May 17, 2026October 28, 2026

Creative festival – 23rd July – 2nd August 2026

During our creative festival, we explore the things that Hästekasen community has proven to be passionate about over the years. During ten days, at the height of Swedish summer, we invite old and new friends to share our favorite activities and traditions.

Accommodation in tents that we provide. Come one or more days.

LARP

23rd – 25th July

Two days of an imersive medieval role playing game in our fantasy forest. More details here.

Land activties

26th – 31st July

Workshops and study visits: permaculture, compost, off grid homes, clay tiny houses, nature reserve, forest, berry picking, drumming, yoga, personnal development, fire circles.

Sea activties

1st – 2nd August

Swimming, snorckeling, cliff jumping, fishing, canoe trips, sea weed gathering. And special freediving.

Creative festival schedule

23-25th July; LARP
26th July; arrival, study visit, social games, “loppis”
27th: details later
28th: details later
29th: details later
30th: details later
31st: details later
1-2nd August; freediving, snorkeling and sea excursion days. Cliff jumping and fishing.

7.30 breakfast
14.00 lunch
19.00 dinner

Daily sessions

9.00-11.00 session #1
11.30-13.30 session #2
16.00-18.00 session #3
20.00-22.00 session #4

Study visit; off grid homes, Tiny houses, natural building techniques
Study visit; soil, gardening, compost, water systems, permaculture
Study visit; larp area including trying archery and larp sword fighting
Long walk: Swedish nature, trekking skills, ecology theory
Boat trip: nature reserve island & shopping in the next village harbor
Boat trip: Camp on a beach/island. Swim
Canoe in the bay: and seaweed collection
Long session / sleep out: survival trekking hide and seek sleep out
Session: Drumming and chanting for dummies
Session: Jamming session by the fire
Session: Berry (mushroom?) picking.
Session: Early morning animal watch (05.00)
Session: Nighttime maze walk with torches (24.00)
Session: Talking circles on specific topics
Session: Body movement
Session: Breath, mind focus and breath hold session
Session: Library quest (Swedish)
Session: Yoga
Session: Blacksmithing
Session: Karma yoga – soil work
Session: Local cultural heritage (lecture)

Fees

Place in a tent (bring sleeping bag)	5€/day
Material for activities	10€/day
Simple food (fancier food will be sold)	10€/day
LARP (incl. costume)	50€ + 50€ deposit
Freediving special	70€

April 17, 2026June 18, 2026

Gimle LARP 23-25th July 2026

After ten years, the Gimle LARP continues with a new concept.
A different story, more battles…

Join the adventure !

All informations and details on the official webpage.

August 18, 2024June 18, 2026

Adventure learning project – Erasmus+

Hastekasen Farm and adventure center is on occasion renting the sailing yacht Bon Aventura to use as an educational platform for Adventure learning and leadership training.
How can an adventurous situation enhance learning different competences? Everything from the obvious; boatmanship, sailing, navigation, mechanic and electrical skills. But also; team building, creativity, organizational skills, leadership. At times done under stress full situations that have real risks and consequences.

While living onboard there will also be development in communication, cultural skills, civic competence. Since the project is “open” there will be lots of documentation and story telling (inspiring others). And all the time – personal development; encouraging; curiosity, boldness, self awareness, entrepreneurship.

The EU project is called Key action-2 partnership. It has four partner NGOs and the purpose is to educate leaders/youth workers in the method adventure learning, and in the process of travel/adventure explore and strengthen European identity.

The funding is partly for non-formal learning activities (Sometimes on board a rented boat, sometimes more forest oriented)

The rented boat is s/y Bon Aventura that will take shorter and longer educational trips with participants.

The aim is to meet other NGOs and make lots of inspirational / educational videos that talk about; adventure and learning and to some extent European identity.

If you want to understand more about adventure method and sailing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Lq4jcV2CJ8&t

Planned activities

2023 – Sept – Preparatory sail and inventory – done
2023 – Sept – Big walk and Alarm adventure learning exercise – Done
2023 – Oct – TPM – Leadership coordinators meeting and sailing – Done

2024 – April – Experiential adventure sail #1 – Done
2024 – April – Big walk adventure learning exercise – Done
2024 – April – Alarm adventure learning exercise – Done

2024 – May – Experiential adventure sail #2- Done
2024 – May – Big walk adventure learning exercise – Done
2024 – May – Alarm adventure learning exercise – Done
2024 – May – Sail training – Done
2024 – May – Experiential adventure sail #3 – Done
2024 – May – Experiential adventure sail #4 – Done

2024 – June – Sail training – Done
2024 – June – Big walk and Alarm adventure learning exercise – Done
2024 – June TPM meeting and workshops and sail – Done

2024 – July – Experiential adventure sail #5 – Done
2024 – July – Big walk adventure learning exercise – Done
2024 – July – Gimle edu larp adventure
2024 – July – Alarm adventure learning exercise – Done

2024 – August – LTT (a,b,c) – workshop and long sail – Done
2024 – August – Dissemination, study visit trip – Done

2024 – Sept – Big walk adventure learning exercise – Done
2024 – Sept – Alarm adventure learning exercise – Done

2025 – Oct – Experiential adventure sail #6 – Done
2025 – June – Gimle edu larp adventure leaders meeting – Done
2025 – June – LTT – forest project Germany –
2025 – August – TPM –
2025 – August – Dissemination sail –

2026 – LTT –
2026 – TPM –
2026 – August – Dissemination sail

MANUALS produced

Pedagogy – the ability to learn

Adventure method design

Big trauma crash course

Injury preparedness at the venue

The big walk concept

Edu LARP social adventure innovation report

Activity schedules

The adventure learning method

How can an adventurous situation enhance learning different competences? Everything from the obvious; boatmanship, sailing, navigation, mechanic and electrical skills. But also; team building, creativity, organizational skills, leadership. At times done under stress full situations that have real risks and consequences.

Check our Facebook page

Join our Youtube channel

Do our quizzes

…and see what you know about some of the practical boat competences we strive develop.

Comment

The adventure learning method can off course be applied in many situations that are signified by: real live situations, with aspects of uncertainty, risk-reward, physical challenges, positive stress, accountability for personal actions, and often in nature. It is often signified by demanding full attention from the participant. It could be hiking in forest or mountain, canoeing, bicycling, different adventure sports – and on top of that adding situations with tuition/coaching/workshops. And situations of trial and error where applicable.

It implies not only learning practical specific skills, but a more holistic learning situation that also encompasses the competence aspect of “attitude”.

Sailing may seam like a inaccessible activity for most, but Sweden is known for its vast archipelagos that is accessible for anyone with a boat, and small boats can be very cheap in Sweden (if knowing where to look), if being able to overcome lack of equipment with skill.