Friskoven

• Who are welcome as members of Friskoven?

  • In short: Everyone who agrees with and can identify with our visions. However, we want a certain diverse composition in age groups and qualities in people. Thus, if we feel an imbalance in the composition, it may well be that we are specifically looking for grandparents, young couples, families with older children, people with some knowledge in a particular field , etc. It is definitely not limited to families with children, although these are also very welcome :) 

• Can we come and visit Friskoven?

  • You are always welcome to visit Friskoven for our open events (see facebook calendar). Unfortunately we are not open to visitors outside the events at the moment. You can send us a request by email, and if one of the members wants to be available for a meeting it may be possible, but we can not guarantee it. In addition, you can come as a volunteer or interested member. See Join Us

• How to get into Friskoven?

  • If you are interested in becoming a member of Friskoven, you must fill out our application form, after which you (if we have space and we feel you / I match what we are looking for) will be invited to a visit of approx. one week and then one month. Read much more more under Join.

• Who and how many live in Friskoven now and how many available spots are there?

  • ​At the time of writing, the current tribe consists of 12 shares / households divided between 22 adults and 22 children of the nationalities Danish, Swedish, Dutch, Canadian and German. The children's age groups are between 1-11, most between 3 - 7 years. Most adults have children, some co-parenting (kids are here half of the time), some with children full-time at home. Some children go to school and kindergarten. Many adults are at home, others work with construction & carpentry, seasonal work at restaurants and self-employment.

  • We expect to have space for 15-20 shares depending on what our local plan allows us to do; we are currently working on a local plan in collaboration with the municipality, which will give us the framework for how much we can build on the site. The local plan is expected ready in 2023.

• What does it cost monthly to live in Friskoven and what does the money go to?

  • Right now we pay a monthly cost for common facilities of DKK 800 per. adult, which goes to electricity, water, internet, property tax, as well as the purchase and repair of common equipment, such as garden tractor, paint, washing machine, etc. For the permanent residents of Friskoven, we also have a kitchen box for food of DKK 150 per. adult per month and then we dumpsterdive 2-5 times a week a lot of great food! We have also started growing food for the communal kitchen. The food budget may possibly increase as we get more families to join communal meals.

• How often is there communal dining?

  • Right now we eat dinner together 5 days a week and take turns cooking. Breakfast and lunch, we take care of individually.

• Are you vegans / vegetarians or similar?

  • We have no common dietary guidelines and we are a mixed group of vegans, vegetarians and omnivores. However, we maintain communal meals vegan or vegetarian, so there is always something that everyone can eat.

• What are your thoughts on pets and livestock?

  • Pets are welcome, but may need to be considered, to see how it fits with current animals, space, future neighbours etc. Right now we have 5 hens in common as well as 4 cats and 6 ducks privately. We could easily be open to larger livestock together. Possibility for larger animals privately which requires space can be taken up for a joint meeting.

• Are there any restrictions on what you buy privately? Eg chemistry and other less sustainable things?

  • If you live in Friskoven, you have basically agreed with our visions of Radical sustainability and we therefore expect that residents of Friskoven choose to use sustainable products that do not harm the environment. We also plan to establish a planted filter system for purification of our wastewater, which does not tolerate chemicals that are destructive to the purification process e.g. gasoline, oil, turpentine, strong descalers, chlorine-containing agents and the like. However, we do not have a definite blacklist or any kind of control over each other and trust each other's common sense.

• How common is the economy?

  • We pay as described higher up, a monthly amount for joint account and to communal dinners, but beyond that we possess our own personal finances.

• Can you rent in as a resident of Friskoven?

  • No not at this time. Everyone who lives in Friskoven is a shareholder and thus a co-owner of the co-operative association Friskoven. If you can not afford to buy a share, you can apply for payment in rates or loan in the internal Friskovs "bank".

• Are there requirements for working hours to the community?

  • Yes, we have a requirement that you add about 8 hours of work per week to the community, which is mainly added to our weekly workday every Saturday.

• Can you run a business and make money in Friskoven?

  • Yes, we work for a community that facilitates sustainable on-site business to promote local resilience and a vibrant "village environment". The profession may well be based on-site resources, such as eco-holiday rental, vegetable production and processing of wood, or profession as farm shop selling vegetables, art, office facilities for small businesses and small café.

• Will there be private garden or land connected to the houses?

  • Yes - for all shares there is a right to a private garden corresponding approx. to the size of the dwelling, located in connection with the home. We have not completed a fixed plan for how the garden should be run, but if there is a need and desire for it, it may be possible to subdivide parts of the common garden for private use or possibly for business.​

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If your question wasn't answered, you are welcome to write us :)