STORIES FROM
KOSTER LOCALS
PUTTE JOHANDER
“I was a classic bather”
In this interview series we get to meet Koster residents and hear their stories about the Koster Islands. Now it's the turn of Putte Johander, a resident musician who runs Öljud Studio on Nordkoster, among other things.
He has just returned from a tour in India, but Putte Johander has managed to do both a concert and music lessons in a couple of days. He laughs a little about it himself. He landed in Oslo just a few hours before the Lucia performance at six in the morning. Now, a couple of days later, he is sitting with a cup of coffee in the kitchen at Vettnet. - Sometimes I think it would be nice to come home from work and be done. It flows together, work and interest. But that's the most fun I know, playing.
And he has played almost as long as he can remember. First piano, then ukulele, guitar, electric bass and double bass. –I started in the Stockholm boys' choir when I was seven, then I went to choir school, but it wasn't my music. I couldn't connect the singing with the music I wanted to make. I only managed to do that in middle school in my first band, Ukulele Killers.
Putte smiles big and almost constantly when he talks about music, and there is a lot of music talk. As a child he played bass in his father's prog/rock band. He then entered Södra Latins gymnasium in Stockholm, with bass as his main instrument. –Then I started practicing purposefully, and it was jazz that I became interested in.
At the same time, the dream of working with music was born, but he didn't know how. "I have a couple of days ahead, for better or worse. So I didn't have any big plans for what I would work with and how I would make a living," he says.
A summer island
It has worked out well anyway. Despite the lack of plans, Putte has followed the same path as many other jazz musicians, including through music education at a university in Copenhagen. In the fifth year of his education, he lived a lot in Stockholm with his current wife Johanna. The path to working with music is rarely straight. – A prerequisite for being able to make a living as a jazz musician is to play in many bands, he says.
That alone might feel a bit scattered. Add to that the fact that the bands are not in the same city. Or even in the same country. While studying in his final year of music education, Putte played in bands in Copenhagen, Stockholm and Oslo. But eventually he would move quite far from city life and end up on Vettnet on Nordkoster. Putte had been to Koster with his family when he was little, but only knew the island from a tourist perspective. – I never reflected on the fact that people lived here. I was a classic beachgoer, for me it was a summer island. I never thought I would live here until I met Johanna.
They now live next door to Johanna's parents' home. "I felt that I was welcomed very warmly, but I'm also married into a family of butchers," he says, laughing.
The children are seen here
He has also had no problems adapting to the change of environment. Putte grew up in Fruängen outside Stockholm and from the outside it may seem like a clash of places in the direction of being a little too quiet to walk through the forest from the boat at Västra bryggan during the off-season, but he disagrees. - It's peaceful and nice.
He also sees many advantages in the children growing up here. – Here there is peace, and a much greater chance of being seen and getting a place in a small school. And the flexibility that it means, older students helping younger ones. There may also be better social conditions than in larger classes.
Putte's children finished primary school before Koster School was suspended and he is happy that Koster has people who fight for the development of society. -I was involved when the children were in school, but not anymore. But it is positive that others are getting involved. It may not take much for things to turn around.
Island noise in the garden
Living on Koster has its geographical limitations. Putte can no longer take gigs on short notice in the same way as when he lived in Stockholm. But the move has also opened up new opportunities and creative solutions. Putte now teaches bass in Norway and still plays, but not as much. The three bands peaked at eight, and have now settled at five bands and a duo. His Öljud Studio is also located on the plot in Vettnet. -It has been an interest since I was a child. I had a small portastudio, a tape recorder with four channels, and I have always thought it was fun to record in a studio. So when we moved here I thought it was a good option to have a studio that people could come to so that I don't have to move so far.
The idea from the beginning was not to run it commercially, but the money he received he has used to expand the studio with more and better equipment. The studio consists of a large recording room, a smaller control room and an adjacent caravan that functions as a recording room and is connected to the other rooms. In addition to the premises, Öljud Studio attracts with Koster's environment. -Those who have been here love it. Just being here, without distractions. I feel that they are very inspired by the place. We have had audience meetings here, then the bands have gained an insight into what it is like at the place and have incorporated it into their process.
Festival in the fall
Several of the musicians who come here have been granted the residency that Putte took the initiative to start together with Maja-Karin Fredriksson and Erik Johansson. Through the Swedish Cultural Development Agency, freelance musicians are offered time to develop and record songs in Öljud Studio. The residency bands also perform during the Koster Art and Music Festival that takes place every autumn. Putte's role in the studio involves much more than taking care of the practical part of a recording. An equally important part is getting the musicians to relax and not get stressed. -I have experienced it myself, that the clock is ticking, it costs a lot of money and there is an unknown person sitting in the control room listening. It is incredibly important that there is a relaxed atmosphere and that you try to get a creative flow.
Putte has adapted and developed his lifestyle after moving to Koster, and contributes to a vibrant music scene even during the off-season. Is there anything he misses? -Housing so people can move here, people who are in the middle of working life that I can collaborate with. And a concert hall, he adds with a smile.
HELENA VON BOTHMER
"It just went whoosh!"
In this interview series, we meet Koster residents and hear their stories about the Koster Islands. Now it’s time to meet Helena von Bothmer, who runs Koster’s Gardens.
Helena sits comfortably on a sheepskin in her office.
She has just returned from a two-week retreat at a Zen Buddhist center in France. “Home” is still, after over 30 years, the house on Sydkoster. But in 2021, Helena and Stefan decided to sell it and Koster’s Gardens. The process is not finished yet, but they both know they want to stay somewhere on the islands. – It’s a power place. The nature is so strong for me out here. It’s such a privileged and safe place.
On her way home from France, Helena took the train through the Netherlands. There, a meeting was held for a collaborative project between various European islands facing similar challenges to Koster: high tourism in the summer but few year-round residents. These sustainability issues are what Helena has landed on, or perhaps returned to, if you will. Maybe they’ve always been there, just a little behind the scenes in her work at the permaculture-inspired Koster’s Gardens. Social sustainability isn’t as visible and concrete as vegetable cultivation. But it’s not only concrete vegetable growing that has interested her.
A Global Citizen
For most of Helena’s childhood, the family lived abroad because her father worked as an engineer in different countries. Already during her upbringing, Helena developed an interest in the world and people; she became a bit of a global citizen. When she was in her late teens, the family lived in Liberia. – My mother was a volunteer for the Red Cross there. I realized, “Ah, this is how it’s done,” not “this is what you can do.”
After high school, Helena traveled with a friend to Calcutta and worked with Mother Teresa. – I wanted to contribute, but when I got there, I realized I couldn’t contribute anything, I could only learn. The nuns were amazing. What I could do was be a fellow human being and, for example, play with children or hold the hand of a dying person.
When she returned home, she felt that the only sensible thing to do was to work with nature, so she trained as an agronomist. This was in the mid-80s, and Helena says that people were just starting to understand a little about the environment, but she laughs at how little was known back then.
Meeting Permaculture
The trip to India gave Helena perspective on things, and she began to think about what she wanted to do. – I was tired of capitalism and the West’s progress.
After her education, she stayed in Uppsala and had met Stefan. Together with a few friends, they dreamed of leaving the city. In their minds, they had the image of a red cottage in the countryside in something resembling an eco-village. Stefan and Helena went to Findhorn in Scotland to take a building course but became interested in the entire community and the principles it was built on. – There I saw a film about permaculture, and I immediately felt that this is what I should do. It just went whoosh !
She didn’t want to become an advisor to farmers, like many other agronomists. Permaculture is a design tool that focuses on shaping sustainable communities based on local needs and resources. When she got home, she joined the association Permaculture Sweden, which was just starting to emerge. – Since then, I’ve been dedicated to it. I went to Denmark and took a basic course in permaculture in 1991, with Benjamin in a stroller. Now there are so many permaculture places in Sweden that I don’t know them all, it’s really fun.
The Path to Koster
Together with Stefan, she began to sketch out the future, where they would live and what they would do. – We wanted to move from the city, but didn’t know where. We made lists of what was important, such as surroundings, water quality, and wind, and scored the places. We traveled around Sweden, and then also the world.
They took their son Benjamin, who was barely a year old, and WWOOFed, worked on various farms in exchange for food and accommodation, in Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, and the USA. After eight months, they returned to Uppsala and had their daughter Siri. Their search for a place to live wasn’t over, and they had heard about Koster. Stefan went there first to scout, and Helena had previously gotten an image of the islands. – I had heard a radio program in the 80s that people were looking for people who wanted to live on Koster. I thought, “How cool would it be to live on an island.” I had never been here, but when I came here for the first time, we bought a house.
Not all of the items on their list were checked off, but enough for the family to move here. – There was a vague picture of what we wanted to do, like creating a place where people would come. We knew we wanted to grow, there were many farms that had inspired us.
​Nothing lasts forever
At first, Helena and the children moved here by themselves. Stefan commuted between Koster and his job in Uppsala, while Helena worked in the shop and cleaned at the hotel. At the same time, she started her own business and worked with rural development with Hans Arén. – I really liked Koster and walking around here. It was important that we got to know Hans and Eva (Arén) and got a push in through them. When people understood that we were going to stay, we got more involved.
Helena has always been interested in community development. Together with other Koster residents and the former local shopkeeper, they formed a cooperative and ran the farming association Kosterverk. They received EU support to build the greenhouse by the shop, which Koster's Gardens later bought. – So what we’re doing here can be said to be a consequence of that association, she says.
Nothing lasts forever. It was many years ago that Kosterverk was active, and for some time now, Koster's Gardens has been for sale. – I believe this place has its own direction, a preparedness to develop. For me, it’s about building resilience, resistance on the islands, not catering to tourists. I want to work for the whole island. Koster’s Gardens is part of a capitalist system. But in recent years, I’ve thought that the target group is those who work and practice here.
“No one has time to talk to each other”
Helena explains that she is tired of classic tourism and believes there are other ways for tourists to contribute to the community. She hopes to see regenerative tourism, where those who come here help build the place and contribute to workshops, seminars, or help with things like harvesting potatoes. – There’s a huge stress factor in the tourist life that goes on from April to September. No one has time to talk to each other. For me, the change here is driven by the fact that I want to access something else in life. I want to work with what’s to come.
Together with others, Helena is working on starting Koster Resilience Center. The idea is to be a place for new ideas to be born and grow. Ideas that contribute to a stronger community on Koster in several ways. – I would like to support the development of more food production and the culture around food, and also conversations, mobilization, and sociocracy (a form of democratic self-governance).
Wants to see a more independent community
There is much that she hopes can be developed on Koster in the near future. Primarily, she wants to see a Koster Sea School with a school boat between Koster, Tjärnö, and Resö. – I hope that a Koster association can own the school’s handicraft room and also use it as a space for researchers and seminars. The school premises should not be tied to private businesses.
Food and housing are, of course, other areas she hopes can develop. – I would also like to see increased food security on the island, with seeds and soil so we can take care of ourselves. Ideally, also energy supply. Things that contribute to greater security to handle the changes we are facing. – In the future, I would also like to see the manufacture of tiny houses out here.
She talks about taking it easy and letting things happen, while the list of ideas could be a meter long. She laughs. – I know, I have to work on that calm. I am very driven by desire. What I need is freedom and to take care of myself.*
Do you miss anything on Koster? – A greater diversity of culture and classes. And a space for conversation where development is highlighted, so that we can relate our issues to global issues. After all, we are world citizens, and Koster residents.
Regarding the sale of Koster’s Gardens, she’s not stressed. – We want to make a good generational transition. It can take a few more years; we’re not in a hurry.
The thought of leaving the island was dismissed almost as quickly as it came. – I feel that I am part of this network, and Stefan and the children agree. I am a part of the ecosystem here. My relationship with nature has grown. Just like everything that takes root and spreads.
HELENA TORGILSMAN
Helena Torgilsman, a sheep farmer on Sydkoster and owner of Kosterlamm AB.
The gates in the sheep barn rattle as I approach Kosterlamm. The sheep are relatively freshly shorn and have been inside the barn since then. – In the spring, I feel it's time for them to go outside, but now in the fall when they are back inside, I like being here with them, cuddling, says Helena Torgilsman.
It’s mutual because when she walks through the gates, the sheep gather and compete for her attention. Something they get plenty of.
Helena Torgilsman grew up in Grästorp with a father who was a farmer and a mother who took care of the home and cooked for the family. From childhood, she learned that work is a way of life. Helena was always with her father on the farm, surrounded by cows, pigs, and chickens.
– That’s probably what’s in me now; the animals are your friends, you take care of them.
You can’t take a vacation from a way of life. It’s also not something she feels the need for, and she rather sees it as a given. – We never went on skiing holidays or traveled abroad. I didn’t care about that later either, not even for five cents.
Her mother, on the other hand, was good at doing small day trips with the children, like going swimming, visiting Liseberg and Skara Sommarland, or shopping. She had a black belt in shopping, Helena jokes with a smile.
Love on Koster
In high school, Helena studied the Consumer Line. Her first choice had actually been Hotel and Restaurant Management, but her grades weren’t enough. Instead, she learned to sew, clean, and do basic cooking. – You kind of became the perfect housewife when you studied that line. But I don’t know if I ever became one, she laughs.
Helena actually wanted to cook and, after high school, got her foot in the door of the restaurant industry. She was very happy with it, but at 21, she went with a friend to a party on Koster. There, she met Yngve, and despite having lived in Grästorp her whole life, she didn’t hesitate to move here the following year. – Mom and Dad probably thought I was totally crazy, but I’m happy here. It’s so cozy.
Through, among others, Yngve’s mother, who was a mail carrier, Helena quickly integrated into the community. During her first summer on Koster, she drove a taxi bus. – It was a really good way to learn to navigate. They put me in the bus and told me where to drive, and then I had to ask for directions.
Now, she has lived in Ekenäs for over 30 years. She enjoys life on Koster and says that the islanders are good at getting involved and making things happen. – There are lots of events and great offerings.
The only thing she misses is more families with children so that the school can open again.
First Sheep
Helena feels just as natural in the barn as the sheep do, as if she’s always been here. But it took a few years before she became a sheep farmer. She had time to work in the kitchen at the hospital in Strömstad, in the shop on Koster, and in the restaurant at Koster’s Gardens before she got a job with the clearing crew. They were part of a team working on preparations for the opening of the national park, under the direction of Koster Foundation.
– It was really fun, and I got to be outside.
The clearing crew also worked with the then sheep farmer, Kjell Åke Ritzén. That was Helena’s first time working with sheep.
– I thought they were nice and cheerful. I hung out with the people who had knowledge. Kjell Åke was our mentor. I also took courses, but I’m always learning new things.
In 2009, she participated in lambing for the first time. The following year, they started winding down the operation, but Helena didn’t feel finished.
– It was so natural that it was me and Sandra who would take over.
In October 2011, she, along with Sandra Lek, formed Kosterlamm. At that time, the sheep barn was located at Kroken on Sydkoster, and the agreement included about a hundred ewes.
– It was really right in the thick of things, says Helena.
They had their office on the upper floor of the gymnasium while the current sheep barn was being designed and built. It was completed in the fall of 2014, and two years later, Sandra left.
– It wasn’t an option for me to quit at that point. I wanted to try to continue running it, and now I’ve tried for six years, she says with a laugh. But I’ve received a lot of help from close friends and family. I would really like it if there were two of us sharing the work here.
Highlight of the Year
There’s no such thing as vacation. At most, a couple of nights away is possible, and that’s all she needs.
– I have it in me; you’re supposed to work. I also really enjoy it, otherwise, it wouldn’t have worked.
It’s her father’s work ethic that stands out the most, but she’s also learned from her mother the importance of planning outings.
– I really enjoy music. In February, we’re going to the Melodifestivalen, and we’ve seen Ola Salo several times. It’s important to get away, one night is enough, then I long to go home.
There are times when there’s extra work to do, like around April. Helena searches the bookshelf and pulls out a book with colorful skulls on the cover. It has been with her all along, and inside, there are notes from every lambing. She smiles as she flips through it and reminisces.
– Usually, they handle everything themselves. I mostly make sure no other ewe takes anyone else’s lamb. You get an adrenaline rush like nothing else.
It’s a long checklist to tick off. Once the lamb is born, it’s important to ensure its mouth is clean, keep watch so no ewe steals another lamb, look for any milk blockages, and make sure the lamb gets colostrum. Helena then sets up gates and gives the lamb and ewe their own pen with food and water.
– I run back and forth, but it’s really a lot of fun. But I get a bit tired in my head, I’m probably not very pleasant by the end of the lambing.
This year, lambing for 100 ewes took three weeks, sometimes eight ewes give birth on the same night. Helena sleeps in the office for almost the entire period.
– The sofa is comfy, she says, smiling at the couch I’m sitting on.
There’s a lot to keep track of during the lamb’s first 24 hours. So much so that sometimes she forgets to eat and drink. But it’s clear that lambing is still one of the highlights of the year.
A New Start
When we meet in the barn at the beginning of November, the rest period has just begun. Helena is here for a few hours in the mornings to feed the animals, then she goes home around midday and enjoys knitting. From Thursday to Saturday, she stays a bit longer, keeping the shop open, and in the evenings, she returns to the barn to feed the three horses.
Now, the rams have just been let into their own pens with the ewes. A new sheep year begins. Despite the tiredness and the time-consuming work, Helena has never thought about quitting. She chooses to prioritize the job.
– People think I should go out with them, but I don’t feel the need. This is my life, she says.
GÖRAN LARSSON
"I absolutely can't imagine living anywhere else"
Göran Larsson, the 11th generation Koster resident with over 40 years in community life.
"Private dock" is written on the sign by the boathouse Larsebo in Långegärde. Göran Larsson laughs heartily at my nervous comment as I defy the sign that, in capital letters, warns "LIFE-THREATENING." The dock holds, and at the edge, Göran sits in the shade with a large bottle of water. He has just picked up crayfish at Ekenäs and has a gap in his schedule before he heads to the new Pacos for his first glass. I asked him to choose a spot, and it's by his father's old boathouse in the strait where he feels most comfortable. Yngve was a shrimp fisherman and politically engaged.
– He was at meetings in Gothenburg almost every other weekend. Mom thought it was tedious, he was needed at home, but Dad said 'It's work that needs to be done, why should someone else do it for me?' That stuck with me. Listen to what your fishing buddies think and bring it forward.
Göran is not a fisherman, but he has definitely listened to his friends. Together with other Koster residents, he saw in the 1970s that development was going in the wrong direction, and in 1977, the Koster Community Association was formed. Several other coastal communities followed the same pattern during that period, wanting to bring forward the issues of island residents.
Until 1967, Koster was part of the Tjärnö municipality, but then it became part of Strömstad city and later Strömstad municipality. Göran’s father was active in local matters. He was politically active without belonging to a party.
– But in Strömstad municipality, he had to choose whether he was a social democrat or a member of the Liberal Party. He had some friends in the Liberal Party, so he decided on that, says Göran with a laugh. The issues were the most important, and that’s something I’ve held onto, he continues.
After ten years in the municipal council, Yngve had had enough of the political role, which Göran inherited when he was barely 30 years old.
– I was far too young and had just started a family. There were many meetings, and the boats didn’t run as often, so I had to stay overnight in Strömstad and was home with the first ferry, which was at 10:30.
Unexpected career choice
Now, 45 years later, Göran Larsson speaks with a sorrowful voice about his fading community engagement.
– The last four or five years have felt really depressing.
He falls silent, and then his face lights up.
– But there have been so many positive things along the way. Small things, like how Torsten Torstensson wanted the best for Koster in every way and made sure we got the dock built at Nord and also Fiskaregården. With the Local Heritage Association, we got Sibirien (where the Local Heritage Museum is today) listed as a protected building.
He talks about the rising population curve in the 1980s, how different housing market conditions made it possible for young families to move here. He had then met Ingeborg and started a family after a brief period of education and work outside Koster.
– I’m actually trained as a car mechanic, he says, laughing out loud. Can you imagine, a car mechanic?! On Koster!
Afterward, he worked as a rigger at a boatyard on Orust, before he soon moved back to Koster.
– Ingeborg and I bought Kostergården. We were lucky to get an apartment in Tullhuset, just the kind of luck that is missing on Koster today. It was a kind of 'grow-up apartments' where everyone who lived on Koster between the 60s and 80s has lived. It was very simple, absolutely no hot water.
Göran reflects on a childhood with simple circumstances.
– It’s more expensive to live today. One is more economically vulnerable than before because we live a different life. House prices are rising. It was better back then, even though it was tough. Conditions for fishermen were bad, I don’t know how we managed to scrape by.
The golden years of community life
Alongside his work at Kostergården, Göran worked a lot in a voluntary capacity. Together with Hans Arén, he made sketches of how the land was used and how it could be used in the best way.
– The first years were very stimulating, many got involved. Damn, the community life really flourished. It was before computers and Facebook, now no one cares, no one gets involved.
Have we become more selfish?
– Exactly the right word.
Göran becomes silent, and then it comes again:
– But fortunately, there are bright spots.
He continues to mix nostalgia and bitterness with joy and pride. He talks about when the school didn’t have a gymnasium.
– Well, then we built one! Without any financing. But it worked out in the end with help from the municipality. There was a personal relationship with the municipality back then.
Strömstad municipality is mentioned many times during our conversation, both as a team player during the 70s and 80s, and as an obstacle in recent years. But Göran doesn’t blame everything on the municipality and tries to be specific.
– The problem was perhaps that there were mixed signals coming from Koster. There was a demand for someone who had direct contact with the municipality to bring forward the islanders’ issues. That’s when Koster’s Board was formed, in the year 2000.
Felt proud
The bright spots come thick and fast, and Göran Larsson lights up again.
– The national park is a golden story on its own, which I’m especially glad to have contributed to.
He talks about the strong resistance from Koster residents when he pushed for the issue.
– It was tough to walk on the docks back then. But then we got a majority, and the grumpy old men could keep grumbling, he says.
During the inauguration in 2009, he sat on the Koster Board and had the honor of giving a speech.
– Of course, you felt proud to get this going, even though not everything turned out as we had hoped.
Then Göran returns to the depression he has felt in recent years.
– It has gone downhill. I can’t explain why other than the fact that the municipality has been somewhat unfriendly at times.
He reflects on the development and future of community life.
– New ways of meeting must emerge. I hope something develops that will be as effective as the old associations where we met in person. I miss the engagement we had in community life. Now you have to more or less force people for associations to function.
Do you feel that something is missing on Koster?
– A communal space to use as a starting point for whatever you’re doing. I miss the social contact. Back in the days on Sunday mornings between 10 and 12, the harbors were full of old men discussing fishing and gossip. People shared information and contributed to a stronger community, even though they didn’t know it.
The women had their meetings in the church or sewing clubs. The sewing club, Thursday Club, raised money for street lighting by selling their handicrafts.
– Social meeting points are important, people don’t have the same interests today. Fishing tied so much together, he says.
We pack up and leave the boathouse. Göran asks if I found my missing bike.
– I read on Facebook that it was gone.
He, who just cursed the site, has his own account? Göran chuckles softly.
– Yes, it’s fun to read about what’s happening here.
That Göran Larsson feels a sense of belonging to Koster is, after all, unquestionable.
– I absolutely can’t imagine living anywhere else, he says, as he drives home on his moped to change into his national park cap and go to the reopening of Pacos.
​
MIRIAM ÖHRN
"I want children to have the same freedom I had."
In this interview series, we will meet residents of Koster and share their stories about the Koster Islands. Now it’s Miriam Öhrn’s turn, born and raised on Koster and newly appointed chairwoman of the Koster Board.
Miriam Öhrn stands in the kitchen. The smell of Sunday lunch fills the air, and the warmth from the stove is inviting. The house was her grandmother’s summer cottage, which has been winterized for Miriam and her siblings. For the past few years, the siblings have been replaced by her partner Tom and three cats. Miriam herself has come and gone from Koster for many years, but it is here she calls home. Recently, she has developed an interest in the island’s survival and development. She knows how good it can be and remembers how good it has been.
It’s the safest place in the world to grow up in. There are no nasty men hiding in the bushes, and hardly any cars either.
As the newly appointed chairwoman of the Koster Board, one of her focus areas is the reopening of a new Koster school. The school was paused last autumn before being closed. The Koster she grew up on 35 years ago was a much more vibrant island.
– There were very active associations. In the sports club, there was a group of dads who organized activities all the time. Some things still live on today, like the Koster Round. In the winters, they arranged hockey when the ice was thick on Gråmyrarna, an area in the forest that was kept open because we were there. But now it’s overgrown.
She believes that nature reflects society. It has been many years since anyone played hockey on Gråmyrarna. And now the school is closed. When Miriam was little, there were about 20 children in the school, ranging from preschool to sixth grade. She had several friends her age on Koster.
– We were outside all the time, running around in the forest. I am a nature child, built huts, played in caves, and got dirty. That’s a big reason for my community work now. I want children to have the same freedom I had.
Did you miss anything?
– No, I can’t say that I did. When I was a teenager, we had an apartment in Strömstad. It was a freedom to be able to meet friends and be there, but I never lived there. I always wanted to come home.
A double life
Despite being home-loving, Miriam hasn’t stayed on Koster. On the contrary, she has avoided various binding contracts to be able to travel when she felt like it.
– I saw Koster as my trampoline, where I could bounce back and forth from.
Her interest in other cultures and languages led her to travel and live abroad for parts of the year. For four years, she worked during the winter months at a café in Hawaii, and during the summers, she worked at restaurants on Koster.
– I’ve always felt such strong roots here that I didn’t want to pull them up. But I’ve wanted to live in one place for a longer time, not just be a tourist. It became a kind of double life, like having two homes.
Together with a friend, Miriam started a business that imported surfwear from Hawaii and sold it in Sweden.
– It was educational. I’ve always been encouraged by my brother to run my own business, to be the master of my own fortune.
Like The Jungle Book in real life
After a few years, she was done with Hawaii and started staying on Koster for the winters, working in the restaurant at Pensionat Ekenäs. She remembers icy winters around 2009 when she lived with her sister and stayed indoors in the cottage.
– They ran the cargo ferry around the clock to keep the ice from completely forming, to maintain an open channel. It was very special. I remember that from Valfjäll, it was white wilderness as far as you could see.
A few years later, she traveled to Peru with a childhood friend to visit a friend from Hawaii. It ended up with Miriam traveling further north to Peru alone, finding her “second Hawaii,” and instead started commuting there during the upcoming winters.
She ran the business from a distance, which had now shifted from selling surfwear to yoga clothes. Soon, she started a travel company with her then-boyfriend. They offered package tours for Swedish tourists, focusing on the Peruvian rainforest and mountains. The goal was to offer something different from classic tourism and give people the chance to get closer to the local population during the 2-3 weeks the trip lasted. Miriam sighs as she reflects.
– I’ve seen such incredible places, just unbelievable. My favorite is probably the mountain rainforest in northern-central Peru. It’s like The Jungle Book, but for real. I’m almost afraid to go back now in case it’s all gone.
"Just do it"
She shares that she once flew over South America and only saw rainforest below for six hours, until they suddenly crossed a border where a fire was burning. The deforestation makes her teary-eyed today, but at the time, she didn't allow herself to feel. But somewhere, it may have lingered, gnawing at the nature child that she is.
“Just do it”
When she sold yoga clothes, she got a foot into that world. Miriam had tried yoga once before but hadn’t really taken to it. But now she was curious again. She saw a YouTube video and thought, “This isn’t so hard, I can do this.” So, she put up flyers about yoga classes on Koster, a lot of participants showed up, and it went really well—after only watching a YouTube video.
How did you dare to do it?
– You don’t need to think that much, you just do it. Wing it, as they say in the US, she says with a smile, showing that it was no big deal at all.
In 2017, she returned from Peru and focused more regularly on yoga on Koster, with an emphasis on the off-season. She wanted more people to experience the calmness of Koster in autumn and winter. But when the pandemic started, she had to cancel the yoga classes. That’s when something that had been brewing for a while stirred in her, perhaps since she saw the deforestation in Peru, or perhaps since she built huts as a child. She wanted to work with nature conservation. Her sister Frida was involved in beach cleaning, and through her, Miriam joined the cleanup team in the fall of 2020.
– That job has meant a lot to me, truly. Nature has always been my biggest interest, the most important thing. It felt natural to start with that job. It’s so nice to work with your body and with fun colleagues.
Grief and desperation
Soon after, an engagement for something else that had been bubbling within Miriam emerged: the housing issue on Koster. Having grown up with summer tourism and empty houses in the winter, she had had enough.
– It was like the blinds went up. Everything I had tried to keep at a distance during my childhood could no longer be kept at bay. Growing up in a place with a lot of engagement made me shy away from it.
But now, she was ready to tackle it. She wrote a letter to the editor in GP and started the Facebook group "Ung kust och landsbygd" (Young Coast and Countryside). The recognition factor was sky-high.
– It was like a scream across Sweden. It’s amazing to be able to agree on something like that.
Miriam began reading up on housing obligations, emailing politicians, and organizing a think tank.
– I wanted to start a discussion, gather people, and talk. I didn’t have any solutions.
How do you manage?
Miriam sighs.
– Part of it must be my insatiable curiosity. The other part is a deep sorrow and desperation. You want to live in a beautiful place, but it’s impossible. I have a hard time accepting that it should be impossible. Does it really have to be this way? Can’t we do it differently instead?
The spider in the web
Since the last election, Miriam has been the new chairwoman of the Koster Board and wants to explore new approaches to community development. Miriam didn’t hesitate to accept the role.
– It was amazing to be given that trust. I don’t take it lightly; I see it as a big commitment and an opportunity to act. But we need to move away from the idea that some drive things while others can just lean back. I see it as everyone’s responsibility, but it’s personal how much one can and wants to engage. My role, I hope, is to be the spider in the web.
When we meet on a workday in the forest, Miriam has just taken a break for a phone call about the school.
– This is the absolutely most important issue right now. The youngest and most innocent are bearing the brunt of it, and it’s completely incomprehensible, she says.
She sees that the Koster she grew up on is far from the island she lives on today, but there is hope.
– The flame of life is turned down to the lowest, a blue flame barely visible. We need to turn it up. Without families with children, it will die out. It might happen faster than we think. But I hope we can turn it around in the foreseeable future.
What is the best thing about Koster?
– The social cohesion. There’s an incredible strength. So many people have done their part here. There are so many amazing things already happening that we might take for granted. It’s not just about doing a bunch of new things, but also taking care of what we have.
​
SUSANNE DE BARES
"It became a safe and good learning environment"
In this interview series, we get to meet Koster residents and hear their stories about the Koster Islands. Now it’s Susanne de Barès' turn, a new Koster resident who worked as a teacher until the closure of Koster School, and now works as a teacher in Strömstad.
Susanne de Barès opens the door to her apartment on Nordkoster, lively and cheerful. It’s Sunday morning, and she has treated herself to a late breakfast. Normally, she gets up at five in the morning to catch the earliest boat from Koster to Strömstad. These are the new daily routines since Koster School was paused for the fall of 2022, and Susanne got a new job as a teacher in Strömstad.
– It’s a bit more to deal with when you’re commuting, but it’s really worth it to come out here when I’m off.
“Don’t need anyone to hold my hand”
Susanne grew up in Lindome in Mölndal municipality but spent some summers at her grandmother’s house in Sannäs in Tanum municipality. As an adult, she lived in Sigtuna for almost 30 years. The longing for the west coast and being close to the sea started creeping up a few years ago.
– Three years before I moved here, I went on a seal safari to Ursholmen, and the guide mentioned that there was a school on Koster. I thought “I could work there.” When I later saw an ad for a vacant position, I had to apply.
“The place in my heart”
There was no major doubt about Susanne becoming a teacher. After studying at the University of Gothenburg, the newly graduated teacher Susanne moved to the Stockholm area, where she stayed for almost 30 years.
She mostly worked in grades F-3 and taught all subjects except for handicrafts. Eventually, the longing for the west coast became too great.
– I didn’t know where I wanted to live, but somewhere between Varberg and Strömstad. Even though I grew up just south of Gothenburg, Bohuslän is the place in my heart.
Susanne saw the open position at Koster School, and four weeks later, she moved here.
– I hadn’t planned on moving that quickly, but everything just felt really right, she says.
She was prepared to commute from Strömstad at first, but it was never necessary. Her future colleague, Bisse, had spread the word that a new teacher was on the way to the school, and Susanne got an apartment in Västrabo on Nordkoster.
– It’s a really good place to live and a welcoming place, especially when you’re new.
In the building, there are sometimes activities you can join if you want, like fika being served occasionally, and a few people do the Melodikrysset together.
An Integrated School
Although Susanne had only been to Koster a couple of times before moving here, she quickly felt at home.
– It’s an open and welcoming community to come to.
The workplace Susanne came from was also a school, but Sigtuna’s largest F-6 school with 150 students, all in F-1 class. At Koster, she was greeted by a F-3 school that had only seven students.
– It was a huge difference in many ways, but it was fun and a new challenge. Here, there was more planning beforehand and less follow-up work with so few students.
Fewer students meant greater flexibility, and the school collaborated with large parts of Koster.
– We were outside and a part of the community in a clearer way than at a big school. We could also go on trips just because it’s nice, or go and clean a beach.
Safe School Environment
She sees several advantages with a small school.
– I think it’s really good for the children. Sure, there’s a smaller pool of peers, but they learn to take care of each other in a very good way. It became a safe and good learning environment for the youngest.
Two years after Susanne moved here, Koster School closed. On a personal level, she thinks it would have been fun to continue developing the teaching methods she had built for a small school.
– It’s not me as a teacher that it’s most unfortunate for, but it’s sad for Koster as a community and for the children and families who live here.
Great Opportunities for the Small School
Apart from the school, Susanne can’t think of anything missing on Koster. It has everything she needs, and the few times she needs to visit other stores, she has no problem getting to the mainland.
– There are restaurants, and otherwise I enjoy being out in nature. I bought a kayak when I moved out here. I hadn’t paddled in 30 years and had a dream of taking it up again when I moved here.
We walk toward the door, but stop in the shared kitchen where some of the neighbors have gathered. One is cooking, and a few others are sitting and talking. On the kitchen island, Susanne’s old Christmas puzzle is out for the neighbors to solve together when they feel like it. Right now, she doesn’t stop to work on the puzzle, as she’s going for a walk in the beautiful winter weather. Tomorrow, the alarm will ring at five, and she’ll take the first Koster boat to school in Strömstad. But Susanne hopes that Koster School will soon reopen.
– It’s so important for a thriving year-round community. It’s important for the families with children who want to live and work out here. The small school really has great opportunities for learning and to be an active part of the community.