Crofters and cottagers, as subordinate groups, were integral to the rural societies of Norway and Sweden. Their numbers increased significantly during the 18th and 19th centuries, partly due to population growth and new opportunities to earn a livelihood through various auxiliary economies. Another contributing factor was the growing inequality within rural communities.

This paper investigates the role of crofters and cottagers in industrialized rural communities, specifically those associated with iron works, as well as rural communities dominated by large agricultural estates in Sweden and Norway respectively. Both iron works and agricultural estates provided opportunities for crofters and cottagers to increase their income through auxiliary economies. For instance, they engaged in diverse handicrafts such as shoemaking and carpentry, produced goods like charcoal and wood, and offered services such as transportation. During periods of growth, crofters and cottagers could potentially make substantial economic gains. However, these opportunities were heavily diminished during times of crises.

Due to their subordinate status, limited or complete lack of access to various resources, and dependence on landowners, crofters and cottagers developed different strategies in response to expansion and crises within agricultural estates and iron works. These strategies often involved changes in resource utilization and auxiliary economies, encompassing social and gendered agencies.

The question if medieval castles could have played urban roles in regions without towns is addressed. Two excavated castles, Saxholmen and Edsholm, and four rural settlements, Skramle, Ivarsbråten, Djupsundet and Romstad, in the region of Värmland are investigated. Although the two castles received traded commodities, handicrafts such as blacksmithing, bronze casting and antler/horn/bone work were practiced. There are no indications of these products reaching the rural settlements. One of the castles was more or less self-sufficient. The other castle was provided for by the countryside through taxes. The castles and aristocracy were contested by the peasants, and one of the castles was burned down in a rebellion.

The forest is a vital resource in society’s climate transition. There is a need for greater extraction of forest raw materials to meet the demand for green energy both now and in the future. But there are many other values in the forest, including heritage such as abundant ancient and cultural remains. Ancient and cultural remains are at great risk of damage in today’s mechanized forestry. Evaluations have shown that a total of 27% of all known ancient remains were damaged in connection with regeneration felling in 2023. The same evaluation also showed that ancient remains with visible markings, especially in the form of cultural stumps, were less likely to be damaged. For the system of cultural stumps to be an effective protection for ancient and cultural remains in forestry, it is necessary that they are correctly placed, and that the degree of marking is complete. This, in turn, requires a good knowledge base in the form of high-density inventories, and archaeological competence to guide the work of ”setting out” cultural stumps.

Forests and woodlands were present in most parts of Europe, and were importantassets in the rural economies and land-use practices. Forests were altered throughmanagement and resource extraction, resulting in changes in tree composition andbiodiversity. There was not necessarily a sharp division between forests andagrarian and open landscapes. Forests were more open, with a greater mixture ofdifferent trees, other vegetation and glades, than the dense production forests oftoday. The fact that trees were common in, or adjacent to, fields and meadowsadded to the indistinct division.In some parts of Europe, especially in sparsely populated areas such as much ofScandinavia, Russia and other upland areas, forests could be very extensive.However, this should not be confused with wilderness, as forests had specialuses. Different forest zones were designated for different purposes, such as fortimber, grazing, haymaking or charcoal burning, and were sometimes namedaccordingly. In Scandinavia, this land was called utmark (outlying land).Forest resources were used in the daily economy of medieval households in allsocial strata, as well as for commodity production. Such commodity productioncould be of a substantial and industrialised volume, but was subject to changingmarket conditions, and sometimes to sustainability problems. The forest was alsoa resource for settlement expansion, which was periodically significant in someparts of Europe. Settlements in forested areas were characterised by diversifiedeconomies, in which forest resources played a prominent role.Most forests were managed as commons, or a mixture of private land and commons,within rural communities. The use of some forest resources was regulated andmonitored by the communities in order to avoid unwanted deforestation. However,in some parts of Europe, the concept ‘forest’ referred to areas to which the kinghad special rights, restricting access for local communities.

Transhumant pastoralism, characterized by the seasonal movement of livestock, has been a traditional practice in various forms globally for millennia. The Scandinavian shieling system—specifically, the Kårebolssätern site—exemplifies this practice, where designated areas provide grazing and dairy processing facilities. However, many of these systems, including Kårebolssätern, have faced abandonment or decline, primarily due to modernization and industrial forces. An interdisciplinary research project compared Kårebolssätern’s history to other shielings in Sweden. The study utilized various methodologies, including pollen analysis, archaeological mapping, and historical documentation, to trace human impact and land use, indicating shifts between grazing and cereal cultivation. Findings demonstrated that Kårebolssätern had significant early cultivation of barley and hemp, and by the 13th century, its use intensified amidst changes in local agricultural conditions. Four chronological phases regarding the emergence and development of Swedish shielings over two millennia were detected. The results offer insights into the adaptability of shielings amidst socio-economic transformations. As modern pressures threaten the remaining shielings, preserving their historical significance and adaptive strategies may provide pathways for their future survival. The study ultimately highlights the resilience of pastoral practices within evolving landscapes.

Den här rapporten sammanfattar Interregprojektet Biokulturellt arv och alternativ matproduktion (Biokuma). Projektet, som löpt från oktober 2020 till och med september 2022, är en del av Interregs Sverige-Norge-program. EU-programmet ger stöd till svensk-norska projektsamarbeten som utvecklar samhället inom olika insatsområden. I enlighet med prosjektets syfte har Biokuma bidragit til kunnskapsoppbygging som visar att alternative driftsformer i landbruket ivaretar og viderefører ett biokulturellt arv. Därmed bidrar den alternativa matproduktionen till omställningen till ett hållbart samhälle. De alternativa matproducenterna är dock främst intresserade av de gröna delarna av det biokulturella arvet. En förstärkning av kulturarvsperspektivet skulle med andra ord vara önskvärd för en effektivare reproduktion och förvaltning av det biokulturella arvet. Även när det gäller kunskapsöverföring, både i form av formella utbildningar och praktik, betonas ofta de gröna delarna av det biokulturella arvet. En annan problematik, påvisad i projektet Biokuma, är att de alternativa matproducenterna möter en rad utmaningar i sin verksamhet, och flera av dessa utmaningar utgör hot mot uthålligheten inom denna verksamhetsform. Något som i sin tur utgör ett hot mot den reproduktion av det biokulturella arvet som de alternativa matproducenterna står för. Det är arbetsintensivt att bedriva småskaligt jordbruk i samklang med naturen. Arbetet ger samhälleliga natur- och kulturmiljövinster som gårdsbrukaren oftast inte får betalt för. Försäljningsarbetet är också ofta tidskrävande och sker på en mängd olika sätt, till exempel genom Rekoring och torghandel, återkommande marknader eller matevent, gårdsbutiker, äggbodar, prenumeration, självplock, e-handel, detaljhandel, eget eller andras café eller restaurang. Även genom försäljning till förädlingsföretag och mathantverkare eller till storhushåll. Gårdarna kan även få inkomster från sitt gårdsbruk på andra sätt, exempelvis genom uthyrning av djur för slyröjning och markberedning, liksom naturvårdsarbete med kor i våtmarker och getter vid sätrar. I syfte att stödja uthållighet, utveckling och konkurrenskraft hos den alternativa matproduktionen och en robust och växande reproduktion av det biokulturella arvet har projektet tagit fram en rad rekommendationer. Rekommendationerna riktar sig till matproducenter, myndigheter och andra intressenter. Projektets resultat och rekommendationer sprids genom olika kommunikationskanaler i form av exempelvis vetenskapliga artiklar, en handbok, populärvetenskapliga texter, blogginlägg, filmer och inspelade presentationer, samt ett gediget erfarenhetsutbyte mellan matproducenter, myndigheter och annat branschfolk. Genom ett varierat kommunikationsarbete har resultaten från projektet spridits till en bred målgrupp i både Sverige och Norge, medan de vetenskapliga publikationerna når forskare även internationellt. I denna rapport presenterar vi projektets bakgrund och målsättning, organisation, de aktiviteter som genomförts, samt resultat och effekter av arbetet. Det gränsöverskrid-ande arbetet har haft en central roll i projektet. Då förhållandena för reproduktion av biokulturellt arv och alternativ matproduktion till viss del skiljer sig mellan Norge och Sverige har erfarenhetsutbytet mellan såväl forskare som alternativa matproducenter på både sidor av gränsen varit betydelsefullt för projektets resultat. I rapporten redogör vi för projektets gränsöverskridande mervärden samt arbetet med de horisontella kriterierna hållbar utveckling, jämställdhet mellan kvinnor och män och lika möjligheter och icke-diskriminering. Vi redovisar också viktiga nyckeltal i form av antal gemensamma natur- och kulturarv där insatser för ökad tillgänglighet och hållbart bevarande har genomförts inom ramen för projektet. På projektets hemsida, sola.kau.se/biokuma, hittar du samtliga publikationer och filmer som projektet resulterat i. Sidan uppdateras kontinuerligt efter projektslut allteftersom fler publikationer tillkommer.

This report summarises the Interreg project Biocultural heritage and alternative foodproduction (Biokuma). The project, which ran from October 2020 to September 2022,is part of Interreg’s Sweden-Norway programme. The EU program provides supportfor Swedish-Norwegian project collaborations that develop society in various fields ofaction. In accordance with the purpose of the project, Biokuma has contributed to thebuilding of knowledge that shows that alternative modes of operation in agriculturesafeguard and continue a biocultural heritage. Alternative food production thus contri-butes to the transition to a sustainable society. However, the alternative food produ-cers are mainly interested in the green parts of the biocultural heritage. In other words,a strengthening of the cultural heritage perspective would be desirable for a moreefficient reproduction and management of the biocultural heritage. Also when it comes to knowledge transfer, both in the form of formal training and practice, the green partsof the biocultural heritage are often emphasized. Another problem, demonstrated inthe Biokuma project, is that the alternative food producers face a series of challengesin their business, and several of these challenges pose threats to the sustainability ofthis form of business. Something that in turn poses a threat to the reproduction of thebiocultural heritage that the alternative food producers stand for. Small-scale farming inharmony with nature is labour-intensive. The work provides societal natural and culturalenvironmental benefits for which the farmer usually does not get paid. The sales workis also often time-consuming and takes place in a variety of ways, for example throughRekoring, outdoor markets, recurring markets or food events, farm shops, egg sheds,subscription, self-picking, e-commerce, retail, own or others’ café or restaurant. Alsoby selling to processing companies and food artisans or for institutional kitchens. Thefarms can also get income from their farming in other ways, for example by renting outanimals for clearing and land preparation, as well as nature conservation work withcows in wetlands and goats at pastures.

The classic Scandinavian shieling consisted of a fenced site onoutlying lands with meadows and structures for dwelling,stabling livestock, and processing milk. Through dismantling ofrural, forested areas, competition for forest use andheritagization, shielings have been marginalized in today’sagrarian life and framed as relics of an outdated system. Shielingowners, like small-scale farmers all over Europe, face challengesincluding economic viability, loneliness in their work, anddifficulty recruiting new shieling workers. Surviving shielings (c.200 in Sweden) are valued as local development assets and areoften considered valuable for their rich biodiversity and heritage.As such, they are subject to conservation schemes that mayconflict with development ambitions. Heritagization has alsorecently been challenged by archaeological and palaeobotanicalresearch showing that shielings, in contrast to current relicframing, were highly adaptable to changing local economic andcommunity conditions over almost 2,000 years. Herein, researchwork, community development, nature conservation, andheritage management perspectives are synthesized in adiscussion of shielings’ past, present, and future, with a particularfocus on the shieling Kårebolssätern. Based on historical findings,suggestions include promoting silvopasture and retro-innovativefood production contributions to sustainable (post-)pandemicdevelopment and climate mitigation. The importance of apolitical ecology shift and fairer conditions for shielings, and themarginalized communities harboring them, are also highlighted.