The explosiveness of the Swedish spring is imminent. The birds have returned to their chortling rousts and the yellows, greens and purples are making their way out of their sleeping bulbs. There is something magical about this time. Just like the flora that surrounds us is waking up from winter, there is also a sensation of awakening within the group; …
YIP Newsletter March 2016 – Into the Foodture and Beyond
As if on cue, curious green sprouts poked through soggy earth on the first day of spring, to gaze upon the world they had left behind in autumn. The straight-backed, purple crocuses and modest snowbells exchanged excited laughs, reuniting with old friends and looking forward to the warmer months that awaited them. And then, in a cold gust, the snow …
YIP Newsletter February 2016 – The Journey Returns
A slight feeling of warmth has returned to the rays of sun that cut diagonal light through the still-frozen tree branches and cast their long shadows in the patchy snow. Like the sun, the Yippies too have returned with embracing warmth from migrations afar, renewed in spirit and resolve. They arrived like a flood of energy, first one, then three, …
YIP Newsletter January 2016 – Currency, Collaborations and Community
Sweden is frozen, caught in what seems like a timeless spell. At each sunrise and each sun set it turns into some kind of fiery-frozen winter wonder land. Each branch and twig, each blade of grass, everything that has remained exposed from previous phases lies encrusted in the natures frozen crystals, wrapped in an icy stillness. And yet, things continue to …
YIP Newsletter December 2015 – Into the New Year
Silence has settled on Ytterjärna as the Yippies lift off to various destinations for the Winter break, and readying themselves for the internship journeys that lay beyond. It has been a wild ride these last few weeks and months with so much going on both inwardly and outwardly that it is hard to believe that it has come to a close. …
YIP Newsletter November 2015 – Internships and Initiative
The first stinted winter temperatures have arrived in Ytterjärna, coupled with the first collective experience of a sub-zero climate. Peppered within this collective are a few first-timers pulling scarves closer to chins and learning the practical language of layers and the consoling comforts provided by wool. Already forever changed in their interpretations of Winter and Cold, the pervasive thought of …
YIP Newsletter October 2015 – Sequence Initiated
Fall is here. It arrived in quiet explosions of gold and yellow, brisk gusts of wind that brought down finished leaves and the swoosh-swoosh-swoosh sound of children’s boots walking along the forest paths. Although it has been particularly dry and spectacularly sunny, jumps in the fjord are becoming less frequent and on most mornings a thickening frost covers each glassy …
YIP Newsletter September 2015 – Settling In
As fall descends on Ytterjärna in crisp gusts, leaves begin to yellow and the day has decided to share equal time with the night, even if just for a moment. The buzzing energy of arrival and the excitement of unexplored territory has gently receded in a comfortable exhale of growing familiarity. The common room in Tallevana is filled with people …
YIP Newsletter August 2015 – The New Chapter
Although the summer holidays have drawn to a close with children back at school and the YIP office again buzzing with life, the Swedish summer is still in full swing. The gardens are overflowing with vegetables and flowers of all kinds, the apples are growing bigger on their tree branches and hay is collected from the fields, stored away for …
YIP Newsletter July 2015 – The Closing of a Chapter
Almost silence. It came like the moment after a warm thunderstorm passes over and the birds come out from cover. It fell upon the place like a stealthy blanket, somewhat bewildering, but graceful and soothing. Before it arrived, a wave of nearly overwhelming energy walked beside the awareness that a culmination was approaching and stayed with everyone until the end. …