Ålidhem Biodome

The Ålidhem Biodome is a result of a collaboration between the Earth Organisation for Sustainability (EOS), Studiefrämjandet and the Urban Gardeners of Ålidhem, with support from Umeå Municipality, Umeå Energi, Däckia and Grön Ungdom. It was erected by a diverse and shifting group of volunteers consisting of youths and students, of different backgrounds, and will be operational by the spring 2019.

The goal is to extend the growing season, create a monument to the urban gardeners and to also establish a meeting place. It can also be seen as a prototype for future – larger – domes and other greenhouse installations. The southern side is facing the Sun’s route over the sky, while the opaque northern side is storing heat through hemp insulation. The dome is a heritage of the people of Ålidhem, and is built by the people of Ålidhem.

The Earth Organisation for Sustainability was founded in 2006 as a response to the extreme unsustainability of the current world order, and to investigate the opportunity for designing an alternative socio-economic system which could balance the needs of humanity in relation to our planet’s capacity to fulfil them. This design would correspond to three criteria:

• A global ecological budget ceiling
• A global circular economy
• A global income floor

We are not a political party or a corporation, we are a movement which is working through research, civil education and social projects. We believe that by joining together neighbourhoods in forming “transition islands”, we can bring humanity closer to a new form of social structure, one where we build the future together.

The urban gardeners of Umeå are an essential group in terms of them creating spaces where sustainable transition is possible. Sustainable consumption isn’t enough. Of course, one should individually strive to consume as sustainably as possibly, but to only stand there without organising collectively, we risk subsidising an unsustainable system by feeding it with capital. There is a need throughout the world, for ordinary people like ourselves to retake the control of our destiny as a civilization. Even small-scale projects will have a tremendous impact, if there are millions of them and they are cooperating.

You are the main character in the story of your own life. You control what will happen during the course of your life, and what your legacy will be. Get inspired, and start growing!