A Visit to Skåne: Exploring Community-Led Rural Development
From 22 to 24 October, we had the pleasure of welcoming a delegation from LEADER Mansikka in Finland to Skåne, Sweden. The study visit was organised to share experiences of community-led local development and to showcase how local engagement, entrepreneurship and cooperation can help create vibrant and resilient rural communities.
During their stay, the visitors explored a variety of initiatives and places across northwestern and central Skåne.
The programme included presentations of the Hitta Hem i Mitt Nordväst project, guided tours in the villages of Röstånga and Önneköp, and meetings with local residents who have successfully developed community-owned assets and services through cooperative efforts. The group also visited inspiring examples of rural entrepreneurship and heritage restoration in Teckomatorp, where passionate local actors shared their journeys of transforming historic buildings into new assets for the community.
”The visit offered valuable opportunities for exchange, discussion and inspiration, highlighting both the similarities and the unique strengths of rural development work in Finland and Sweden.”
” It was especially interesting to hear about the challenges your region is facing, including electricity supply and access to clean water. Our visits to Röstånga, Önneköp and Teckomatorp also gave us plenty to think about.”
” One thing that particularly caught my attention was the role of village cooperatives. In Finland, local voluntary activities are mainly organised through associations, while cooperatives are much less common in this kind of community development. Seeing services organised through cooperatives in the villages was therefore very interesting for us”
Kirsi Manninen, verksamhetsledare LEADER Mansikka
Visit LEADER Mansikka’s website →
