The ecovillage Smeden is situated just four kilometres south of the city centre of Jönköping in an area that once was the small church village of Ljungarum – today an integrated part of the modern city, close to the motorway E4. The village is build from ecological principles and consists of 24 apartments in semi-detached houses with a common village house in addition. The sizes of the apartments vary between 81 and 137 m2. Established in the years of 1993-1995.

The initiative of building an ecovillage was originally a political issue of the city council of Jönköping 1988. By the establishment of an Ecovillage Society in 1990 interested citizens themselves had the opportunity to work for the realisation of the project and to take part in the planning and formation of the village and houses. The participation of the future inhabitants was possible due to a long-range co-operation with the architects (Arkitektrådet AB) and the building company (Mjöbäcks Entreprenad AB).

Smeden is located on former farmland, at the edge of a small forest, now a local area of nature preservation. The orientation of the houses is sun facing with the forest at the back (north), thus getting lots of sun radiation on the solar collectors integrated in the roofs and also heat from passive solar power through the triple glazed windows. The fronts of the houses are large in-glassed porches – good buffers between inside and the small gardens outside – with clay floor tiles to store the heat from the sun. The backs of the houses have storage rooms attached to the facade and only one large window. The red wooden houses are well insulated, have few walls without shelter and are build with sound materials. The heating system consists of under-floor hot water pipes heated from solar collectors, and an electric heater in the accumulating water tank. Some apartments have as compliment a tile stove with connection to the tank.

Each household disposes a garden allotment of 200 m2 to grow vegetables. Organic household waste is composted and used as fertiliser.

Smeden has its own water supply - a deeply drilled well. The water is treated in an air
filter to get rid of iron and make it less hard. The village also has its own wastewater treatment plant for the greywater and flush- water from the toilets. The toilets used in Smeden are water flushed and urine-separating. Each apartment has worm compost in a small basement room, where the faeces and paper from the toilets are composted after the flush- water is separated. The composted material is dug down in the vegetable gardens to fertilise rhubarbs and berry bushes etc.

The treated waste water is lead to an artificial pond and stream and continues to a small wetland before it reaches the natural stream that passes the village and later on ends up in a lake. The urine is collected in two common containers, dug down deeply in the ground. The urine and the sludge from the sewage plant are fetched and used by farmers as fetilisers on farmland nearby the village.

All maintenance of the buildings and technical systems are managed by the village inhabitants themselves within the regime of the Co-housing Association. The work is organised in groups of four families, which take turns every fortnight. There are also different working groups for different subjects. Common meetings and parties are held in the village house, which also can be used for hobbies and children's  day-care.

The ecovillage is of interest to many different kinds of visitors, and visitors are received and guided by appointment. Lecturing on the ecovillage is possible as well.
Person to contact: Pia Larsson, Korgebovägen 67, S-553 08 JÖNKÖPNG. E-mail address: hellman.larsson@swipnet.se