We Bought a Farm
Earlier this week, my partner Jana and I received the keys to Allsta Gård. It’s an integrated Bed & Breakfast, event venue, and organic farm outside of Kramfors, Sweden.
It’s slightly baffling that we’re finally here. It’s been quite the ride.
Almost one year ago, we decided to leave the settled normalcy of city life in Stockholm. We felt the intuitive call of the future: A place where we could call home, but also where we could live out our work and interests fully. A place to bring people together to heal and evolve. A place to connect with and even regenerate the land. A place to contribute to weaving a cultural fabric of connection, restoration, and life.
We started searching in August 2023 for a property. Six months later we sold our Stockholm apartment – to go all-in for the search but also to learn some of the skills we would eventually require. This brought us to a farm at the stunning Värmländsnäs peninsula in western Sweden and the equally stunning Åredalen up north. We learned a lot about ourselves, the country, and what the countryside has to offer in the process.
But this autumn, coming up on a year of searching, our patience was starting to wear thin. At some point, something in me gave up. Or rather, something in me let go. I was tired of trying to brute force our way forward. And it was around that time, as is so often the case, that the opportunity revealed itself. One late October day, a sequence of seemingly chance events brought us to Allsta Gård. A couple of weeks later we had signed the papers to take it over.
We couldn’t have imagined that this would be where we ended up. At first glance, you might think that it’s the middle of nowhere: an almost 5-hour drive from Stockholm, and 25-minutes to the closest proper town (Kramfors) with less than 5,000 people. But as we’ve learned about the country through our year’s travels, there is an abundance of culture and connection and if you only take the time to look. The farm is right next to Höga Kusten (the High Coast), a beautiful stretch of coast home to world-renowned hiking trails. There are plenty of craftsmen and thriving local businesses in the village, including a famous whisky distillery. There are regular train connections and even daily airplane flights to Stockholm 15-minutes away. And it’s home to an inspiring landscape that forms a fitting backdrop for everything we want to create.
We’re lucky to have the chance to build upon a solid foundation. The previous owners, Ingrid and her late husband Hans, made Allsta Gård into somewhat of a local destination. People from near and far have come to stay in the B&B building that is built with ecological materials and to enjoy the homegrown organic breakfasts.
Now it is our turn to take the reins and evolve it further. We have a long list of ideas and plans which include: Continuing to run the B&B with local produce. Hosting and running events and retreats within personal and spiritual development, bodywork, and art. Welcoming clients for in-person coaching and thai yoga massage. Hosting writing residences, leadership retreats, and Yellow events. Offering events for the local community, like concerts, talks, men’s and women’s groups, family constellations, and pizza nights. Continuing to grow vegetables, fruit, and berries. One day integrating sheep or other animals to add to the handful of hens and contribute to regenerating the land. And eventually even restoring the older buildings to host larger events and maybe even an extra-curricular “school for life” for children.
Somehow, I will also (try to) juggle all of this with continuing to run my coaching and therapy practice. Yes, we’re going to be busy. We have more than enough of ideas to last a couple of lifetimes. We will be happy if we realize only a fraction of what we imagine. But this is the adventure that is calling us. We follow that call humbly and excitedly.
We have not made this move to be isolated in the woods, quite the contrary. We hope that Allsta Gård becomes place that bubbles with people and with life. We see a future where people come and go at different durations, taking the chance to leave an imprint while leaving affected in turn. So we’re open to ideas on how people would like to visit and be involved in the months and years to come.
For now, though, our focus is on more immediate concerns. Boxes need to be unpacked, hens need to be fed, and snow needs to be shovelled. There is much to do, and there is so much to learn. And that is a wonderful thing.
You can follow what we’re up to at Allsta Gård here:
Alex, this is so awesome! Kudos and congrats. Emma and I will start scheming ways to get there and visit. The property looks beautiful.