​If you want to move in
If you are thinking of moving to Suderbyn, we recommend visiting first, to see the place, how we live, and how we work together. If you like Suderbyn and feel that you would like to live here,
You are welcome to come back and become a “Suderbyn Explorer”. However,  you can also come as a Suderbyn Explorer directly.
In order to start an Explorer procedure, you must officially ask for it by sending an email to info@suderbyn.se

The explorer procedure

In order to become a long-term resident, you must first go through the “Explorer procedure”. This is a try-out period that lasts one year.

On a daily basis, Suderbyn Explorers are like any long-term residents : they are responsible for their own schedule, and are paying a rent and food allowance proportionally to their working hours for the community.
During the Explorer procedure, one can choose to have a “buddy”, a person who helps integrate and give feedback.


During this year-long procedure, there will be five feedback sessions : the first one after one month of living in Suderbyn, the second one after 3 months, the third one after 6 months, the fourth one after 9 months, and the last one after 12 months.

During these sessions, the Explorer and the present community members will reflect on how the Explorer’s integration is going and how their presence benefits the community, and how the community is benefitting the Explorer.

At the end of each feedback session, the community members that have lived at least 3 months with the Explorer, and will live at least 3 more months with the Explorer if they stay, will vote on your continued stay. People that do not fit these criteria can participate to the feedback session and give their opinion, but cannot vote.

There are 3 possible votes : active yes, passive yes, or no. In order for the Explorer procedure to keep going, the vote must result in at least 75% of “active yes” and less than 10% of “no“.

Note :
1) The votes need to be explained/justified with concrete and objective examples.
2) The explorer should not be present during the voting session

If not accepted, the Explorer needs to leave within the next 30 days. – for exceptional cases it is possible to ask the explorer to leave in a shorter time.

After the 5th feedback session, the Explorer and the community make the final decision about whether the Explorer and Suderbyn are a good fit. If both sides consent, the Explorer will officially become a Suderbyn long-term resident. 

To whom it applies:

  • This procedure applies to everyone that decides to stay in Suderbyn for an undefined period of time (without an end date). There is no exception, everyone needs to be an Explorer for a year and be accepted by a consent round. (This includes friends, partners or family members of current long-term residents).
  • For any person that stays in a program/employment longer than 6 months (ESC, PhD, Service Civique, Workers): after 6 months of being in Suderbyn, they can ask to become an explorer, the process would then last for 1 year as explained above.

Expulsion Process:

  •  For everyone in the community (not only explorers). An extraordinary meeting can be asked by one or more persons in order to consent on the possibility for someone to stay or not.
  • This has to happen after an unsuccessful conflict transformation process. 
  • The expulsion process works as follow:
    There is a feedback and sharing round.
    Then all the people that have lived with the person for at least 3 months can express consent. People that do not fit this criteria can be present and give feedback but not express their consent.
    If at least 75% rounded up of the voters vote for an expulsion then the person is expelled and needs to leave within the next 30 days – for exceptional cases it is possible to ask the person to leave in a shorter time.


Requirements for long-term residents

1) Work the number of hours per week that corresponds to the rent that you are paying.  You can find here our rent and food prices for long-term residents


2) Put your energy in meaningful contributions to the community, which implies: Double checking with the community and the core team if the project is supported by the rest of the community
Being  attentive to the community’s need and priorities


3) Pay the rent according to the number of hours that you work. Be honest and self-responsible in sharing this amount every month to the person in charge of the invoices.

4) Participate to the essentials on a rota and volunteer regularly to the cleaning tasks 

5) Come to the morning meeting and the community meeting (if not able to be there physically, use the different ways to keep up to date with the community organization – check community meeting notes, write your name on the board, use the telegram chat) 

6) Be transparent and communicate proactively about your availability or lack of it due to commitments outside

7) Be self-responsible – we are a supportive community of members but we are not fitted to take on the roles of caretakers/therapists for each other

8) Be proactive in using our different systems : sociocracy, conflict transformation, heartkeeper

9) Use non-violent communication, and non-violent behavior. 

10) In general, follow the Swedish law. Harmful misconducts allows the community to end the explorer procedure at any time

11) Do not adopt any pets without going through the sociocratic decision making process 

12) Failing to comply with these conditions for a prolonged period of time will trigger a community procedure that may lead to expulsion

Rights of a long-term resident

  1. You have a right to access all communal facilities
  2. You have the right for your private room (it can be occupied while you are gone only if you consent to it first) 
  1. You have the right to access all communally bought, grown and cooked food
  2. You have the right to use all communal tools and equipment e.g. power tools in the workshop, bikes, communal car, communal tents, bed sheets etc.
  3. You have the right to benefit from all communal systems – heartkeeper, conflict transformation, support circles …
  4. You have the right to question any of the on-going structures and policies through the sociocratic process
  5.  The right to actively participate in CORE meeting decisions after being in the community for 6 months and longer
  1. You have the right of priority on an available room if in competition with a non long term resident
  2. You have a right to invite a guest in Suderbyn for up to 14 days without needing the community’s consent
  3.  You have the sociocratic right to object to any decision proposal, and to make sure that every community decision is within your sphere of tolerance
  4.  You have the right to use Suderbyn as your legal address regarding Swedish authorities
  5.  Provided you pay for a cooperative membership, you have the right to vote on cooperative board decisions.
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