If you have not heard of the term ‘dugnad’ before, you will certainly come across it in this season.

Dugnad is a collective effort of volunteers to achieve an aim. This can be gardening, cleaning/painting the common areas of a building cooperative, clubhouses or the grounds of the kindergarten/school that your children attend. You may also be required to do other activities such as managing kiosks.

It can also be an organised effort of neighbours to help out another neighbour who may have difficulties.

This is an important resource for building cooperatives, kindergartens/schools, sports teams and clubs, etc, to maintain the common areas and to achieve a common goal.

The management of building cooperatives, kindergartens/schools, sports teams and clubs will usually send out notice via posters, emails or letters regarding an upcoming dugnad.

It is usually a good experience where you get to clean/tidy an area which you and your family utilise, or do something useful for the club you or your children are a part of, and you can expand your social network by meeting the other parents or others in your neighbourhood.