The old wise Sami woman Ákká

Victoria Cleverby
Jul 29, 2017 · 2 min read
Picture of the mountin Ákká borrowed from here

In my latest text I asked the question; do we need to redefine buying? This as I saw a change in the definition of the word “buying” moving from “owning” into “gaining access to” or borrowing”

Having thought about this a bit more I wonder if this also could change our bigger picture, our understanding of what it is to possess. If we were to move into a society where we do not owe things, but rather borrow or access them (look at this scenario presented at World Economic Forum for example), could this also affect our (power-) relationship to nature?

Today I see how we exploit nature, we believe that we OWE nature, therefore we have the power to do what we want with it. Now this moment we are living in is just a brief moment in time, and sometimes you have to look backward in order to gaze into the future. So I look backwards, and I look to Sapmí. The Sami people living for thousands years in the north of Sweden has developed a relationship to nature (as many other native people around the world) that instead of living of nature, they live with nature. For example you cannot always find the traces of Sami settlements, because it is part of their aim to not leave a mark on nature.

So what if this mind-set of borrowing things also implied that nature, the earth, is also something we borrow? We don’t exercise our power on it, instead we humbly stand before the power it exercises on us.

Thoughts on Business & Design

Thoughts on Business & Design is a publication edited by the designers Victoria Cleverby and Ana Paula Lafaire. It is meant to create a greater understanding of what the field of “Business & Design” may encompass. If you wan’t to contribute, please get in touch!

Victoria Cleverby

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Victoria Cleverby is currently a master student in Business & Design at the university of Gothenburg in Sweden. She is also the founder of Studio Nandaro.

Thoughts on Business & Design

Thoughts on Business & Design is a publication edited by the designers Victoria Cleverby and Ana Paula Lafaire. It is meant to create a greater understanding of what the field of “Business & Design” may encompass. If you wan’t to contribute, please get in touch!

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