Text: Kjersti Lassen
The project GREEN BLOOD: Undressing hierarchies to reduce pressure on land through Forest Finn perspectives will provide insigths into our relationship wiht nature through perspectives of Forest Finn, on of our leat known cultural minorities.
The project has been awarded 10.5 million NOK from the Research Council of Norway as a Researcher Project for Scientific Renewal Thematic Call “Areas under pressure”.
Green Blood was developed by Ingun Grimstad Klepp, Kate Fletcher, and Lisbeth Løvbak Berg. Klepp is a long-standing professor of clothing and sustainability at SIFO and holds a PhD in outdoor life, with fieldwork conducted in Finnskogen. Kate Fletcher, of Manchester Metropolitan University, researches clothing, design, and sustainability with a focus on the relationship with nature, while Lisbeth Løvbak Berg is a researcher with a background as a fashion designer specializing in sustainability.
– It is obvious to anyone willing to see it that our way of using nature is catastrophic, says Klepp.
– After working for many years in the field of ‘sustainability,’ it is becoming increasingly clear that the policies being formulated—often under the banner of the ‘circular economy’—do not lead to reduced environmental impact and are not grounded in research.
– Green Blood therefore represents a refreshing shift in perspective. We will stop banging our heads against the wall of resistance to change—which can be summed up as ‘growth’—and instead try to find the seeds of change within ourselves and in one of the many cultures that have different traditions for relating to nature, she says.
A kinship with Forest Finn culture
The name Green Blood is somewhat ambiguous, Klepp explains.
“It refers to the fact that we are all part of nature, rather than merely users of nature as something external to ourselves. It can also be understood as a form of heritage; just as ‘blue blood’ implies having noble relatives, ‘green blood’ signifies a kinship with Forest Finn culture. We leave it open whether this is understood strictly as a ‘blood tie’ or more broadly as a connection felt by anyone who identifies with this kinship.”
She believes there is much to be learned from Forest Finn culture.
“There is a great deal we do not know.” This autumn, a magnificent new museum building dedicated to Forest Finn culture will open. We are collaborating with the museum on this project, using dance and movement, clothing, and footwear to open up new ways of being in and with nature.