American Reacts to the Norwegian Tradition of DUGNAD

[@hwplugburz]

There was a funny story in the media some years ago about an oilworker from Stavanger who was called in to Dugnad as a parent in his kids kindergarden.
He was like : I cant be bothered, Ill rather work an extra shift."
So he hyred two ppl from Poland to do his part in the dugnad .
The other parents and the leaders of the kindergarden was in shock.
(because it totaly misses the point of building community cohesion),
and brought the story to the national media 😂

[@OriginalPuro]

He was an idiot.

[@elisabethpedersen7893]

It is very common to have a Dugnad in the beginning of May, to get the country in shipshape , looking its best before the 17th of may 🇧🇻

[@MessyMeep]

The closest comparison is the Amish barn raising "dugnads" =) Where the whole community comes together and helps each other improve each others farms.
Dugnad also means that when you put your own personal effort in to beautifying an area you'll also be inclined to ensure it stays nice as you have a personal investment.

[@Luredreier]

Yeah, I was also thinking about the Amish barn raising.
That's the main one.
Other examples *do* exist.
Some denominations build churches together for instance.

[@rockon4853]

Everyone in Norway is familiar with the term dugnad. It denotes an effort we make for the sake of the community, without demanding payment for it. We have the word itself from Norse dugnaðr, which means 'help, support' or 'virtue, good quality' 😀

[@norXmal]

TIL, thank you for the informative input, did not know that.

[@ninaelsbethgustavsen2131]

When I was a kid, the school band would use Dugnads to arrange flea markets, cake lotteries, (often combined), and bingo nights.
The money contributed to trips to musical festivals in other parts of the Country, and some times abroad.
This was very important, as some parents could not easily affort to send like 3 kids on those trips.
L❤ve from Norway 🇳🇴
🥁🥁🎺🎺🎷🎷🙆🙆‍♀️🙆‍♂️

[@AudunWangen]

I spend about 5-30 hours a month on dugnad, but I think that is above average.
I do voluntary work for my local ice hockey team working as a security guard/host/medical assistant without pay. I sometimes also do volunteer work on other arrangements, like concerts.
We have some players in the top bowling league in Norway, so they have to travel a lot for games. To finance this, the bowling club do some work, but the players don't get paid for it, just the club. Usually it's moving stage equipment for our local theater/concert hall, but we've also painted garages and other stuff. It's very common that sports teams do work to get more money, for example baking and selling cookies, doing manual labor or selling toilet paper, lottery tickets and stuff like that.
In the borettslag (housing association), we powerwash the roof on the garage, clean gutters, fix fences, pick trash, mow and rake leaves. When I lived in an apartment, we had a schedule to clean the common areas. After we're done, we usually get some food and drinks for the work, paid by the borettslag.
I've never heard about fees for not attending, so I don't think that is very common.

[@ahkkariq7406]

I have taken part in dugnad many times, but have still been happy that I could sometimes pay a fee to avoid participating and still feel like a good part of the community. It is not always possible for health reasons, or if you are very tired for a period of time. The money can be used for food and drink for those who participate.

[@haraldjensen3935]

I literally just got home from a dugnad. In this case it was in the harbor where 10 huge sailship have arrived for a short stop. They are all part of something called Tallships race 2023. These are beautifull 2and 3 mast sailships that draws a huge crowd to our tiny Harbour, and I was helping direct traffic to parking lots

[@SebHaarfagre]

Ohh I wanted to be part of Sørlandet or Christian Radich or one of the others for so long as a volunteer but I think I was 24 when I first learnt about this and that's the maximum age for being a volunteer.
(Otherwise I guess you'll have to apply like it's a job)

[@Ragard123]

In Sweden we call it städdag it translates to cleaning day. It's a common thing here too. I really think you should start looking at videos about other nordic countries lots of things you believe is Norwegian is actually common in all Nordic countries.

[@Atlas_Redux]

But, Sweden is just a poor country trying to copy the far superior neighbors, so it's not really that interesting. Finland however, that could be interesting.

[@henriz.l]

The word Dugnad covers more than just the cleaning part though. That’s why we also have the word Dugnadsånd, meaning spirit of dugnad.

[@BrimirMe]

Not a equivalent word, though. If I buy an old house I could call for a dugnad to friends and acquaintances over several weekends to help fix it up. It applies to any volunteer work that is event-based.

[@Ragard123]

@@henriz.l Yes I agree that the words isn't equivalent and I don't think swedish have a correct translation of dugnad but that kind of community work is still fairly common in Sweden.

[@ahkkariq7406]

@@BrimirMe Exactly. We can call for dugnad as private individuals if we have a job that needs to be done and that needs more hands. This could be, for example, fixing the roof, washing the walls and ceiling when you move out or getting the boat on the water in the spring. The reward for participating is that you yourself will get help when you need it, in addition to the fact that food and drink are often served, especially beer and snacks are popular as a reward.

[@KjetilBalstad]

The fees usually applies in apartment areas with owner shares etc. But dugnads can be many things, and some times you can opt out by paying.
For example my kids attend to sports and other activities, this costs money. So, we pay a 6 month fee to participate, and then for example once per season we sell stuff on behalf of the club, for example bags of toilet paper, to earn more money for the club so they can send kids to cups or upgrade facilities etc. Those who do not want to sell can pay instead.
Other activities can be the Ballbinge, or ball pit, at school, where the decking (not sure of the translation), what they play on top of, artificial grass etc. had to be replaced. The Sports Club bought the decking, and then sendt out lists to parents where some had to help remove the old decking one day, others had to help fix the underlay (sand) the next day, and others had to help the professionals place the new decking the third day, and so on.
Other examples was when every student at our school got three large plastic bags, and everyone "had to" go outside filling them with garbage from besides the roads, forest paths, beaches, everywhere public, and deliver them at school. Nobody would be punished if they didn't do this, but most did it anyways,
Other times it can be fixing public or community buildings benefiting the whole communities, help elderly people and so on.
But, dugnad can also be more personal, it can be friends coming together helping one of them build a new shed, or replacing a wall, then typically a Sixpack of beer is included.
The last dugnad I attended we dug a 1200m long ditch 90cm deep to get our houses connected to propper fiber internet.
I think many Americans have been at a dugnad, in one form or another, but perhaps it's not as common as you having a word dedicated to the concept, and perhaps not so much on the community level where you expect someone to be paid to do the job instead?

[@LinaGenX]

My HOA have DUGNAD once a year in the spring. When we do it we get containers so ppl can get rid of things that are either too big or dont belong in the trash. Paint cans and other thongs that don't belong in the trash is driven away to the place where it's taken care of. We cut down trees, and plant mostly. No fee is charged for not attending, only about 1/3 does attend. After we order pizza, and often ppl have baked cakes to enjoy after the dugnad

[@ksenss2513]

In Munich (Germany) we call it Rammadamma. It's dialect written phonetically, meaning something like: we tidy up. At least in our neighbourhood there is coffee and cake for free in front of the local pub afterwards..It's voluntary, but lots of people show up.

[@doppler4190]

A video where you introduce dugnad in your community, is a video I’d definitely watch 😂

[@John_1920]

08:00 Yes, this is accurate. In my area, we can choose to do the work, or pay - I think it is - roughly $50 extra on the next community bill (community bill is not accurate, I couldn't remember the accurate term, but it's a monthly payment you make that covers things like gardening or mowing by a hired professional/company, more extensive repairs of buildings, upkeep and other stuff, like internet and tv, etc.

[@rainertuominen4242]

The fee for not participating sounds steep, in Sweden it rather is a few hundred all in all. This money is, of course, spent on buying material or food/drinks for the next time. There always is an organization like local homeowners or parents of the children in kindergarten or school.

[@skinnyjohnsen]

Everyone helping each other makes the work easier. Working together is more fun than everyone working on their own. Society building, connecting and doing something good for each other strengthens the bonds between people.
And the party afterwards is also an important thing
Like @MessyMeep just below mentions, you have (had) it in the USA; Raising a barn or such things.

[@ninakjrland9397]

You used to have dugnads in America in the old days. Like barn building, in the early 1900,s. The whole neighborhood would get together together and help build a barn, or a church. Afterwoods there would be food and drink. If you watch some of the old cowboy films or tv series you will see that.

[@didrikvegemdidriksen4250]

The Amish people in US have the Barn raising, witch is the same as a Norwegian Dugnad.
And in Norway , back in the old days, they often had dugnad to help a friend bild a house or a barn.
That was stil common back in the 60s.

[@mariamysager2789]

When I lived in Norway I played ladies soccer. My team had a dugnad where we were cleaning at the local newspaper. Very tidy...from morning to evning one weekend. Ended with a joint supper.

[@h.l.3628]

One thing that was missing is that the alternative to dugnad is to hire some professionals to do the job or let the community belongings to decay. Dugnad is a very cost effective way to taking care of things.

[@OriginalPuro]

You don't pay your way out of dugnad, that's just not the way to go unless you want to be disliked for being "that guy".

[@h.l.3628]

@@OriginalPuro That's not what I am saying! The community could hire someone to do the job but that would be way more expencive.

[@GnosticAtheist]

dugnaðr (dugnad) is an old norse tradition, likely from around 900 AD, meaning its well over 1000 years old. The word translated to "good deed" and "assistance". The concept is deep-rooted, but may loose some strenght in urban settings depending on the influx of immigrants in the specific region. However, immigrants seem to accept the concept, to some degree. The general reason for it is likely tied to small communities where survival required constant community engagement, more so than in warmer climates. If a house was in dire need of repair, the inhabitants could die without assistance. In warmer regions it obviously happened as well, but perhaps with less frequency and urgency.

[@Observer101]

For us introverts dugnad is hell. I’ve paid my way out of it as often as possible. Or stood in a corner making waffles and coffee.

[@lillm6874]

I remember when I was a teenager and my boyfriend lived in a housing association. When they had Dugnad, I remember it was very social, and I also remember that at least us kids/youths got paid a small amount of money👍
After we were finished there were hot dogs, soda and coffee.
Now my boyfriend and I are living on a farm, so we have our own “dugnad” with only the two of us lol

[@kiki-ik8qe]

i've attended 'Dugnad' since i think 3rd grade. From my experience the youngest would often help pick up trash as they get older or more skilled they would help with other things.

[@VampyrMygg]

I've done some dugnad work cleaning up the neighborhood beach, and we had to help paint our school when I went to school, but along the more voluntary sort of dugnad, I've manned posts on a race track to flag if something happened on the circuit, or I've been a judge during Trial events, which is a sort of off-road motorcycle event where they go over a set course with obstacles of sorts, and I have to basically count how many times they touched the ground with their feet, as the point is to not touch the ground with your feet.

[@xi_the_engineer]

Closest translation I can think of is a potluck where you also help with work around a Specific community

[@robertw]

The fees (as well as the dugnads) are of course voluntary. Dugnad can also be when the parents from the kids' football team/marching band/anything (or the kids themselves) take on some work to raise money, in places where extra labour is needed for a day or so.Then the money earned will go to the team or to the marching band or whatever organisation in question you are supporting (raising money fpor school trips in this way is quite common). Normally the fees (as well as the dugnads) of course sre voluntary., but if the intention of the dugnad is to raise money for a the kids in som way or another, then it is quite common to, if you are not able to (or interested in) participating, offer, (or being asked to pay) an amount of money instead.

[@danielkarlsson258]

We also got this in Sweden. We don't have a cultural word for it but usually if you live in an area with "radhus" or like townhouse/row-house you pay a monthly fee to be part of a union of that area. That is to fix the roads, fix the garages, upgrade internet and much more. And in that community it is often one spring day and one autumn day where you all come together and clean up or fix up the area around the houses.
Edit: And we don't have any penalties, we just have the shame. 😊

[@SebHaarfagre]

That's "Rusken", or, that's separate of Dugnad. Dugnad is done anywhere there exist neighbours, basically. "Rusken" is a day where schools go around cleaning up and picking up garbage or tidying stuff.
So your thing seems like a little mix of both.

[@John_1920]

05:55 The length doesn't really have any averages, it depends on the size of the area that needs to be worked on, how much work needs to be done, and how easy or difficult the work will be, another big factor is how long each individual task takes, as even though some tasks may be easy, they could still take a long time.
Some areas are so small it doesn't take a lot of work, or time, to finish all that needs to be done.
While other areas are so large that it takes several hours to get everything done.

[@foryou7673]

Now that you have reacted to fairytale, you might wanna react to other norwegian music videos. We have Kygo, Alan walker And Seeb in addition a-ha for example. You should also consider reacting to other musical performances from our eurovison journey.

[@ahkkariq7406]

A-ha is a must, especially since most Americans only know Take on me. Then you have Ylvis, they are brilliant.

[@ScaniaR500]

There is dugnad every spring where I live, usually in the spring. Never been there since I'm usually at work and there never hase been any fee for those who don't show up.

[@grethehiland5619]

What about the block parties we had in the 1970’.. I remember all the neighbors coming together and washing, cleaning their block, maybe painting fences and the evening getting together with good food and bathing in the fire hydrant.. and maybe king-Kong the ride. Came by... so I would say that as a little a like the Norwegian dugnad . I grew up in the Norwegian part of bay ridge Brooklyn in the 70’.

[@Syllian]

I have never payed a fee, it's not so normal.
Another work you might do, is to help out in your kids hobbys, like sell icecream, Coffee and tings like that when it's soccergames. That’s the most common dugnad.
And this type of dugnad can be very nice to do 😊

[@gamleskalle1]

Volunteer work is very important in Norway and DUGNAD was voted "word of the year" some years ago.

[@Ruffster]

You had this sort of for a long time in the US among the Amish though.

[@heisenfeis]

I only mow the neighborhood grass football field in the summer, it is kinda small but still needs to be done for the kids. The mower I just borrow from some neighbor that has it or is home at the time.

[@Kari.F.]

It's usually about cleaning up after winter. If you want your child's school or playground, your neighborhood park or whatever to look presentable, you show up for the dugnad. It's also a social event where you get to know or hang out with your neighbors, or the other parents who have kids in the same school or sports team that your kids attend. If you're disabled, you don't have to take part in a dugnad, or pay the "fine".

[@monicabredenbekkskaar1612]

We use dugnad to fix for 17th of May, all the celebration at schools as well aso

[@John_1920]

12:07 Dugnad in English would be translated into Spring Cleaning or Fall Cleaning, depending on what time of the year it is. That is literally what Dugnad is, a time - or two - a year where you and/or your neighbors either work and clean your own properties or gather together to work and clean a communal area or the neighborhood together. This is the time of year where neighbors in communities might share their lawn mowers and other tools to those without, or offer to do the work for their neighbors.

[@user-uz2sy5xe9h]

You certainly have Dugnad in the US. The Amish people have something called "Barn raising", ie any task that is too big for one family,
the whole comunity shovs up and get the work done. If you get out of the urban areas in Norway, not only small tasks that are mentioned here,
but larger things, like footballfields, parks, or even City halls have been built on Dugnad.

[@espekelu3460]

Volunteering is a great initiative, which allows you to feel a certain pride in the area you live in as it is maintained by holding volunteering. The problem with fees or fines for not contributing is perhaps because the person concerned is not very mobile, or suffers from an illness, which means that one cannot participate, because currently such considerations are not taken into account, and many people have reacted very negatively to that.
•

[@louiseerbslisbjerg7854]

I was wondering about that.
Someone also mentioned "hyper avpiders". I have to ssy I've been a "hyper avoider" in my community (I'm Danish and we have "dugnad's" in kindergardens, schools etc. a couple of times a year).
I have massice chronic pain and PTSD which means I'm on benefits. It's always in the afternoon, going into evening and I'm extremely tured. I spend my days just surviving well enough to be a good parent amd I hate thatI feel like I have to share my personsl budiness to get out of it.
I lean, I love gardening at home jut I can fo that at my own incentive and no more than my body can deal with.
I can no longer hang up shelves etc.(I used to do everything by myself) and 6-8 hours 8f major projects can affect ne gor weeks.
My finances are limited, a fine would potentielly kean we had less foid, could'nt pay the heat or whatever.
And it's not like there's peo9le making fugnads for say elderly ir disabled peopke in thrir communities, help get gardens done or fixing things around the house.

[@gunnara7625]

Most organizations and churches in Norway are depending on voluntary work, and especially in small communities, dugnad is a positive way to get things done without having to spend a lot of money, The alternative will be to hire somebody to do the work, but to be able to hire somebody, the fee for everybody will be higher. In addition to a lower (school)- fee, you also get to know your neighbours or the parents of your children's schoolmates, - and most people are also taking better care of things when they have to help maintaining and repairing whatever they are working with during a dugnad.

[@stenhard61.46.1]

We used to call it a Working Bee. In fact we still call it that. On my Gun Club website we have 1 or two scheduled a year but if you don't attend it's not big deal but you might get some other benefits if you do.

[@djetm]

It's like doing good for others.
To show that you care.

[@okklidokkli]

No, it is not. Most of the time you help yourself just as much.

[@ahkkariq7406]

@@okklidokkli Actually it is both. You can participate in dugnad for friends and family. The reward is that you can get help yourself when you need it.

[@ahkkariq7406]

Traditionally, the concept behind dugnad has probably been very common all over the world. I guess one of the reasons why it is still an important part of Norwegian culture is because it is expensive to hire labor in Norway. The salary is higher than in other countries for manual work that does not require education. If we are going to hire people to do simple tasks, we ourselves have to work more hours to pay for an hour's work. This is because we pay high tax rates both on our own work and on the work that the person we hire in does.

[@truxton1000]

Well it’s the same in the UK, very expensive to hire people to do any kind of work. So dugnad would be perfect for the UK but unheard of here so it would never happen. Sad but that’s how it is..

[@magnusemilsson7205]

There are two very common words in the Nordic languages that has no translation to English.
Those are "the day after tomorrow" and "the day before yesterday",
"övermorgon" and "förrgår" in Swedish
"overimorgen" and "forigårs" in Noewegan
I can not understand how you can live without them.

[@sylface86]

never had any dugnad so not common around here but in bigger appartment building around i think they have it every spring... but dugnad is vouluntery work in english so most norwegian word still have a prounounse on it to english

[@monicabredenbekkskaar1612]

Dugnad is also to make something come true. You could buy waffles and the erning is for the schoolbands trip or for a new stadion for the kids or for to help someone. Its to do good for free.

[@carolinecordelia]

It's very common to have a dugnad, and it's just as common to complain about having to do it and it seems like it's the same people every time that "can't come that particular day" 😅 When we had a dugnad in the kindergarden I worked in the parents had to come to do things like carpenting, painting, rake leafs and such. It's common to have waffles and cakes and hot dogs and saft. (Saft is like a limonade). You will do the work for free. Once two of the parents that was painters for their work painted the whole kindergarden rooms in just a few hours, it would have taken regular people at least the double amount of time and we was so happy that they did this for us. The pay for them was just happy kindergarden employees and kids, and I really think they were happy to not have to rake leafs instead 😅. Dugnad is all the things no one have time to do or want to do. 😊 I think it's like when Amish people build a house, they all do it to help the community.

[@SebHaarfagre]

You start by putting up a flyer announcing a Dugnad, its place and date/time and other details.
Then you're expected to show up, though nobody will force you. After at least a year though, people will notice who's there and not. If you want to live with side glances and being ignored, then stay at home, otherwise you should have a good excuse. If you don't want to be part of the society, nobody wants anything to do with you.
It is common to bring small things and sometimes even a bit more. For example coffee, maybe extra cups, maybe some muffins or snacks or something else.
So you work together as a team, spend some hours or even most of the day together doing practical things, and you have breaks now and then and you also get to know your neighbours.

[@mpark6142]

Is it only a Nordic thing? In Finland it is called " talkoot" , and it is basically the same as dugnad. Esp. rural communities used to have or still have "talkoot" for a chore or work where you need a lot of people to do a smth that would be very rough and tedious to do alone, but if everyone shows up for few hrs, you get it done and have fun at the same time.

[@CM-ey7nq]

It's something I've usually just done to get it over with. Can be a bit of a pain in the behind if you work mostly nights or at unusual hours.
The hyper avoiders and the ones hyper fired up about it tend to annoy me about equally. The latter a bit more at times, maybe :)

[@monicabredenbekkskaar1612]

You had it before, when the farmers barn burned down, the whole village/nabours came helping to rebuild it...

[@palmarolavlklingholm9684]

Well, Dugnad is pretty much whenever a bunch of people come together and work towards a common goal. It being repairing a house. cleaning up a neigbourhood, or helping someone, with something important they for some reason can't do for yourself. But then you have more official Dugnad, that is more like what you read about. There it is expected for you to help. But I have never heard about any penalties. The whole thing about Dugnad is voluntary work towards a common goal.

[@Saraqual]

I’ve lived a few places, where you had to pay a couple hundred NOK if you didnt participate in the yearly dugnad.
So not unheard of

[@hikkespett]

What do you mean by "not do the dugnad"? You do do the dugnad!
(I just wanted to write "do do the dugnad")

[@birgitta287]

This is also very common in Sweden. The reasons , and how it's looked upon, are the same as in Norway.

[@camillah.1810]

Its easy to start one. Ask a good friend with kids and offer to help out in their school or kinder garden. It will be noticed and appreciated. Next time ask other parents to join. Then DO actually have enjoyed the benefits. Next time invite even more. You create a culture for that specific place. Make it fun. Isn't it our job as parents to do all we can so our children have the best environment possible? Or do our best to thrive in our own community? When work that everyone can perform needs to be done, and the public, schools, clubs so on cant pay.. why should one not? Its only for our own good. I believe this also contribute to generate some of the trust you have reacted to earlier. We know our environment in the areas we spend time. If you want to learn what steering REALLY is... Just don't show up... Then don't forget to formulate your trustworthy explanation speech expected from everyone when you painted in shame meet them again. ;)

[@Last_Dance]

I suddenly get busy at work that day...

[@ngaourapahoe]

Usually these tasks are performed by professional community workers, whose salary is paid by the people

[@zarahandrahilde9554]

Before Norway had oilmoney to build a barcode district and operahouse for funsies,
a lot of the country was built and maintained this way.
This is how broke norway afforded nice things and the tradition is worth keeping imo

[@palmarolavlklingholm9684]

I know the concept is well known In the USA. In the old times, it was common for people to come together to get big jobs done. whether it was for the community or it was for single persons or families. Sadly it seems it is a dying activity.

[@tomkirkemo5241]

As a Norwegian,I hate dugnades....not the part doing things for the local society, but all the social things around it.

[@melenka777]

They call it "working-bee" in Scotland, but it's not as organised in the same way as in Norway.

[@Styrestian]

I never heard of beer after dugnad, then I would go ..

[@whiskeythedog578]

those who didnt participate last year, pays for the the pizza we have this year. its not free pizza end beer. and it is a thing were it doesnt matter if you are 11 of 101. everybody does their best, and talk across generations, with all the complications that might entale. a painter does not want to paint during dugnad. he rather fetch coffee or try to fix a broken bike...

[@Luredreier]

Dugnad *does* exist in the US in some communities.
Depends on the religious denomination, culture they come from etc...
6:13
You skipped a important part there.
A weekend dugnad might last a full day.
Try to read everything, even if you don't necessarily say it out loud, because you're missing out on a lot here.

[@zaph1rax]

The fees from those who doesn't show up can pay for the food and drinks ;)

[@norXmal]

The irony of not doing it for free when in reality it increases their home's market value by increasing the value of the community.

[@88Wern3r]

Its actually illegal to give a fee for those who doesnt show up

[@RunningLowOnSerotonin]

Can't exactly say I felt I was doing important work or getting to know anyone while I was cleaning toilets..😞

[@ngaourapahoe]

I love team work only there is always one or several people who try to use authority which is out of place

[@bjrnhagen2853]

Never heard of a fee

[@oh515]

The whole world should have a dugnad for cleaning up garbage. Afterwards everyone would understand how important dugnad is.

[@1955petter]

voluntary work

[@sancharisircar7072]

Is that a real voice ?

[@frankbg1]

The point is - do some work, get to know your neighbours and get a reward at the end...

[@hamdankyaw1020]

DUGNAD MEAN SALIVARY OG FORCE LABOUR

[@turidboholm2587]

Kind of like a barn raising in the Amish community.

[@kilipaki87oritahiti]

I hate dugnad. Growing up I never participated as I didn't have to. I think annually each year in my specific neighborhood we'd clean the ''common area'' which is just a tiny plot of land between the houses that was basically a playground, lawn, bushes, a few trees with a swing, which my dad put up. Later they would build a place to have BBQs, a bench with a table, and make a sandbox. Because growing up there weren't many kids around besides us, just retired old folk, all ethnic white Norwegian neighborhood, so our friends lived elsewhere around town. This was basically done as a spring cleanup to make the space usable for the rest of the year until winter. They never really expected us kids to join, and my dad was the only one who did go, and my mom would join later that evening, and they would top it all off with a get together, food, drinks etc. Apart from that there haven't been much dugnad. Tho we do have it at my apartment complex, but because it's my partner who owns our apartment, I don't participate now either. And I couldn't care less about social suicide as I don't talk or socialize with my neighbors as I live in the big city. Majority of them I don't even like, and people don't tend to live here long anyway. The few I do like, I say hi to whenever I see them and put up a shallow conversation with if ever in the elevator together, but that's about it. Also we and a few others are the ones that have lived here the longest out of the ones still living here, so a unspoken hierarchy. But overall dugnad is to ensure communal ties, responsibility, and trust, as if people actually owns something, they will care for it more than if they didn't. Nothing new or nice ever lasts here (Norway) tho. If a new bus stop, in a matter of days, someone has tagged it all down. Kids that has nothing else to do... or if painted over any surface tagged, a week later, it's tagged even more. Littering, and in general vandalism, and it's not just a city thing, people don't have respect for other people's property.

[@janneteresegausel70943]

We do not enjoy this dugnad, eventhough we participate in it. But some of the dugnads end up in a party when the work is over, that we can like😂😂😂🎉

[@louiseerbslisbjerg7854]

I wonder if they penalise people who has chronic disease or handicaps that limits or stops participating.
In Denmark our privatised kindergardens etc.do often require one to participate once or twice a year but the are also quite understanding if you are not able to or give you smsll tasks like making coffee etc.for the event.
However, my daughters public kindergarden also arrange such a workdays on and off, and you are shamed a lot gor not participating. Personally I have massice chronic pain and another chtonic illness and last timeI spend days in bed following it, because I did'nt want my daughter to be dhamed for me not being there.
I hope dugnad is not that judgemental to people in special circumstances. Because then it's no longer community based, just a forced un-pleasent day.

[@mari97216]

From my experience theres always people skipping it, but always people who do it. Usually same people. No penalty as far as I know, unless its specified in your housing contract if its that kind of dugnad

[@kvistkvasten]

In my experience dugnad is very inclusive. It’s based on trust and community so everyone participating are doing something they can manage. There is always need for someone to make coffee, watch the small kids, make arrangements for trash pickup later or something like that. You don’t need a strong back to help out. Any and all contributions are usually welcomed.

[@Kari.F.]

Paid dugnad? Everybody in the neighborhood would have to pay (say) $100 each. How else are they going to pay everybody $100 for the job they're doing. That's the equivalent to taking a $100 bill out of your jacket pocket and putting it directly into another pocket in the same jacket. If that's not an exercise in pointlessness, I don't know what is.

[@tomre2769]

Dugnad is usually fine, but there are always those who talk more than they work. Just how it is.

[@chrisjones-vu7he]

Dugnad in English is voluntary work

[@agent941]

not cuite a fine more a fee for using something comunal that u can get out of by working to keep it usable

[@jeschinstad]

Dugnad goes back to Norse-times and it used to be a very serious religious duty and our first welfare system, Legd, was based on these ancient principles. But the word "dugnad" pretty literally means "to be good for something" so by not showing up, you're demonstrating that you're not good for anything and it used to be a very strong social stigma. The reason we have fees these days, is that the sense of sacred duty has evaporated somewhat over time, which is sad. I think it's one of the things we've lost by moving from legd to European socialdemocracy. It has brought much good, but we've lost something as well. When you are personally responsible for your neighbours welbeing, that really builds a strong community. Moving from personal responsibility to states responsibility has weakened us as a people.

[@OriginalPuro]

"the word "dugnad" pretty literally means "to be good for something" so by not showing up, you're demonstrating that you're not good for anything "
That is very good information.
Takk.

[@jeschinstad]

@@OriginalPuro: More precisely, the -nad suffix indicates that you've created a noun from a verb. In this case, the verb is "duge", which means to be good enough or strong enough or skilled enough. A man who is "dugelig" is a man that you can always rely on to get the job done. In New Norwegian, we have another example, which is "lovnad", where the verb is "love", which means to promise. The noun for that promise then becomes lovnad.

[@truxton1000]

I think dugnad probably is as old as many thousands of years, probably since Scandinavia was populated, as working together was the only way of surviving.

[@jeschinstad]

@@truxton1000: We know as a fact that it is. In Africa, it is called Ubuntu which is why I as a Norwegian gave 18 years of my life to something that turned out to be nothing but astroturfing. But as a Norwegian, I have this strange freedom of being proud of my shame, which most people do not have. But let her speak to you, she who speaks on my behalf as a Norwegian. ua-cam.com/video/s0QjwXGR5xo/v-deo.html

[@SouthHill_]

I think HOA communities have it in the US, or something? HOAs are horrible tho.

[@BizzyX78]

-----
@SouthHill_
-----
- The US 'HOA' sounds to be somewhat similar to what we call 'BRL' or 'SE' in Norway.
The difference being that the 'HOA' owns the land upon which people live, even if it's a house that you happen to live in and not just an apartment.
-----

[@carlsvrd1098]

Immagine when you get home from a family vacation. There is tonnes of shit that has to be carried from the car back in the house. You have only a few items that belongs to to you. The majority of the shit in the car has been used by everyone. Do you just carry your own shit and crash down on the sofa? or do you help? extrapolate that into a society

[@OriginalPuro]

Dugnad is great and those who don't participate are lazy effs.
Those who can't, can't, but able-bodied people who just choose to not participate are low value individuals.

[@louiseerbslisbjerg7854]

So... does thhe community expect everyone to lay out their personal health records to not be called names or shamed?
You csn not always see if people are able bodied. There are such things as hidden diseases which will worsen dramatically for days or weeks.
You never know what's going on in private.
Diseases such as neuropathi, sclerosis, bowl diseases, fibromyalgia does not nessecarily present with visible symptoms but can be very tasking. And my bet is,no one will make smaller dugnad's to help those people following the event, even if it makes them more sick.

[@user-bp5qi4vq9l]

If they didn't do this, they'd never meet their neighbors, because they don't talk to "strangers" except when liquored up. (Don't schools, etc. hire janitors, landscapers, maintenance workers? If they do, dugnad seems superfluous.)

[@henriz.l]

Dugnad is something positive and nice, so you would never get it.

[@Ragard123]

Of course they do, I'm from Sweden not Norway but we have a similar way of doing things. When I was in school we usually had cleaning days in the spring where we picked up trash outside. It wasn't that labor intensive but a good way for children to learn that you shouldn't throw trash on the ground.
I think it's more common in small associations like sports clubs, boy/girl scouts and the like. Where you have buildings that's need maintenance but you don't want to increase the yearly fee with hundreds of dollars for the monthly salary of a janitor.
In my condo association we have a janitor on staff. He takes care of most things but we still have a yearly cleaning day where we take care of the flowerbeds outside the houses, pick up trash and so on. It's stuff that needs doing but it's not part of the janitor duties.

[@truxton1000]

I think the day that dugnad die out in Scandinavian countries will be one of the last nails in the coffin. The question is what all those immigrants will do when there is no more benefits left to claim on, well they will have to see..

[@user-bp5qi4vq9l]

With the recent arrival of "Geography Now! United States of America," you can learn about your own country. You're in desperate need of some knowledge about it. You probably should watch it on your own time, because it's an hour long -- your insanely frequent pauses and inane blather would require 6 parts or more.

[@Emperor_Nagrom]

Why are you so hellbent on him learning about the US? That's not what this channel is for, but I'm sure you knew that since you portray yourself as The All Knowing God of Trivia.

[@MonicaMaria2175]

Why the h.ll do you obsessively watch Tyler’s videos for? Following. him on all his channels like a stalker. Just to spew your nonsense and despise for the man and his videos. You really have to get yourself a life, and perhaps some therapy.

[@tomerikmartinsen359]

What the f is with you 😂

[@DivineFalcon]

@@Emperor_Nagrom This person spends every waking hour stalking UA-cam, being an American exceptionalist douchebag. It's really weird.

[@rytterl]

Look everyone, the attention seeking hater is here, as per usual.
Hey, piss off.

[@pelsdot]

I would rather pay then help fuck that i dont want to work my job why would i go do dugnad after work when i dont even want to go to work? I literally just quit my job because i hate to work...