What associations do you have with Sweden? What's the first thing that comes to mind? The Vikings? Pippi Longstocking? IKEA? Ensemble ABBA? Hockey? Karlsson on the roof?

Last November I went on a business trip to Sweden and now I associate it with a country where a lot is being done for the comfort and convenience of its citizens and at the same time a lot of attention is paid to the care of the environment.

Did you know that Sweden is a leader in household waste management?

99% of the waste is disposed there, used to generate energy or remaking them, they give a second life, as in the ReTuna Återbruksgalleria shopping center. ReTuna Återbruksgalleria is located 100 km from Stockholm in Eskilstuna.

ReTuna is a waste recycling center, shopping and education center. It has 15 shops, a restaurant and a conference room. Here you can find shops, decor and furniture, with computers and electronics, appliances, sports goods and garden plants. Everything here has already been in someone's hands and either got a second life by redesigning, or made of recycled waste.

I couldn`t visit ReTuna Återbruksgalleria as I was in another city. But I was able to get acquainted with a similar project Yalla Sofielund in Malmö. Yalla Sofielund is a social project that was organized on the basis of an already existing company. The firm, consisting of about 25 creatives of various nationalities, was engaged in upcycling in different directions. Three years ago, when many refugees arrived in Sweden, it was decided to create a training center for them. Although, this is not an exact definition for this center. Most of the refugees were already experts in some fields of activity, but they lacked language skills. So they worked and learned the language at the same time. Someone works in a sewing workshop, someone is engaged in restoration of furniture, someone cooks for cafe which is located in the same center, and someone is engaged in cleaning.

Items on which there are no price tags are used by employees of the center and they are parts of the interior.

Everything in this center is upcycling.

Cafe visitors eat at these tables. When we came to the center, it was almost empty. But when it was lunch time, the cafe got immediately packed.

That is how you work and study the language at the same time.

There are those who learn the craft from scratch in the center. For their training teachers are specially invited.

The sofa is waiting for its turn :)