Hakkas is a village within Gällivare municipality, and will be one of the pilot communities for the LECO project. At the community event, Jokkmokk’s LECO team presented the project which is funded by the NPA programme with partners in Ireland, Finland, Sweden and Norway. The goal is to combine new innovative technologies with locally available natural resources, and to raise awareness of energy efficiency and identify possibilities to use renewable energy.

Hakkas community is close to the mining town Gällivare, where it is difficult to get housing. There is a high interest in living in the lovely village Hakkas, however, even here more proper houses are needed. Moreover, it is important to ensure a good infrastructure. This is what the community now is intensively working with. One part of the work would be to increase energy efficiency in community buildings and to build a small district heating system on wood chips. The LECO team and the community members started by discussing chances and challenges and by mapping the energy demand for several buildings with the Hakkas bygdegård and the Hakkas school in the centre.

Image: Hakkas community building