Charlotte Liliemark

Charlotte Liliemark, Värnamo Farm

It is a gray afternoon in November when I turn onto the gravel road that will take me to Värnamo Gård. Värnamo Gård is not, as one might think, located in the Småland town of Värnamo but in the Misterhult area of Oskarshamn Municipality. Here I will meet Charlotte Liliemark, a woman with many irons in the fire and a very strong commitment to the community. In her daily life, she is the principal of Misterhult School, but she also runs her own business where she and her husband Magnus breed horses of the Swedish Warmblood breed. As if that weren't enough, she also sits on the boards of Leader Kustlandet, the Swedish Warmblood Association, and the breeding association SWB Northern Kalmar County. Charlotte's motto in life is that if you want something to happen, you must engage yourself. There is definitely no doubt that she practices what she preaches.

Charlotte was born and raised in Stockholm but ended up in the Misterhult area thanks to love. In 2000, she met Magnus, and the following year, they moved from the big city to Magnus's family farm, Värnamo Gård. When I ask how they met, Charlotte laughs and says it is a story in itself. It turns out they were early pioneers of online dating, something that at that time was not nearly as common as it is now. The story begins in the late 90s when Charlotte takes an Internet course at the school where she works. There, she is introduced to the digital world and, by chance, ends up in Aftonbladet's Chat. In the chat, she connects with a group of girls, with whom she gradually becomes really good friends. One of the girls in the group thinks Charlotte should meet her husband's best friend and connects them. It turns out that the best friend is Magnus. Initially, they chat online, but eventually, it leads to a date, and then another, and another... 23 years ago, they got married and have two children, two dogs, and 35 horses.

When Charlotte first arrived in the Misterhult area, she almost immediately began to engage in what was happening in the local community. At that time, the most pressing issue was where the final repository for used nuclear fuel would be located. The two candidates were Forsmark in Östhammar Municipality and Laxemar (Misterhult area) in Oskarshamn Municipality. To scrutinize the process and promote dialogue between the residents of the area, politicians, and investigators, the ”Misterhult Group” was created. Charlotte became involved in the group and also took on the role of chairperson.
”It was absolutely perfect for me as a newcomer to get involved in the issue of the final repository. I got to know so many people and could build a large network,” she recounts.
Magnus, who takes a short break from work in the stable, adds: ”Yes, you know more people than I do – and I grew up here.”
Finally, the decision was made to place the final repository in Östhammars Municipality and the Misterhultsgruppen was dissolved. However, that did not mean that Charlotte was idle. No, alongside her engagement in the final repository issue, she had also managed to become the chairperson of Misterhultsskolan and gradually start the breeding activities at home on the farm.

Misterhultsskolan is a true passion project for Charlotte. She speaks warmly and passionately about the activities, the students, and the staff.
“It cannot be explained enough how important it is to have a school, preschool, and after-school care in the community,” she says with conviction.

Misterhultsskolan was built in the 1960s, but after the municipality decided to close the operation in 2004, local forces took over and created an economic association to continue it as a free school. Nowadays, the school has a nature and health profile with the goal of developing secure, empathetic, and creative children with a desire to learn and the courage to succeed through small classes and high teacher density. Today, about 25 children attend the school, many of whom also go to the after-school program, and there are about 20 children in the preschool.

Charlotte is a trained lawyer, but after ten years in the industry, she felt it was not the right career choice and instead started working as a teacher in Swedish, English, and French. With this background, she was perfectly suited for the principal job, which she took on eight years ago. Since then, she has supplemented her toolbox by completing both the principal program and the school leader training. She shares that she has never regretted changing paths and that she loves her job.

“I have an incredibly fun job. It is truly rewarding to work in a small format with small classes, where we feel we can give each child the support they need. I am proud to have a team of teachers who are passionate about the students and who do their absolute best every day.”

In addition to her job at the school, Charlotte fills her time with her own business, CML Dressage, which she runs together with her husband Magnus at home on the farm. They breed Swedish warmbloods, which they primarily sell to aspiring dressage riders.
“It is especially fun when our horses end up with young talented riders. We recently started a collaboration with a very skilled junior rider, and it will be very exciting to see how the pair develops moving forward,” Charlotte shares.

The business started with the idea that it would “be fun to try” to produce a foal. The couple had taken over a prematurely retired mare with a fine pedigree. Said and done, a foal was born. There and then, a great interest in breeding was awakened, and over time, the number of foals increased. The big breakthrough came in 2007 when they got the colt Luxus CML. Luxus achieved great success and participated in the Young Horse World Championships, among other events. Eventually, he also became an approved stallion, which means he has been evaluated and assessed according to the Swedish Warmblood Association's regulations and received a “quality stamp” that allows foals by him to be registered in the studbook for Swedish Warmbloods. Luxus CML is currently not active as a breeding stallion, but he is the father of many fine offspring.

The interest in horses has spread within the family, and both daughters, Ida and Hanna, have also had equestrian sports as their biggest hobby. Right now, however, the horse interest has to take a back seat to studies, as both have moved out with career dreams of becoming a game designer and a chef, respectively.

“Ida is attending Ädelfors Folk High School and Hanna is studying at an international culinary school in Switzerland, so it’s quite empty here at home now,” says Charlotte.
“Of course, we hope that they will want to move back home and take over the family farm in the future. But everything has its time,” she continues.

When I ask why she thinks more people should make the same journey she did twenty years ago and move to Misterhult, I get a long list.

“The obvious thing is, of course, the beautiful nature and our amazing archipelago. The proximity to the sea is truly a luxury. But besides that, I think the best thing about living here is that there are so many enterprising people and an incredible collective strength. There is a sense of community, people share, help each other, and collaborate. It’s easy to become part of a community,” Charlotte shares. 

“I must of course highlight Misterhultsskolan as well. Sure, I am biased, but a school and preschool in the village is an incredibly important aspect for families with children. We also have a school that maintains high quality in terms of good grades and many teachers per child, but that can also offer things that may not be as easily available in larger schools. For example, all food is prepared at the school by our own chef, and last summer we arranged daily transportation to swimming school in Götmaren.”

“Then it’s a safe place to live. Even if there may be distances between neighbors, people help each other and keep an eye out.”

“For those interested in horses, there is also an engaged equestrian community, and many fine horses are bred in the area,” she concludes with a twinkle in her eye.

Text and image: Jenny Svendsby