The history of Floda Gård is a rich and varied one.  It started in 1908 with the idea of creating a self-sustaining community where people with alcohol problems could work and free themselves from their alcohol dependency. The idea of Floda Workers' Colony was originally that of Pastor Eric E:son Hammar. The idea of establishing it in this particular location was to remove people from temptations; with the closest railway station being in Sveg, 70km away, the location seemed ideal.

At Floda, several structures were built as well as three free standing cabins where a few of the colonists could live with their families after proving themselves to have changed sufficiently to provide responsibly for themselves and their families.

The idea was for the colony to be independent, and the buildings and the jobs that the colonists had reflected this goal.  For example, there were blacksmiths, carpenters, bookbinders, cobblers, painters, etc. Floda even had its own church meetinghall and pastor. The idea of self-contained community even went as far as issuing their own money in order to reward the workers for their efforts.  This allowed them to buy things that they needed from within the colony; this money was only valid within the colony so to further remove temptation.  At its peak, the Floda Colony had about 50 residents.  The effectiveness of this method was so great that two additional colonies were established at other locations within Sweden.

Even though the residents of Floda worked diligently, it was almost impossible to sustain an entirely independent society.  They were forced to try to raise additional funds from the government and many private contributors.  However, the economy at that time was very difficult, and finally in 1922, Floda Colony at Vemdalen was forced to close down.  This, however, was not entirely due to the financial reasons but also due to the expansion of the railroad by adding a line from Sveg to Hede.  This line ran directly through the Floda property.  The result was that civilization slowly drew closer and with its temptations made Floda's location in Vemdalen less effective than before. Unfortunately, with the further expansions in other parts of the country, the other colonies were likewise forced to close their doors, and the mission was entirely disbanded in 1925.

The work of the colonists was not entirely in vain, as after the close of this particular endeavor, some of the buildings were used by Birka "Folkhögskola", but later the local government bought the buildings and used them as a retirement facility instead.

Today, we are trying to honor the rich history of Floda, which still includes at least three of the original buildings and various sites that contain remnants its history.  For instance, our Guesthouse is one of the original buildings.  We also have a marked path that follows the original trail that lead through some of the forested area. Some of the ruins can be seen along this path. Undoubtedly, there are many other trails and ruins just waiting to be discovered.