In the context of ongoing climate change and the quest for sustainability, my research focuses on the potential role of small grassroots organisations in meeting such challenges. In the quest for sustainability, grassroots initiatives are often portrayed as advocates of a radical transformation away from current consumer society with high impact lifestyles, or even away from capitalism. In my PhD project I look at grassroots commoning initiatives in the Nordic welfare state context and their role in such possible transitions. Here I focus on open workshops/makerspaces as small scale self-organized initiatives. How do they navigate challenges and opportunities in the Nordic welfare state and what can we learn from them and their place in the societal fabric?