Directory of Eco-villages in Europe - Kennedy Bibliothek

Finland
Vilppula
existing
eco-village
Katajamaki
So far there is a main house and two other living houses with several
other buildings, like storehouses, a roomy sauna house, and tipis, altogether
about 25 rooms with different uses. There is also a special camping
area by the lake. The amount of land is about three hectares on the
hill and half of a hectare by the lakeside.
Our courses and cultural activities deal with handicraft (like drum making,
felting, repairs), use of natural products, group processes, and environmental
activism; often in connection with our own needs. Visitors
have to pay about 8$ per day. We will organise a cultural festival together
with our different friendship groups annually in August/September.
Our vision is to buy another 10 hectares of partly logged forestland in the
surroundings for new buildings and forest gardens, within the next few
years. By then, we hope to be about 15-20 adults living here throughout
the year. The new settlements will be built using mostly natural materials
and natural forms. Katajamaki is continuously in a building process and
needs volunteers.
The place was used as a youth summer camp centre for nearly fifty
years. This means that the project is fairly unspoiled by modern recon-
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