Finland Organic Activity Holiday
| country: | Finland |
| location: | Puolanka |
| price: | From €100 per apartment per night. The 3 apartments sleep 4-6 persons. Breakfast €8 per person, other meals (on prior agreement) €10-16 per person, linen & towels €8 per person up to 1 week |
description
Lakeside apartments in the wilderness heart of Finland
Our lodgings are originally an old boarding school which has been transformed into a business on an absolutely sustainable basis. We use only solid wooden recycled furniture and our kitchenware is partially second hand. Everything is well kept and tidy. In our apartments we have real art on the walls, no kitsch is allowed!
The 3 apartments have big windows with views over the courtyard into the trees and the lake, which is only 20 meters from the buildings. Showers are centrally heated and hot water and a washing machine is always available. We offer organic, locally produced breakfasts and other meals by prior arrangement. All kitchens are equipped with an electric stove and oven, a micro oven, a refrigerator and a coffee machine. A TV set is also there, and many books, of course!
Outdoor activities: Swimming, boating, fishing, hiking, nature observation, cross country cycling (highly recommended), organized trips to bear watching sites by the Russian border, sauna bathing and a summer cafeteria.
Winter sports: Our own skating field, an illuminated 3km cross-country skiing track starting from our courtyard, snow building, snowshoeing, organized husky sled tours and northern lights watching,
Our lodgings are originally an old boarding school which has been transformed into a business on an absolutely sustainable basis. We use only solid wooden recycled furniture and our kitchenware is partially second hand. Everything is well kept and tidy. In our apartments we have real art on the walls, no kitsch is allowed!
The 3 apartments have big windows with views over the courtyard into the trees and the lake, which is only 20 meters from the buildings. Showers are centrally heated and hot water and a washing machine is always available. We offer organic, locally produced breakfasts and other meals by prior arrangement. All kitchens are equipped with an electric stove and oven, a micro oven, a refrigerator and a coffee machine. A TV set is also there, and many books, of course!
special things to do and see here
We have an own multilingual library of approximately 5000 books and nature magazines. Outdoor activities: Swimming, boating, fishing, hiking, nature observation, cross country cycling (highly recommended), organized trips to bear watching sites by the Russian border, sauna bathing and a summer cafeteria. Winter sports: Our own skating field, an illuminated 3km cross-country skiing track starting from our courtyard, snow building, snowshoeing, organized husky sled tours and northern lights watching,
rooms, food and facilities
Each apartment consists of 1-2 rooms with kitchen/kitchenette and a shower/WC, to accommodate 4-6 persons.
You may prepare your meals yourselves or breakfast is either served in your apartment or at the main house. We offer a substantial organic breakfast including coffee/tea, bread (wheat, bran, rye), butter, cheese, eggs, ham, vegetables, yoghurt, porridge (4 cereals), marmalade of wild berries, juice, milk, muesli etc. Other meals can be prepared for you with prior arrangement.
Other facilities include an open fire/grill in the courtyard, lakeside sauna and smoke sauna and internet. There is hiking, fishing & cycling equipment for rent. Bicycles (though not cross country bikes) available to use!
Family friendly: Families are especially welcome! Our courtyard is very large and all kinds of games can be played outdoors and indoors. We have a gym room with basket ball, salibandy, both table football and outside playing.
Disabled access: Wheel chair access is possible to one of our apartments at ground floor.
Pets: We have an Irish wolfhound, so all pets are welcome!
By train: The nearest train station is in Kajaani 130 km to the southeast.
By plane: The nearest airport is Kajaani (130 kms). The airport at Oulu (Oulunsalo airport) is further (140 kms) but is much more frequented as it serves the Oulu City and surroundings internationally, and the flights tend to be less expensive.
You may prepare your meals yourselves or breakfast is either served in your apartment or at the main house. We offer a substantial organic breakfast including coffee/tea, bread (wheat, bran, rye), butter, cheese, eggs, ham, vegetables, yoghurt, porridge (4 cereals), marmalade of wild berries, juice, milk, muesli etc. Other meals can be prepared for you with prior arrangement. Other facilities include an open fire/grill in the courtyard, lakeside sauna and smoke sauna and internet. There is hiking, fishing & cycling equipment for rent. Bicycles (though not cross country bikes) available to use!
Family friendly: Families are especially welcome! Our courtyard is very large and all kinds of games can be played outdoors and indoors. We have a gym room with basket ball, salibandy, both table football and outside playing. Disabled access: Wheel chair access is possible to one of our apartments at ground floor.
Pets: We have an Irish wolfhound, so all pets are welcome!
how to find us
By car: From Kajaani and Oulu there are main roads to Puolanka centre, from where you take the route no. 78 towards Pudasajärvi, at which we are located 24 kms northwards. By train: The nearest train station is in Kajaani 130 km to the southeast.
By plane: The nearest airport is Kajaani (130 kms). The airport at Oulu (Oulunsalo airport) is further (140 kms) but is much more frequented as it serves the Oulu City and surroundings internationally, and the flights tend to be less expensive.
how this holiday makes a difference
 We are committed to the local environment and community where we live and are members of ECEAT (European Centre for Ecological agriculture and Tourism) and the Fair Travel association of Finland. We compost organic waste on site, paper and cardboard are taken to Puolanka central waste station for recycling, and we use plastic bags (which are biodegradable in our shops) as little as possible. We collect rain water from the roof, our water comes from our own well and we only have showers. Washing in the lake is prohibited! We use ECO-energy supplied by the power company Kainuun Sähkö and low energy light tubes and bulbs. We have a store of timber in our warehouse, so we do not need to buy any new material so far. If we have to, there is a village carpenter in the neighbourhood who uses sustainable wood. We feed birds in the Winter, our garden is organic and we grow our own herbs and berries. Mushrooms grow wild around the property and in the courtyard. We use our own garden produce and herbs and wild berries, elk and reindeer meat upon request. We are fully capable of teaching ecological and nature subjects and guiding in the wilderness. We also tell about the history of our region and guide our guests to cultural events. We have a library of approx. 5000 books and nature magazines also available to our guests. We use our internet site for bookings and correspondence. All waste paper is recycled. We have no brochures so far, only visiting cards, which are made of recycled paper and printed with environmental friendly ink. They are hand-made by a friend arts teacher. When necessary we hire local youth from the employment office and other local workshops. We have a local purchasing policy and use Puolanka’s services on the daily basis e.g. food is local and organic. For special furniture and machines, we have to find a supplier from outside our community.  We introduce our guests personally to the community of Puolanka and to all its services and activities e.g. summer theatre, concerts, sightseeing by organizing joint adventures with other tour and program providers of the region (e.g. bear watching, dog and skidoo sledging). We support Puolangan luonnonystävät (Puolanka’s Friends of Nature) as members taking part in nature conservation actions. We support Puolanka High School with a scholarship to a student with special interest in environmental subjects. Also, we have collected names to an address for retaining the High School in Puolanka, since it was recently in jeopardy. Furthermore, last summer we supported the Puolanka Music College with a donation. We are members of the following of the Nature Protection Association of Finland (Suomen Luonnonsuojeluliitto), Amnesty International and Greenpeace Nordic Org. We have godchildren in Plan International and support continuously the Solidarity Fond of Finland, protected by our President Tarja Halonen. |
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