Directory of Eco-villages in Europe - Kennedy Bibliothek

Aurlnko & Okra
An eco-village has naturally come into being in the village of Isnas, on
the Southern coast of Finland, 70 km East of Helsinki. A large (140 ha)
biodynamic farm of Labby Manor has been operating in the village for
the last ten years. Throughout the development of the farm there has
been the goal of forming a larger community around it and of implementing
new social impulses. A great leap was taken in this direction
in the spring of 1997 when a group of about ten people, involved with
the farm, formed a co-operative named Aurinko & Okra (Sun & Ochre;
the colour of earth).
The co-operative purchased four large buildings and 2,5 ha at the old
Isnas saw mill from a multi-sector corporation. The saw mill had been
closed down in 1990. The property of the co-operative consists of three
wooden buildings built in 1898 to house the saw mill workers and a
slightly newer wooden building which has housed the offices as well
as the supervisor's apartment. All buildings are under historic preservation.
The final purchase of the property took place in March 1998. In
order to make such a purchase, the co-op has to take a loan from a
commercial bank and we are working to find more ethical sources of
funding to replace this loan as soon as possible.
The co-op has chosen ecological tourism and ecological catering as its
livelihood. Rooms are being repaired in the buildings for bed & break-
45
Finland
Isnas
existing
eco-village