Cultural Integrity
How we work co-operatively with the Saami and Finnish communities of a complex frontier region and help clients understand its culture and politics.
This region supports the traditional Saami peoples and the Finns who settled here long before outsiders came to stay, a frontier community in which tourism, Saami reindeer herders, Lappish reindeer herders and other enterprises just about co-exist.
While here you can learn about Saami migration through the ages, the wartime division of the region, the infrastructural role the Germans played alongside Finns in the 2nd World War and the challenges of life in a divided frontier community today.
- Local school children join us on work-practice placements each year
- One or two local groups invited to the farm for free annually
- We use locally-owned accommodation and transport to spread the benefits of tourism
- Guides attend local cultural events and are offered language and handicraft classes
A topical local debate
One divisive question is whether to ratify ILO Convention 169 on indigenous rights. Some believe Finland and Sweden should follow Norway. Others worry it would erode the rights of Lappish reindeer herders, who live the same lifestyle as Saami herders yet have far fewer rights, and who is actually Saami remains a live debate.
We point interested clients towards evening chats, the local nature centre and local reindeer farms.
Working co-operatively with local people
We work co-operatively with local reindeer people, whether Saami or Lapp, showing through daily actions what tourism brings. We use locally-owned accommodation and transport wherever possible so the money stays local, and negotiate access for every trail we use with the dogs, best practice even where regulation does not require it. We also foster open communication between the area's tour companies, particularly foreign-owned ones, and the wider community.
Culturing understanding in the community
Each year local school children join us on work-practice placements, learning to work with the dogs and practising their English in an international workplace. We also invite one or two local groups annually, perhaps schoolchildren or the staff of the supermarket, health centre or hotels, to visit the farm free and join one of our products.
Our guides attend local cultural events, from reindeer gatherings to craft shows, and international staff and trainee mushers receive language training, with local evening classes where possible.
Ready when you are
Real wilderness, 200+ huskies, eighteen winters in.