Farm Maintenance and Development
A year-by-year diary of the building and development projects squeezed into the roughly three workable months each summer, all aimed at improving life for the dogs and guides.
The ground here is workable for only c. 3 months a year, so every development project squeezes into summer alongside daily farm life, maintenance and dog training. Equipment work continues year-round, but construction in -40C is always challenging.
- Only around 3 months a year of workable ground for building
- 2008: whole perimeter fenced and cages built for a starting 44 dogs
- 2014: wooden kota sleeps seven, 13 new cages, 'Shadey Pines' retirement fence
- 2015: joint Gold Award in the World Responsible Tourism Awards (Animal Welfare category)
- 2016: over 100 bird nesting boxes, souvenir shop moved to the farmhouse
- 2021: water therapy treatment centre in the dog rehabilitation room
Summers 2020-2021
In 2021 we installed a water therapy treatment centre in the dog rehabilitation room, nearly finished refurbishing the northern lights viewing cabin with a new toilet and logshed, completed the Palojoki cabin's dog cages and built a new generator building in the front yard.
2020, the Covid summer, ran short-handed, yet we tiled the dog kitchen floor, worked on the client kitchen and treatment room, re-laminated the dog-destroyed living room and kitchen floors, and emptied the Kelottijarvi cabin after heavy snow weakened its roof.
Summers 2018-2019
2019 was 'Maxime's electricity' summer, a complete, trench-heavy revamp of the lighting across farm, house and yard. We also extended the warm space into a dog and human treatment area and joined an EU project to carbon footprint the business.
In 2018 we built a bicycle barn, a large dry-food store just inside the farm, and a whole new location in Kallo, on the south side of Yllas.
Summers 2015-2017
Three busy summers of upgrades, awards and welfare work.
- 2017: repaired the original cage fronts, raised feeding holes, built 'special needs' cages and began swapping 2-stroke snowmobiles for 4-stroke
- 2016: sleigh overhauls, the souvenir shop's move to the farmhouse with an itemised till, a treehouse, a drying shed and a pledge of over 100 nesting boxes to the 'A million bird boxes' campaign
- 2015: expanded the recuperation area, added an isolation area for visiting and lost-and-found dogs, built a new sauna at Palojoki, won a joint Gold Award in the World Responsible Tourism Awards (Animal Welfare category) with Canned Hunting in S. Africa, and began a second EU husky-welfare project with the University of Lapland
Summers 2010-2014
Five summers that shaped much of the farm you see today.
- 2014: a floored, roofed sick-dog cage, 13 new cages and two running fences (including 'Shadey Pines' for retired dogs), an extended sleigh shelter, and the wooden kota's roof and underfloor heating finished
- 2013: delivered that kota, sleeping seven
- 2012: 'the artsy-craftsy summer' produced the waste management centre, a souvenir shop and a host of pyrographied signs and QR codes
- 2011: an insulated house extension and major rebuilding at the Valimaa farm we managed for Transun UK / Santa Safaris
- 2010: a drive-through snowmobile shelter and 8 back-to-back cages, including the puppy Hilton and kindergarten
The Early Years (2007-2009)
How it all began, one summer at a time.
- 2009: a running fence behind the main cages, a bigger cage and holding-post area, a sleigh shelter and a puppy teepee play area
- 2008: our first summer with dogs, when the whole perimeter was fenced, the log shed, toilet and two kota frames were raised, and housing was built for our starting 44 dogs
- 2007: Anna consulted on the BS 8848 Standard for organising and managing visits, fieldwork, expeditions and adventurous activities outside the UK, which aims to reduce risk from injury or illness and demonstrates good practice in managing ventures safely
Good to know
- Award won 2015
- World Responsible Tourism Awards - Gold (Animal Welfare)
- Snowmobiles
- 2-stroke being replaced by 4-stroke from 2017
Ready when you are
Real wilderness, 200+ huskies, eighteen winters in.