At Hanhikoski, we grow into working together

In the foreground there are plates full of pancakes and behind them a market atmosphere.
At the Children’s Agricultural Exhibition, visitors taste tractor-bucket pancakes. Photographer Hanna Helander.

According to Hanhikoski residents Tarja Latva-Käyrä and Päivi Sirkka, the village invests in bringing people together and doing things collectively. The village’s strengths are its many families with children, nature and its good location.

– I appreciate having space to breathe, think and enjoy nature, Päivi says.

– It’s pretty great — if you want to be quiet, it’s really quiet, Tarja describes.

There are village-wide events to suit many tastes. At the ice disco you can spin around in the glow of the disco lights. At Malkakoski’s Häjyrodeo people go down the rapids and the Children’s Agricultural Exhibition draws visitors from across the region. At Lepokallio there are group runs and trail running competitions. Also part of the annual events calendar are, among others, the porridge feast, theatre trips and children’s movie nights.

This village is a bit like one family

Doing things together with the villagers is such enjoyable recreation that even the whole-family ‘kökkä’ events have been packed.

– Once at the firewood ‘kökkä’ there were so many people that there wasn’t enough work for everyone, Tarja chuckles.

In the village community people care about each other and want to teach children a communal and active village life.

– This village is a bit like one family. Children actively take part in activities and organizing events, Tarja says.

New residents are welcomed at integration evenings, where both long-time and new villagers can get to know each other.

– Here you can be at peace, but you can also participate and be part of the community. Hanhikoski is a home for the heart, Päivi describes.

People walk in a line on a nature trail through forest scenery.
The Lepokallio loop nature trail, maintained by the Maa- ja Kotitalousnaiset (Rural Women’s Association), runs through beautiful and diverse forest scenery.

Tarja and Päivi’s tips for Hanhikoski:

  • The 5.8-kilometre Lepokallio hiking trail is available year-round amid diverse nature. The starting point is Hanhikoski’s pesäpallo (baseball) field. Snowshoes can be rented from the village association in winter.
  • Malkakoski enchants with its beauty in the summer.
  • You can view the 2019 atmosphere of the Children’s Agricultural Exhibition as captured by Matti Hautalahti: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pk9Qth5pqps