1. Village planning and villages in the Lahti region Liisa Helanto, Päijät-Häme Village Association

2. Where is a village? Finnish municipality has one administrative center and many villages. Village is not an official part of the administrative system. Size of a village in average : 400 inhabitants area 100 km²

3. Houses and farms Plenty of forests

4. Lake with a common swimming shore Village marine for small boats

5. Many different associations Village association makes the village developing plan = common future for the village Village plan has no official place in statuory planning

6. Village association – village as local developer and actor Registered association = legitimate actor, volunteer based Open to everybody, political independent, horizontal Building cooperation, coordinating activities, publicity : village news, websites, e-mail lists, notice board Own projects or cooperation projects Common place (village hall) for meeting

8. Village association – our common future? What are the common needs, problems and interests? Village plan - long time planning period - shared passion to develope - wide participation and support

9. Organising the village plan with a new way: 1.Open and participating village meeting 2. Writing the issues into spreadsheed form, volunteers with the help of the village coordinator

10. RAVIOSKORPI VILLAGE PLAN ( in SYSMÄ) Village meeting 26 October 2007, copy typing 6 November 2007. 1.12.2007 OBJECTIVESCURRENT STATUSACTIONSSCHEDULE AND IMPLEMENTATION Restoring and maintaining school as a village house - Condition evaluation was done on 6 November 2007 - Water pipelines date back to construction year of 1951 - Sewer network dates back to construction year - Heating radiators must be surveyed - Rainwater is able to access foundation structures - Sauna department needs to be renovated - Water pipeline renovation in 2008, rainwater drains in 2008 and renovating plumbing system by means of project funding to comply with current regulations - Renovating sauna (painting floor, walls) by means of community effort - Maintenance and utilisation rules (rental price list) - 2008-2012 - ASAP More versatile activity in the school: For men and the young in particular - Versatile hobbies: clubs of the Civil College: sowing, exercising, felt cloth making, music lessons for children - 4H club alternately in stables and school - Parish club for children and young - Jogging track and playing field - Short skiing track - Lantern skiing - Hobbies for men not available - Exercising: More equipment in miniature gym and increasing utilisation degree of field and jogging track - Village events: Christmas parties, summer evenings, summer festivals, rummage sales, concerts (accordion, student, visitors) - Village evenings: singing, themed evenings, lectures, chatting evenings - Events provided by external parties (village can take care of, for example, catering) Women will promote men in their activities, challenging to exercising - Long skiing track on the ridge - Starting weaving Backwoods culture- Valuable cultural environment in the province, offered as cultural environment of national significance: most extensive united residential area built after the war in southern Finland - Village history - Village book published in 2006, village and settlement history being gathered - Extensive level fields surrounded by ridges Selecting Adopted Village 2008! - All information gathered and used - Mr Tauno Virtanen to tell about the village - Planning village’s own cultural event - Co-operating with municipality of Sysmä and Sysmä Summer Music Festival: proposing backwoods culture as event theme - Also studying prehistory and settlement (crofters and farm leaseholders) - Study group - Networking and marketing in entire Finland - 2008- Practices: as many people as possible included in the activity - Village association established in summer 2007 - Acquiring new members - Communications: village e-mailing list, village bulletin (neighbours will tell about events to those who do not have e-mail), bulletin board and other communications - Village website - Improving co-operation: neighbouring villages across village borders, municipality of Sysmä, companies, other organisations, etc. - Utilising know-how in our village - Inviting summer residents to participate in the activity - Immediately Acquiring funds- Started from nothing- Membership fees and contributions - License to collect money acquired - Income from rents of the school, etc. (apartments, office, classrooms, storage premises, party premises) - Subsidies - Donations - Project funding for investments and development (Leader) - Rummage sales, flea markets, events, catering More residents - Approximately 50 households - Two apartments in the school: one rented out. Office premises rented out. - Surveying available real properties and vacant houses, Sysmän kehitys will market, also marketed on the website in the future - Good tenant for school apartment - Strengths of village promoted in marketing Services- Studying opportunities for arranging day- care in lower form facilities and need for day-care among villagers - Village house available for hobby activities and service providers from the outside - Trekking stables - Services of entrepreneurs (approximately 20 of them) - Water cooperative - Fast data communication connections (broadband) - Boat harbour in Lake Nuoramoinen - One bus to Sysmä Church and Nuoramoinen every weekday - Transportation to school - Studying villagers’ needs and service providers from outside of the village - Neighbourly help and friend service - Village caretaker assisting in many issues (cleaning, repairs, running errands, yard work, etc.) - Studying joint solutions to meet wastewater regulations - Condition of boat harbour? - Studying and communicating information about transportation to school Improving road system - Good location - Road between Ravioskorpi and Heinola (country road) winding, narrow and hilly - Improving road connection to Heinola: surveying worst sites (e.g. Kukkumäki Hill), offering initiatives to road district and municipalities together with neighbouring villages - Repairing tarmac between Kalkkinen and Nuoramoinen

11. LÄNSI-HOLLOLA VILLAGE PLAN 2007  7 NOVEMBER 2007 OBJECTIVESCURRENT STATUSPROPOSED ACTIONSSCHEDULE AND IMPLEMENTATION SOLIDARITY CO- OPERATION Promoting the Youth Association House as a village house - Meeting place and party premises for entire village, associations and private persons - Civic College’s knitting and exercising activities - Get-togethers for the young - Rent income from parties - Open village evenings at the house: coffee, karaoke, poker, ping pong, etc. - Rules for using the house (e.g., reservations, division of costs) - Marketing the house for parties all year round (Lahti Travel, etc.) - More hobby activities, plays, etc. - Guest amateur theatres - Church clubs and events - Starting on 31 October 2007, theme + discussion - Youth Association will draw up and deliver schedule to other associations - Youth Association will check information on website - Theatre group started in September 2007 - Evening of singing most loved Christmas carols in co-operation with Martha Organisation Hobbies for children and the young - Youth evenings at the house in wintertime - Sports school in summertime - Co-operation with a group home taking care of children committed to care - Ice rink cooling group - Scouts - Sports - Youth theatre - Negotiations with the group taking care of children committed to care - Bulleting must include query for those willing to do voluntary work; model from Virenoja village - Objective is to start scouts activity - Ping pong and badminton in the summer; volley ball and Finnish baseball in the summer - Orienteering - Starting in autumn 2008, co- operation with, for example, Uskila School Fast and functional communications - Joint village bulleting will be delivered to every home by means of voluntary workers approximately four times a year - www.phnet.fi/kylat/lansi-hollola - Village service list from 2003 - Website updated, web bulletin board - Starting collecting of village e- mailing list - Updating service list information - Village association will take care of this task: collecting of village e-mailing list will start in village evening events Western Hollola as a municipal development area - One deputy municipal councillor - One deputy member in technical commission - At least two local councillors - Own independent Western Hollola group - Election preparation event combined with another topical subject - Election in autumn 2008 - Gathering of candidates will begin in autumn 2007 - First meeting in autumn 2007 - Voting for own candidates will be continuously promoted

12. Village developing programme (municipal, many villages together)

13. Thank you for your attention Any questions?