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Our goal is to be a pioneer in sustainable tourism in the region. Our farm is the first EU organic farm in the area, and our forests are FSC®-certified.
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Sustainability means to us, among other things, that all our cabins are built from wood, ensuring they endure over time. We strive to minimize our impact on nature and its resources in all our endeavors.
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We invest in cultural, ecological, social, and economic sustainability.
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Vaikko Riverside Resort is Green Key certified. A Green Key certified destination meets all the mandatory criteria and reports on its sustainability efforts. On-site audits, conducted initially annually and then every three years, are part of the program. The certification is awarded based on the application and audit report by a jury of environmental, tourism, and corporate responsibility experts.
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We have a sustainability plan, which can be found HERE.
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We belong to the international network of Responsible Travel tour operators. Our responsible travel policy can be found HERE.
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Vaikko Riverside Resort is a third-generation family business. Our villas and cabins are located just a stone’s throw away from our childhood home, amidst the landscape of the Vaikko River landscape in Kärenkoski. We aim to minimize our environmental impact in our operations and do our utmost to combat climate change and biodiversity loss.
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Our business goal is to become carbon negative by 2030. Our log buildings are built to last for over 100 years, as they are constructed ecologically with timber from our own forest. We actively promote environmental conservation and guide our guests towards ecological activities.
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We offer low-emission local foods and take into consideration in our restaurant operations. We also strive to protect biodiversity and combat harmful invasive species.
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We monitor and limit electricity and water consumption as well as waste generation. We encourage our guests to participate in environmental efforts through environmental guidelines and an informative nature trail. We are committed to promoting sustainable tourism and expect similar responsible choices from our partners for the environment’s sake.
The ruggedly beautiful and vibrant wilderness of the Vaikko river wakes up to a new day. In the beginning, just like today, the rapids murmured their timeless flow and peace, singing the lullaby of green gold.
It was the 1680s when Antti Tukiainen was among the first to arrive in the village. He built a farm and a life where they lived in harmony with the nature and shared respect for it. Thus, our family, now spanning several generations, settled in this wilderness, where Antti’s natural way of life still shines through in our activities. In the flow of the rapids, life in the wilderness is natural and simple.
Decades passed, and the river and rapids of the wilderness turned into a lively passageway. The songs of lumberjacks echoed on its shores, and the tree trunks clattered against each other in the stream. The Vaikko River carried people from place to place. In the evening, the sounds of a day’s work faded, and boats glided gently on the waves of the land of the green gold.
Over the years the water continued to flow through the rapids. At times, the white snow created a beautiful lace-like world in the wilderness, where diamonds sparkled in the frost. The stars and Northern Lights shone in the night sky until a new spring arrived, and the water played in the rapids again. Animals woke up from the winter’s hibernation. The forest got a new life. Here, the constant cycle of nature is present. When people are not around, all that remains is the silence and beauty of nature – and the soothing sound of the rapids.
In this land of green gold, we still learn to live like the forest – and the salmon, the king of the Vaikko River, teaches us how water carries us back through the decades, and we can experience how the flow has always been present and part of everyday life.
Into this flowing water and natural life, Vaikko Riverside Resort invites every traveler. With us, you can get close to the wilderness from the safety of your warm cabin, with a magnificent view of the rapids and the wilderness just outside the window.
The whisper of history, the roar of the rapids, and the mouth-watering taste of smoked salmon – Vaikko Riverside Resort.
