Finnish Eco-Agrotourism Association – ECEAT Finland

On Arvila Farm, you can experience authentic country life. Our farm with its indigenous cattle, organic cultivations and tourism activities improves the status of the environment, increases appreciation for local food and promotes local and nature tourism. The goal is to leave for future generations not only a viable farm but also a higher level of biodiversity and improved environmental status.

The fields of Arvila organic farm grow gluten-free oats and broad beans or are under grass. The farm’s indigenous Eastern Finland cattle graze the nearby organic fields, wooded pastures and traditional rural biotope. The farm is home to Finnish landrace hens, three cats, two Shetland ponies and two Finnish horses. We also cherish old working horse traditions.

Visitors can stay in an idyllic cottage built in the 1920s in the farmyard. The large front room of the log cabin has a massive original baking oven. The newer part contains a sauna with a wood-burning stove, a bathroom and a kitchen.

The downstairs bedroom contains two bunk beds and a double bed, as well as room for seven sleepers in the loft. The front room has a sofa bed for two. In total, there are 15 beds in the cottage. The cottage has an indoor toilet and a composting outdoor toilet.

The farm’s organic beef products are for sale in the farm shop. Home-grown cereal products are also seasonally available.

Surroundings and activities

By prior arrangement, your host will show you around the farm and introduce you to its activities. The experiences offered by the farm include rides on a trap pulled by a Finnish horse and bovine agility activities. For pre-booked visitors, we can build a unique and authentic rural experience for everyone! The forests around the farm are ideal for picking berries and mushrooms. In the forest nearby, there is a hut and a campfire site which the visitors are welcome to use.

Guided trips along nature trails in the traditional rural biotope and the surroundings of the farm are available in summer. At seasonal ‘open doors’ events you can get to know the farm and its animals.

In the local area:

• In Pukkila: a church, art exhibitions at Galleria Koivulinna, a frisbee golf course, Restaurant Olkkari, Japanese guesthouse Yado Oikawa
• Rientola (6 km, large venue for parties and meetings)
• Pukkila loft (parties and events for 100 people)
• Askola glacial potholes 8 km
• Hutko llama farm and petting zoo: llama hiking and animal-assisted activities for all ages (www.hutko.fi)
• Kantele bird lake
• cross-country skiing at 20 km in Mäntsälä, Hirvihaara (lighted tracks)
• sailing at 30 km in Porvoo (www.bss.fi)
• fishing at 30 km organised by Porvoon kala ja saariretket (www.porvoo.fi)
• Tuusula museum road (45km)

Directions

• Bus stop: 1.5 km. From Mäntsälä, you can catch a bus to Purolantie junction, from where the distance to the farm is 1.5 km. Visitors can be collected by arrangement.
• Railway station: 20 km, Mäntsälä.
• Drivers or cyclists: From Mäntsälä direction, take the road signposted ‘Purola 8’. Follow Purolantie road for 1.5 km, and you will see Arvila Farm on your left.

Opening times and prices

• Open round the year, advance booking necessary.
  Dogs and other pets only by prior arrangement.
• Prices: accommodation from EUR 100/night, Fri-Sun from EUR 350. Bring your own bed linen and towels (available to rent for EUR 15/person). Cleaning not included in the price.
• Bonus for ECEAT Finland members and visitors arriving without a motor vehicle: 10% discount on overnight stays.

Ecological acts and work for biodiversity

• We advise and encourage visitors to recycle and to save water and energy.
• We use traditional building materials and the farm’s original furniture and objects in interior decoration.
• We strive to follow the principles of continuous cover forestry and avoid clear-felling in our commercial forests. We leave deadwood in the forest to promote biodiversity.
• The area around the farm buildings is partly left in a natural state, offering habitats for meadow plants and insects. For insects, we provide brushwood fences and insect hotels.
• Our garden has indigenous plants that benefit butterflies and pollinators.
• Many nesting boxes are provided for birds both around the farm and in the wooded pastures.
• Grazing encourages biodiversity by creating good living conditions for rare plant and animal species.
• Field rotation and improving the agricultural condition of the soil as well as striving to have plant cover on fields in winter improve the farm’s ecological status. After harvesting,undersown crops are left to grow.
• The seed mixture for grasslands and pastures contains 5 to 10 species of grasses and clovers.
• We strive to stop the spread of alien invasive species and to eliminate them.

Landrace varieties and indigenous plants:

• We have a landrace breeding agreement for our Eastern Finland cattle.
• We maintain a landrace population of Finnish hens (Alho population).
• We strive to preserve rare family lines of the Finnish horse and thus support the preservation of genetic diversity.
• We favour Finnish indigenous species in the garden (FIN E species)

In the future:

We will work to promote biodiversity further:

• We will keep turning commercial forest into wooded pastures and include them in the traditional rural biotope agreement.
• We will plant more trees on field margins to provide shelter and food for insects and birds.
• We will increase the area of biodiversity fields and permanent grasslands
• We will increase the area of commercial forest managed by continuous cover techniques and the volume of deadwood in the forests.