Finnish Eco-Agrotourism Association – ECEAT Finland

Helena’s Chickens and Chambers

Location

Accommodation and heritage experiences on an organic farm 40 km from Tampere
Language(s): Finnish, English

services

information about the destination

While staying with us in the village of Narva, visitors are introduced to life on an authentic working organic farm. The main production line of the farm is suckler cows. One end of the cowshed is reserved for Helena’s small flock of hens, most of which represent a heritage population from Tyrnävä.

In addition to your host family’s home, the main building has three rooms for visitors; these rooms decorated with old pieces of furniture and items provide beds for 10 to 14 visitors in total. Visitors staying in the rooms on the middle floor have access to a well-equipped shared kitchen and bathroom/toilet. On the ground floor, there is a single room with a private sauna.

In summer, visitors can also sleep in a heritage outbuilding with no electricity (3 beds).
Additionally, we have pitches for tents or caravans/mobile homes (5 places with power outlets). A kitchen, living area and bathroom/toilet in shared use can be found in the old stone cowshed. Meeting services can be provided for groups of 10 at maximum.

Treats served as part of our rustic breakfast include organic rye bread made with the old starter of the house as well as organic oven-baked oatmeal or barley porridge. We will be happy to tell our visitors about the history of our house and village and the local services. An afternoon of activities, including a country dinner consisting of local foods and fruit of the forest can be arranged for pre-booked groups.

Our little shop sells organic beef and eggs from our farm. We also sell honey from our beehives and organic flour from a local producer. There is a small local heritage museum in our ancient log outbuilding, and our stone cowshed houses a second-hand shop.

SURROUNDINGS AND ACTIVITIES

Tourism activities on the farm (advance booking required):

  • a history tour: visitors are introduced to old buildings, our 19th-century vaulted cellar and our home museum.
  • ‘a day as a dairy maid’: you learn to separate organic milk with old equipment and make cheeses, butter, quark, buttermilk etc. using traditional methods.
  • getting to know our cows and indigenous breed chickens with their antics!
  • excursions to pick wild fungi, berries or herbs when in season.
  • guided excursions to the nearby area.
  • also ask about our massage weekends!

 

Independent activities:

  • you can learn about the history of the house and the local area in photographs, books and maps.
  • if our cottage at a distance of 11 km from the house is free, visitors staying with us can go there and bathe in the lakeshore sauna.
  • plenty of hiking and cycling trails: you can borrow our bicycles.
  • signposted nature trails and hiking trails.
  • you can borrow our canoes and rowing boats.
  • in winter, ski tracks start outside our house.
  • 2 km to Narva bathing area.

 

Sights in the local area:

  • Narva village brewery and bistro 400 m
  • Laukko Manor 5.5 km: concerts, exhibitions, high-quality restaurant
  • Savipaja Samotti, 10 km: pottery shop and Pottery Yard of Surprises.
  • More information about services in the local area.

 

DIRECTIONS

  • Bus: the nearest stop is in Narva, 400 m. From Tampere (bus station), bus no 55 takes you to Narva on weekdays. Get off at the final stop (Narva).
  • Train: the closest railway station is in Lempäälä, 17 km. We can collect visitors who use public transport from their stop if needed.
  • Motorists/cyclists: The farm can be found on top of the hill in Narva village: a pale grey main building and a large red stone cowshed.

 

OPENING TIMES AND PRICES

  • Open: round the year, advance booking necessary.
  • Prices (January 2024): Single room EUR 55 to 105, double room EUR 80 to 120. Outbuilding in summer EUR 40/person. Tent EUR 12/night + EUR 5/person, campervan/caravan EUR 3/night. 10% discount in the winter season. Breakfast EUR 15. Ask for our prices/check the company’s website.
  • Benefit for visitors using public transport and ECEAT members: free coffee

 

OUR ACTIONS FOR THE ENVIRONMENT:

  • Our cows graze on the riverbanks, maintaining a heritage landscape. – We work to eliminate invasive alien species on the farm.
  • We have planted flowers for pollinators in the garden. In spring, we will seed a field of flowers.

 

CULTURAL ACTIONS:

In a building inventory carried out in Narva village, our property was classified as being of local value.

  • Our stone cowshed from 1884 has been preserved unchanged.
  • The farm museum in the outbuilding displays old tools and household appliances.
  • Old structures have also been preserved in the part of the outbuilding used for accommodation purposes.
  • We tell our visitors about the history of the village and the house.
  • When renovating the visitors’ rooms in the main building, we used old structures as well as traditional building techniques and materials.
  • The buildings have been painted with traditional products, the red ochre used for the outbuildings as an example.

 

FUTURE

  • The log outbuilding will be straightened using traditional methods.
  • We will restore the great old six-seater outdoor toilet of the house. A composting Ekolet toilet will be placed there.
  • We will start developing joint activities with the brewery and bistro to enhance the vitality of the village; for example, we intend to celebrate Oktoberfest as an event for the whole village.
  • At the latest in 2025, we are planning to move the logs of an old building to the farm and, guided by a builder knowledgeable in old methods, construct a log sauna to replace one demolished 60 years ago.