Juminkeko Foundation
(April-September 2005)

This project supports a series of vocational training workshops for boys and young men in the rural village of Vuokkiniemi. This is part of a larger effort to link the village to the outside world and develop education and training programs in an effort to prevent young people from leaving.

One series of workshops was on creating traditional handicrafts and souvenirs, which are a major source of income for the village. Other workshops linked boys to different training institutes in the region, including a course on park ranger skills in preparation for the planned development of a new national park in the region. The workshop participants, who are age 13 and up, also repaired communal property in the village, with an emphasis on using recycled materials in all their work. In addition to creating opportunities for a viable livelihood for young men in the village, the project workshops also aim to increase the boys’ appreciation of traditional skills and local culture.