Berliner Boersenzeitung - Finns flock to 'shepherd weeks' to disconnect on holiday

EUR -
AED 4.298532
AFN 80.751725
ALL 98.013615
AMD 448.886144
ANG 2.094611
AOA 1073.180331
ARS 1537.482956
AUD 1.789367
AWG 2.108324
AZN 1.991184
BAM 1.954766
BBD 2.364379
BDT 142.284741
BGN 1.954317
BHD 0.44127
BIF 3458.283725
BMD 1.170316
BND 1.498862
BOB 8.091789
BRL 6.316894
BSD 1.171046
BTN 102.40371
BWP 15.6284
BYN 3.872036
BYR 22938.193234
BZD 2.352276
CAD 1.611502
CDF 3382.212864
CHF 0.942578
CLF 0.028434
CLP 1115.4293
CNY 8.39649
CNH 8.40449
COP 4708.848273
CRC 592.269017
CUC 1.170316
CUP 31.013374
CVE 110.6532
CZK 24.453753
DJF 207.988316
DKK 7.463679
DOP 72.150088
DZD 151.88696
EGP 56.547452
ERN 17.55474
ETB 163.697914
FJD 2.631748
FKP 0.866425
GBP 0.862417
GEL 3.154024
GGP 0.866425
GHS 12.317607
GIP 0.866425
GMD 84.849855
GNF 10152.491197
GTQ 8.981981
GYD 244.992042
HKD 9.186933
HNL 30.837882
HRK 7.532389
HTG 153.284339
HUF 395.270125
IDR 18846.944111
ILS 3.961315
IMP 0.866425
INR 102.346241
IQD 1533.113936
IRR 49299.56083
ISK 143.200436
JEP 0.866425
JMD 187.670735
JOD 0.829787
JPY 172.59117
KES 151.539555
KGS 102.226371
KHR 4689.456395
KMF 492.122522
KPW 1053.211278
KRW 1614.450968
KWD 0.357509
KYD 0.975863
KZT 630.182061
LAK 25278.825269
LBP 104801.796089
LKR 352.333639
LRD 235.816295
LSL 20.573929
LTL 3.455639
LVL 0.707913
LYD 6.348951
MAD 10.571487
MDL 19.550242
MGA 5196.20254
MKD 61.505628
MMK 2456.768579
MNT 4208.912788
MOP 9.468107
MRU 46.742411
MUR 53.41358
MVR 18.027089
MWK 2032.251524
MXN 21.82074
MYR 4.924108
MZN 74.853274
NAD 20.574457
NGN 1794.567277
NIO 43.009359
NOK 11.939377
NPR 163.845737
NZD 1.959836
OMR 0.449986
PAB 1.170991
PEN 4.126827
PGK 4.853772
PHP 66.31771
PKR 330.555538
PLN 4.250997
PYG 8771.360539
QAR 4.260538
RON 5.060799
RSD 117.13227
RUB 92.982067
RWF 1689.936277
SAR 4.391415
SBD 9.632393
SCR 17.255347
SDG 702.775855
SEK 11.171702
SGD 1.498572
SHP 0.919685
SLE 27.160965
SLL 24540.938595
SOS 668.843205
SRD 43.944167
STD 24223.177955
STN 24.986246
SVC 10.24658
SYP 15216.389898
SZL 20.574762
THB 37.844487
TJS 10.919451
TMT 4.107809
TND 3.36875
TOP 2.740993
TRY 47.717288
TTD 7.952556
TWD 35.055664
TZS 3048.672852
UAH 48.621283
UGX 4166.6715
USD 1.170316
UYU 46.895196
UZS 14672.835937
VES 155.362431
VND 30767.607149
VUV 139.911374
WST 3.110847
XAF 655.621424
XAG 0.030406
XAU 0.000349
XCD 3.162838
XCG 2.110502
XDR 0.821957
XOF 659.469611
XPF 119.331742
YER 281.197679
ZAR 20.501832
ZMK 10534.249696
ZMW 26.962969
ZWL 376.841269
  • RBGPF

    0.0000

    73.08

    0%

  • RYCEF

    -0.1000

    14.7

    -0.68%

  • RIO

    0.2000

    63.3

    +0.32%

  • CMSC

    0.0740

    23.154

    +0.32%

  • NGG

    0.1600

    70.44

    +0.23%

  • BTI

    -0.7750

    57.145

    -1.36%

  • VOD

    0.1100

    11.65

    +0.94%

  • BP

    0.0200

    34.09

    +0.06%

  • GSK

    0.9150

    39.135

    +2.34%

  • AZN

    2.0850

    77.425

    +2.69%

  • SCU

    0.0000

    12.72

    0%

  • JRI

    0.0150

    13.395

    +0.11%

  • SCS

    0.2400

    16.43

    +1.46%

  • RELX

    -0.0800

    47.75

    -0.17%

  • BCE

    0.6790

    25.179

    +2.7%

  • BCC

    2.8150

    87.075

    +3.23%

  • CMSD

    0.1510

    23.711

    +0.64%

Finns flock to 'shepherd weeks' to disconnect on holiday
Finns flock to 'shepherd weeks' to disconnect on holiday / Photo: Alessandro RAMPAZZO - AFP

Finns flock to 'shepherd weeks' to disconnect on holiday

Finnish holidaygoers are clamouring to shell out hundreds of euros to work as shepherds for a week as a vacation, seeking tranquility in nature and a chance to disconnect from their busy lives.

Text size:

Petri Stenberg is enjoying a "shepherd week" together with his wife Oona and their two children Fia, age 2, and Hugo, 4, on an old farm on an island in the Isojarvi national park in central Finland.

The popular holiday scheme, organised by the Metsahallitus company that manages and protects state-owned land and water areas, allows the family to combine recreation and nature conservation.

"We are living very close to nature here. We feed the sheep a couple of times a day, we have been to the sauna, swam and gone fishing," Oona Stenberg, who works as a physiotherapist, told AFP.

"Not once have I seen any news here. There's no TV here, we haven't browsed our phones. So in a way, my mind has somehow calmed down and I'm just concentrating on being here," she added.

Accessible only by rowboat or on foot through the forest and across a bridge, the old farm is one of around a dozen remote sites across Finland to which Finns can apply for a week-long holiday taking care of sheep.

Historically, grazing sheep and other animals have played a crucial role in maintaining biodiversity and habitats for flora and fauna at the various locations.

But changed forestry and agricultural practices, including a "dramatic" decline in the number of small farms in Finland, have seen these traditional biotopes of so-called semi-natural grasslands and wooded pastures become an endangered part of Finland's nature, explained Metsahallitus expert Leena Hiltunen.

"The main purpose of the shepherd weeks is to increase people's knowledge about these traditional biotopes," Hiltunen said.

The vegetation on the Isojarvi island was traditionally kept light and lush as grazing sheep prevented overgrowth, providing the necessary ecosystem for now-endangered plant and insect species.

Compared to the 1950s, less than one percent of Finland's traditional biotopes and landscapes remain, according to Metsahallitus, with most of them now located in protected areas.

"Appreciation and protection of nature is so important... So it is really important for all of us to learn about it and for children to learn to appreciate it," said Oona Stenberg.

- Popular holiday -

Metsahallitus received 12,764 applications from 2,236 applicants -- many applying for more than one site -- for this year's summer season.

A total of 158 shepherd weeks are selected through a lottery.

"There has been a great deal of interest," Hiltunen said.

The Stenberg family, who lives in Vantaa, just north of Helsinki, applied a few times until they finally got lucky this year.

A week typically costs between 400 and 670 euros ($470-$780) at most locations.

The housing is spartan and simple, in huts or cottages often lacking running water and sometimes even electricity.

"Some people have asked us why we wanted to pay to herd sheep and do some yard work," laughed Oona Stenberg.

"But it is really an experience for us, and the kids are loving it," she added, sipping from her coffee cup outside the family's yellow cottage, surrounded by old wooden outhouses and a sauna overlooking the lake.

In Finland, many people spend their summers in rustic countryside cottages.

Hiltunen said only Finns could apply for the shepherd weeks because it was crucial to know "how to manage the modest lifestyle" in nature on one's own.

"We don't have enough resources to advertise it internationally, or have someone there nearby advising how things work," she said.

- 'Break from everyday life' -

On the lakeland island, a sense of complete serenity hung in the air, the grey sky suggesting rain was on its way.

The family had been instructed to count the dozen sheep every day "and make sure their overall health is good, that they are eating enough and checking that the fencing is intact," said Petri Stenberg, who drives excavators for a living.

The small farm was a working farm until 1989 and was bought by Metsahallitus in the 1990s.

Flipping through the pages of a notebook inside the house, Petri Stenberg showed writings and a few sketches of sheep from previous visitors who documented their daily life and observations.

"This is a real break from everyday life," he said.

(O.Joost--BBZ)