Farm Maintenance and Development

Summers 2020-2021

In the summer of 2021 we installed a water therapy treatment centre in the dog rehabilitation room and almost finished refurbishing the northern lights viewing cabin (with a new toilet and logshed). We finished putting up dog cages at the Palojoki cabin and built a new generator building in the front yard of the farmstead.

In the summer of 2020, the summer of Covid, we had very few people working. Even so, we tiled the dog kitchen floor, worked on the interior of the client kitchen and dog / human treatment room, and re-laminated the living room and kitchen floors, which the dogs had completely destroyed. We also had to empty the Kelottijarvi cabin, as its roof was dodgy from the previous winter's heavy snow load.

Summers 2018-2019

The summer of 2019 was 'Maxime's electricity' summer. Maxime used his electricity skills to completely revamp the lighting in the farm, house and farmyard area - an enormous project involving a LOT of digging of trenches. We also extended the warm space for a designated dog and human treatment area. In terms of sustainable business development, we joined an EU project designed to carbon footprint various aspects of our business.

In the summer of 2018, we built a barn for bicycles along the path to the farm and a large storage building for the dry food just inside the farm. We also built, from scratch, a new location in Kallo, on the South Side of Yllas - the culmination of years of acquired knowledge in terms of efficiency of use.

Summers 2015-2017

In 2017 we repaired the fronts of all of our original farm cages, raised feeding holes on many cages, built new 'special needs' cages and started to substitute 2-stroke snowmobiles for 4-stroke machines. In 2016 we did a lot of sleigh maintenance, moved the souvenir shop up to the farmhouse area with an itemised till system, built a treehouse and a drying shed, and committed to building over 100 new nesting boxes as part of the 'A million bird boxes' campaign. In 2015 we expanded our dog recuperation area, added an isolation area for lost-and-found and visiting hotel dogs, put in a new sauna at Palojoki, and were awarded a joint Gold Award in the World Responsible Tourism Awards (Animal Welfare category) with Canned Hunting in S. Africa. We also initiated a second EU project on husky welfare with the University of Lapland.

Summers 2010-2014

In 2014 we built a floored and roofed cage in the sick dog area, 13 new cages plus two new running fences (including 'Shadey Pines' for older retired dogs), extended the sleigh shelter and finished the roof and underfloor heating of the wooden kota. In 2013 the main project was a new wooden kota with sleeping space for seven. In 2012 - 'the artsy-craftsy summer' - we built the farmhouse 'waste management centre', a souvenir shop and a host of pyrographied signs and QR codes. In 2011 we built an insulated extension onto the house and did major rebuilding of the Valimaa farm we managed for Transun UK / Santa Safaris. In 2010 we built a drive-through snowmobile shelter and 8 new back-to-back cages including the puppy hilton and puppy kindergarten.

The Early Years (2007-2009)

In 2009 we built a running fence behind our main cages, extended the cage and holding post area and built a sleigh shelter and puppy teepee play area. The summer of 2008 was our first summer with the dogs: we fenced the whole perimeter, put up the log shed, toilet and frames for two kotas, and built sufficient cages and running post areas to house 44 dogs - our starting number. During 2007 Anna spent time consulting on the BS 8848 Standard for organising and managing visits, fieldwork, expeditions and adventurous activities outside the UK, which aims to reduce risk from injury or illness and provides a way of demonstrating good practice in managing ventures safely.