Tag: rural development

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PoliRuralPlus Yleinen

People – Place Bond: Mallusjoki and the bond between people and place

This short documentary explores the deep bond between people and the places they inhabit through the story of Mallusjoki, a rural village in Finland. The video follows the themes of place attachment (PAT) and people–place bond, central to the European project PoliRuralPlus.

Mallusjoki shows how community, culture, everyday life, intergenerational stories and changing local environments shape territorial identity. Through shared activities, local memories, traditions, and new digital tools, residents take part in building a future where rural and urban life connect more closely.

PoliRuralPlus strengthens participation, inclusiveness and social cohesion by helping communities influence how their surroundings evolve. In Mallusjoki, this means creating meaningful meeting places, supporting well-being, and nurturing the bond between people and their environment.

This video is part of the Finnish pilot developing new approaches to rural vitality, community resilience and sustainable development.

🔗 More about Mallusjoki pilot
PoliRuralPlus: https://www.poliruralplus.eu/
Mallusjoki pilot: https://www.poliruralplus.eu/pilots/rural-pilots/Finland/





Related blogs and news

Maaseudun kehittämisen tarjouspyyntö

PoliRuralPlus-hankkeessa järjestetään neljä avointa hakukierrosta, joiden avulla etsitään ja rahoitetaan uusia ideoita maaseudun ja kaupunkien kehittämiseksi. Tavoitteena on laajentaa hankkeen vaikutusta ja kokeilla uusia menetelmiä, teknologioita ja toimintatapoja.

Tuula Löytty's avatar by Tuula Löytty

PoliRuralPlus pyytää tarjouksia 10 000 EUR projektille

Tavoitteet Avoin tarjouspyyntö kohdistuu toimiin, jotka koskevat maaseudun ja kaupunkien välisiä yhteyksiä ja joissa hyödynnetään hankkeessa kehitettyjä tieto- ja viestintätekniikan välineitä kestävän kasvun ja innovoinnin edistämiseksi. Tarjouspyynnössä haetaan erityisesti projekteja, jotka: Mallusjoen pilotin yleistavoite Mallusjoen alueen pilotin tavoitteena PoliRuralPlus hankkeessa on rakentaa maaseudun tapahtumateollisuuden ekosysteemi, joka edistää yhteisön sitoutumista, julkisen ja yksityisen sektorin kumppanuutta ja…

Tuula Löytty's avatar by Tuula Löytty

Mallusjoki pilot’s Newsflash no. 3

Newsflash no. 3 highlights the testing of the new Mallusjoki Youth Society’s Takkari Club event products for autumn 2024, the strategic cooperation with Päijänne-LEADER’s Habitability at Päijät-Häme project and, as a preliminary information, the project’s two AI-based products. Here you can find all published newsflashes….

Tuula Löytty's avatar by Tuula Löytty

Mallusjoki pilot’s Newsflash no. 2

PoliRuralPlus, an EU-funded project focused on sustainable rural development, is underway with a pilot programme in Mallusjoki. This pilot programme aims to create a regional vision 2040 and a development strategy, focusing on the Rural Events Industry as a key theme.

Tuula Löytty's avatar by Tuula Löytty

Mallusjoki pilot’s Newsflashes no. 1-6

PoliRuralPlus, an EU-funded project focused on sustainable rural development, is underway with a pilot programme in Mallusjoki. This pilot programme, with 28 months remaining, aims to create a regional vision 2040 and a development strategy, focusing on the Rural Events Industry as a key theme. A diverse stakeholder group of over 20 people has been formed, and the…

Tuula Löytty's avatar by Tuula Löytty

Innovation platform – Mallusjoki Summer Festival

This year, the Mallusjoki Summer Festival – Takinkääntöviikko – is being used as an innovation platform for the Rural Event Industry. The platform provides a test-bed for real-life experiments and a relaxed environment for a multi-actor approach to promote interaction with stakeholders and ecosystem players who come to the festival from both rural and urban…

Tuula Löytty's avatar by Tuula Löytty

Bridging PoliRural and PoliRuralPlus

In the previous Horizon2020 PoliRural project, we implemented and learnt from the Multi-Actor Approach (MAA) and intensive stakeholder involvement.

In the new Horizon Europe funded rural development project – PoliRuralPlus – we are continuing the work of PoliRural. We want to deepen and strengthen the Multi-Actor Approach and stakeholder involvement in the design and implementation…

Tuula Löytty's avatar by Tuula Löytty

PoliRuralPlus Finnish pilot is Mallusjoki

MALLUSJOKI PILOT PARTNERS Mallusjoen Nuorisoseura ry i.e. Mallusjoki Youth Association provides the innovation platform and it is the other Finnish partner, besides Smart & Lean Hub Oy, in the consortium. MALLUSJOKI PILOT DESCRIPTION ANTICIPATED RESULTS OF MALLUSJOKI PILOT The Rural Event Industry Ecosystem concept and the Rural Event Industry strategy 2040 for Mallusjoki Youth Association.…

Tuula Löytty's avatar by Tuula Löytty
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PoliRuralPlus Yleinen

Mallusjoki Pilot Explores Habitability

On 11 November 2025, the Habitability Research results for the Mallusjoki region, also known locally as Järvikunta, were presented at the Mallusjoki Youth Association Clubhouse. The event gathered inhabitants, researchers, and development actors to explore how the habitability approach can help small inland communities flourish in a changing world.

Habitability: a practical tool for sustainable living

The habitability concept was first created on the island of Kökar, Åland (2018–2020), to provide communities, especially islands and rural villages, with a framework for understanding and improving their local conditions. It translates the UN Sustainable Development Goals (Agenda 2030) into concrete, local realities by asking a simple question: What makes a place good to live in?

Being habitable means more than surviving. It means having jobs, housing, transport, schools, and access to nature. These are the building blocks of a sustainable society that can take care of both its people and its environment.

Mallusjoki joins a growing inland habitability network

Mallusjoki, or Järvikunta, is one of three inland regions in the Päijät-Häme area where the habitability method is being tested. The research was coordinated by Päijänne-Leader, the Local Action Group responsible for fostering rural innovation and cooperation across the region. This collaboration ensures that the habitability approach evolves not just as an island development tool, but also as a model for inland villages surrounded by lakes, forests, and cultural landscapes.

Community-driven insights supported by data

In Mallusjoki, the habitability study combined statistical analysis with local experience. Through workshops and surveys residents reflected on what makes their community thrive and what could be improved.

The Habitability concept contains 45 indicators to help us to measure how habitable our region is. The indicators are categorised in seven areas.

  • Area 1: Place Identity
  • Area 2: Ecosystems
  • Area 3: Freshwater
  • Area 4: Energy
  • Area 5: Local Economy
  • Area 6: Public Service
  • Area 7: Prosperous People

Of the 45 indicators, only two received the lowest score of 1. These are shown as red bars in the multi-spoke radar chart. One of them is the distribution of inhabitants, which affects the dependency ratio. While the situation is not alarming, it is noteworthy. The second red indicator concerns population growth, or more precisely, the decline in population within the area.

The good news is that other indicators clearly show that the region is highly habitable. However, there is always room for improvement. Public services, household water supply, energy efficiency and waste management, for example, could be better. This message will be shared with the Orimattila municipality.

From habitability to regional action

The Mallusjoki pilot is part of the PoliRuralPlus project, funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe programme. The results of the habitability study will now feed into the Regional Action Plan (RAP), helping policymakers and citizens co-create practical steps for sustainable development.

By linking community knowledge, statistical data, and European policy goals, the Mallusjoki pilot illustrates how habitability can bridge local realities and long-term regional strategies.

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PoliRuralPlus Yleinen

Maaseudun kehittämisen tarjouspyyntö

Kolmannessa kilpailutuksessa jaossa on jopa 100 000 EUR

Tavoitteet

Avoin tarjouspyyntö kohdistuu toimiin, jotka koskevat maaseudun ja kaupunkien välisiä yhteyksiä ja joissa hyödynnetään hankkeessa kehitettyjä tieto- ja viestintätekniikan välineitä kestävän kasvun ja innovoinnin edistämiseksi.

Tarjouspyynnössä haetaan erityisesti projekteja, jotka:

  • Rohkaisevat innovatiivisia lähestymistapoja maaseudun kehittämiseen, joita voidaan toistaa tai laajentaa eri alueilla.
  • Edistävät sidosryhmien välistä yhteistyötä eri sektoreilta, mukaan lukien teknologia, maatalous ja alueellinen suunnittelu, jotta maaseudun haasteita voidaan käsitellä kokonaisvaltaisesti.
  • Tuottavat oivalluksia ja ratkaisuja, jotka voivat ohjata politiikkaa ja käytäntöjä ja siten tukea tasapainoisen maaseutu-kaupunkikehityksen laajempia tavoitteita.

Mallusjoen pilotin yleistavoite

Tavoitteena on rakentaa maaseudun tapahtumateollisuuden ekosysteemi, joka edistää yhteisön osallistumista, julkisen ja yksityisen sektorin kumppanuutta sekä taloudellisia mahdollisuuksia maaseudun tapahtumien kautta.

Parantamalla ja hyödyntämällä alueen luontaisia ja inhimillisiä voimavaroja, innovatiivisuutta ja luovaa sektoria, tämä pilotti pyrkii houkuttelemaan kaupunkilaisvierailijoita ja edistämään yhteisölähtöistä maaseudun kehittämistä.”

Mallusjoen pilotin erityistavoitteet

  • Edistetään maaseudun tapahtumateollisuuden ekosysteemin dynamiikkaa ja taloudellisia mahdollisuuksia. Ekosysteemiin kuuluvat paikalliseen ruoantuotantoon, luonto- ja ulkoilutoimintaan, kulttuuriin ja luoviin aloihin osallistuvat yritykset.
  • Vahvistetaan alueellista identiteettiä ja kulttuuriperintöä yhteisöllisyyden ja hyvinvoinnin tukemiseksi, esimerkiksi digitaalisten kulttuuriperintöalustojen, yhteisöllisten tarinankerronnan muotojen kuten lisätyn todellisuuden (AR) tai digitaalisten arkistojen ja muistihankkeiden avulla.
  • Hyödynnetään julkisesti saatavilla olevaa paikkatietoa, kuten infrastruktuuriin, maankäyttöön, liikkumiseen ja jätehuoltoon liittyvää dataa, yhdistettynä tekoälypohjaisiin malleihin, jotta yksilöt, yritykset ja yhteisöt voivat suunnitella sosiaalisesti ja ekologisesti kestäviä ratkaisuja Uusi Eurooppalainen Bauhaus -periaatteiden mukaisesti. Tällaisia ratkaisuja voivat olla esimerkiksi energiatehokkaat rakennusparannukset, kestävän maankäytön strategiat, kiertotalousaloitteet ja parannettu maaseudun ja kaupunkien välinen yhteys.

Tarjousprosessin ja toteutuksen aikataulu

ToimintoPäivä
Tarjousten toimittaminen26.5.2025 – 31.7.2025
Projektin toteutusLokakuu, 2025 – Kesäkuu 2026

Lisää tietoa tarjousprosessista

Online Application Form: https://www.poliruralplus.eu/open-calls/mobilise-call/ 

Tuula Löytty, Smart & Lean Hub Oy, tuula.loytty@smartlean.fi, +358449824026


Categories
PoliRuralPlus Yleinen

PoliRuralPlus pyytää tarjouksia 10 000 EUR projektille

Tavoitteet

Avoin tarjouspyyntö kohdistuu toimiin, jotka koskevat maaseudun ja kaupunkien välisiä yhteyksiä ja joissa hyödynnetään hankkeessa kehitettyjä tieto- ja viestintätekniikan välineitä kestävän kasvun ja innovoinnin edistämiseksi.

Tarjouspyynnössä haetaan erityisesti projekteja, jotka:

  • Rakentavat siltoja maaseudun ja kaupunkien välisten erojen ja kuilujen välille ja edistävät innovatiivisia liiketoimintamallien syntymistä.
  • Edistävät maaseudun ja kaupunkien sidosryhmien välistä sosiaalista ja taloudellista yhteenkuuluvuutta.
  • Edistävät PoliRuralPlus- ja muita ratkaisuja ja tukevat niiden validointia, laajentamista ja/tai täytäntöönpanoa PoliRuralPlus-pilottialueilla.

Mallusjoen pilotin yleistavoite

Mallusjoen alueen pilotin tavoitteena PoliRuralPlus hankkeessa on rakentaa maaseudun tapahtumateollisuuden ekosysteemi, joka edistää yhteisön sitoutumista, julkisen ja yksityisen sektorin kumppanuutta ja taloudellisia mahdollisuuksia maaseudun tapahtumien avulla.

Pilottihankkeella pyritään houkuttelemaan kävijöitä kaupunkialueilta ja edistämään maaseutualueiden yhteisöllistä kehitystä vahvistamalla ja hyödyntämällä alueen luonnon- ja inhimillisiä voimavaroja, innovatiivisuutta ja luovaa sektoria.

Mallusjoen pilotin erityistavoitteet

  • Maaseudun tapahtumateollisuuden ekosysteemin rakentaminen
  • Yhteisön sitoutuminen ja yhteistyö hyvinvoinnin edistämiseksi
  • Maaseudun tapahtumien tarjoamat taloudelliset mahdollisuudet
  • Yhteisön tilojen uudistaminen vihreäksi kulttuurikeskukseksi uuden eurooppalaisen Bauhaus-politiikan mukaisesti.
  • Kaupunkilaisvierailijoiden houkutteleminen maaseudulle

Tarjousprosessin aikataulu

ToimintoPäivä
Tarjouspyynnön julkaisu31.1.2025
Tarjousten toimittaminen31.1.2025 – 31.3.2025
Tarjousten arviointiHuhtikuu 2025
Tulosten julkaisuToukokuu 2025
Projektin kesto6 kk, kesäkuu-marraskuu

Lisää tietoa tarjousprosessista

Online Application Form: https://www.poliruralplus.eu/open-calls/mobilise-call/ 

Tuula Löytty, Smart & Lean Hub Oy, tuula.loytty@smartlean.fi, +358449824026


Categories
PoliRuralPlus Yleinen

Mallusjoki pilot’s Newsflash no. 3

Newsflash no. 3 highlights the testing of the new Mallusjoki Youth Society’s Takkari Club event products for autumn 2024, the strategic cooperation with Päijänne-LEADER’s Habitability at Päijät-Häme project and, as a preliminary information, the project’s two AI-based products.

Here you can find all published newsflashes….

PoliRuralPlus_Mallusjoki Pilot_Uutiskirje_1-3 (2)Download

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PoliRuralPlus Yleinen

Mallusjoki pilot’s Newsflash no. 2

PoliRuralPlus, an EU-funded project focused on sustainable rural development, is underway with a pilot programme in Mallusjoki. This pilot programme aims to create a regional vision 2040 and a development strategy, focusing on the Rural Events Industry as a key theme.

Newsfeeds 1, 2Download
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PoliRuralPlus Yleinen

Mallusjoki pilot’s Newsflashes no. 1-6

PoliRuralPlus, an EU-funded project focused on sustainable rural development, is underway with a pilot programme in Mallusjoki. This pilot programme, with 28 months remaining, aims to create a regional vision 2040 and a development strategy, focusing on the Rural Events Industry as a key theme.

A diverse stakeholder group of over 20 people has been formed, and the project is exploring the motivations of event attendees and the experiences and insight of community volunteers.

PoliRuralPlus_Mallusjoki Pilot_UutiskirjeDownload

Categories
PoliRuralPlus Yleinen

Innovation platform – Mallusjoki Summer Festival

This year, the Mallusjoki Summer Festival – Takinkääntöviikko – is being used as an innovation platform for the Rural Event Industry.

The platform provides a test-bed for real-life experiments and a relaxed environment for a multi-actor approach to promote interaction with stakeholders and ecosystem players who come to the festival from both rural and urban areas.

The PoliRuralPlus Mallusjoki pilot team has four areas of focus during the festival:

  • Mallusjoki Village House premises for rural events – the team will monitor and evaluate how the improvements which have implemented to the venue will affect guests and artists.
  • Mallusjoki event guests’ feedback on the event – the team will sense the guests’ reactions to understand better the “Moments of Truth“
  • Mallusjoki community members and volunteers’ feedback on the event – the team will discuss on building community sense through volunteer work.
  • Rural Event Industry Ecosystem – the team will communicate about the ecosystem and invite new members to join in.

Takinkääntöviikko

24-26 July 2024

Soon the wait will be over and the world’s best summer festival, Mallusjoki Takinkääntöviikko, will offer us great summer music nights in an idyllic rural setting on 24-26 July 2024! This year we’ll be celebrating for three days from Wednesday to Friday and with even more energy!

Doors open at 6 pm and the music, food, drink and atmosphere will go on until late into the night. What’s even more special is that these festivals are free for everyone.

TAKINKÄÄNTÖVIIKKO TULEE TAAS!
https://www.mallusjoki.fi/2024/06/06/takinkaantoviikko-tulee-taas/

Categories
PoliRuralPlus Yleinen

I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine

Mallusjoki pilot’s aim is to gather a stakeholder panel and carry out actions which will add value to all participants. The pilot builds on Social Exchange theory which is a concept based on the idea that social behavior is the result of an exchange process. Social exchange is cooperation for mutual benefit. It is an “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine” principle. In any case, Mallusjoki pilot builds upon long-term stakeholder relationships and the pilot has a policy, tolerance and patience to wait for the pay-back.

The following two Mallusjoki pilot stakeholder meetings are about Smart Villages concept and synergies in the regional cultural events

Smart Villages concept

The stakeholder members in present were Marianna Selkäinaho from The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Finland and Ann-Sofi Backgren from the Finnish Food Authority.

The aim of the consultation meeting was to get first-hand information from the main authorities about the policy and strategy for implementing the Smart Village concept in Finland. The take-away was that the Ministry is committed to promoting the Smart Village concept and that there are also funds in the budget.

The authorities and agencies responsible for implementing the Smart Village strategy are looking forward to receiving innovative and practical ideas and funding applications from the villages.

Building synergies with cultural heritage projects in the Päijät-Häme region

The stakeholder member present was Joonas Pokkinen from the Regional Council of Päijät-Häme. He leads several regional cultural heritage projects. He is well informed about regional policies and strategies in the field of cultural heritage. Our discussion touched on possible synergies at policy and project level.

The following conclusions were drawn:

  • Päijät-Häme Regional Council promotes coordination of cultural work between municipalities
  • The PoliRuralPlus project and the Mallusjoki pilot project see advantages in linking up with other cultural projects in the region.
  • An interesting benchmark case is the Community Event Arena in the village of Jaala, which aims to promote cultural life in the village through a new arena. The investment was 1 MEUR.

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PoliRural PoliRuralPlus Yleinen

Bridging PoliRural and PoliRuralPlus

PoliRural – The importance of stakeholder group work in rural development work

In the PoliRural project, stakeholder participation was a significant part of the activities when innovating new tools for the development of rural policy. The project resulted reason to explore the dynamics of stakeholder work more broadly and to consider it as part of the activities of higher education institutions. This article highlights insights on stakeholder work from the point of view of actors, with an emphasis on rural development networks. Experiences are gathered from the PoliRural project, which has already ended, and from the survey of stakeholders in the Kanta and Päijät-Häme region.

Identifying the right people for stakeholder work is important. The group can be well-defined or based e.g., on recommendations, which was considered one of the good ways to get the right people involved in stakeholder groups according to the survey. Multi-actor stakeholder group who knows the needs of target group are essential for the development work.

Commitment to stakeholder group work is influenced by many factors, such as the person’s motivational factors, position, participation in the activity, role, assigned tasks and the meaningfulness of the activity. Experienced stakeholder group members had slightly more motivation for stakeholder group work than inexperienced members. The stakeholder group itself is already a motivating factor, through which you learn something new and get a new perspective on your own work. The group’s internal motivation includes e.g., openness, equality, working together and an immediate atmosphere. Development projects are hoped that they will purposefully produce concrete and impressive results.

The research publication “The importance of stakeholder group work in rural development work on” is shared at HAMK Unlimited platform in Finnish language.

Lento, S., Löytty, T., Pölönen, I., Anttila, M., Friman, M., Korkiakoski, P. & Salminen, J. (2024). Sidosryhmätyöskentelyn merkitys maaseudun kehittämistyössä. HAMK Unlimited Journal, 26.3.2024

https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2024030810559

PoliRuralPlus – Multi-Actor Approach

The findings of the study are to be considered in the new Horizon Europe program funded project, PoliRuralPlus.

In Finland, PoliRuralPlus is implemented in Mallusjoki village which locates in Orimattila city region, in Päijät-Häme. The Finnish consortium partners are Mallusjoki Youth Association and Smart & Lean Hub Oy.

Acknowledgement