Finns looking for peace and quiet flock to herd sheep on holiday

Suomians are prepared to pay hundreds of euros to spend a week working as shepherds in the wilderness during their holidays, taking a break from the busy pace of life.  

Petri Stenberg, his wife Oona and their two children, Fia, two, and Hugo, four, enjoy a "shepherd's week" on an old farm on an island in Isojarvi National Park, central Finland. 

A popular holiday programme organised by „Metsahallitus“, a company that manages and protects public land and water bodies, allows the family to combine recreation and nature conservation. 

„We live very close to nature here. We feed the sheep a couple of times a day, go to the sauna, swim and fish," said Oona Stenberg, who works as a physiotherapist. 

She added that she has never watched the news, there is not even a TV on the farm, she does not talk on her phone, her mind is quiet and she „just concentrates on being here“.

The old farm, accessible only by boat or on foot across a forest and a bridge, is one of about a dozen remote places in all of Finland where Finns can ask for a week's leave to care for sheep.

Historically, sheep and other livestock grazing has played a very important role in preserving biodiversity and the habitats of flora and fauna in various places. However, changes in forestry and agricultural practices, including a dramatic decline in small farms in Finland, have led to the loss of these traditional biotopes of semi-natural grassland and wooded pastures in Finland.

„The main aim of the grazing weeks – is to increase people's knowledge of these traditional biotopes“, – said „Metsahallitus“ expert Leena Hiltunen. 

The vegetation on Isoyarvi Island has traditionally been sparse and lush, and the grazing sheep have prevented the island from becoming overgrown, thus providing an essential ecosystem for endangered plant and insect species. ]

According to Metsahallitus, compared to the 1950s, less than one per cent of Finland's traditional biotopes and landscapes have survived, most of which are now in protected areas. 

Popular holidays

„Metsahallitus“ received 12,764 applications from 2,236 applicants for this year's summer season. Holidaymakers are selected by lottery for 158 weeks of shepherding. 

The Stenberg family, who live in Vantaa, north of Helsinki, applied several times before they were finally successful this year. 

A week in most places usually costs between €400 and €670. Housing is spartan and basic, with huts or cabins often lacking water and sometimes even electricity. 

„Some people asked us why we wanted to pay for sheep grazing and some field work“, laughed Oona Stenberg, sipping coffee outside a yellow hut surrounded by old wooden sheds and a sauna overlooking the lake. But for the family it's a „real experience and the kids love it“, she added.

In Finland, many people spend their summers in a rural environment, but Hiltunen said only Finns can claim to have shepherd weeks. „We don't have enough resources to promote it internationally and there is no one close by to advise on how things work,– she said.

A break from everyday life

The island of the lake is completely peaceful. The small farm operated until 1989, when „Metsahallitus“ bought it in the 1990s. The family is tasked with counting the twelve sheep every day, making sure they are in good health and eating enough, and checking the fence for damage, said Stenberg, who works as a backhoe driver.