When it comes to our communities, we try our best to think ahead to find new ways of working together in harmony, as good neighbours do! So when the opportunity presented itself to work together with our neighbours in the nearby villages of Kiistala, Lintula and Rouravaara to build a brand new kota (traditional hut) by the Seurujoki river near where our Kittilä mine is located we were excited to get involved.

The old kota had fallen into disrepair and since it is used year round, most notably in summer when community members are launching their boats and in winter as a shelter for those using the nearby snow mobile trails, we saw an opportunity to help and reached out to the local Liaison Committee and offered to build a new Kota with all the necessary infrastructure. While changing the location of the kota was also initially discussed in the end it was built in the same location and plans are now underway to also build a new forest road to maintain easy and regular access without impact from activities at the nearby mine.

With construction completed in time for the winter season’s activities we were proud to participate in the official opening on December 17th where we celebrated the completion of the construction project with our neighbors in a very Finnish way – with coffee, coffee bread and roasted sausages on the campfire!  The new kota is much larger, holding up to 30 people, but still cozy and provides wonderful shelter and we hope both local community members and tourists alike will enjoy it for many years to come.

Want to know more about the history and traditions behind the kota? Click here!