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Leader Kalakukko (LAG Kalakukko) is one of the five Local Action Groups implementing the Four Seasons Derby international project. The project is related to the development of tourism, program and food services in rural areas. The project will provide rural actors with new knowledge and skills to develop new food tourism and program services, to network village actors and businesses, and to improve existing food services by creating added value for international tourists and rural communities in the rural area. In Kalakukko’s area there have been three new and innovative events as part of the project. One was the Midnight Sun Festival in village of Muuruvesi among friends in ERG and Four Seasons Derby in 2019 and second was the Tradition Day in village of village of Tuovilanlahti 2021 and third was the One and Only Artist’s dinner by painter Eero Järnefelt in village of Muuruvesi. Kalakukko works together with food expertises in the Pro Agria and two great local partners, the Muuruvesi village association and the Tuovilanlahti village associations, on the local dimension of the project.
With the help of Pro Agria’s experts, a rural tourism entrepreneur strengthens the quality of their tourism services and develops a functional business. Our food and tourism services have been tailored to meet the customer’s needs and implemented in cooperation with the Rural Women’s Advisory Board. Pro Agria’s experts help customers identify service development needs and increase customer awareness. These are all essential parts of a successful business.
North-Savo is traditional animal husbandry area. The emphasis of production has been for a long time in milk and beef production. There is also large milk processing companies in North-Savo. Milk, meat and berries are still the strongest incredients in North-Savo. Srawberries are especially produced in Suonenjoki area, where strawberries have been grown for over 100 years.
Name protection from the EU have been applied for strawberries from Suonenjoki and Finnish finely milled flour mixture in Savo area. When given the name protection, the production of a product with a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) must be closely linked to its geographical origin in at least one of the stages of production, processing or preparation, giving the product a special character. This form of protection is suitable for products which have a good reputation and are processed in a specific geographical area using traditional local methods.
In Eastern Finland the tradition of bread has been very rich and substantial. Sometimes in Savo area there has been two bread on top of each other in the table. They symbolized the meaning of bead in the table. Bread had a very big value in eating. The meal was started and finished with bread. The bread was eaten even with thick porrage. The most important bread was ryebread.
Flat bread was and still is made by fermenting. It can be flat bread baked in a pan or thick bread made from barley. For Midsummer they made flat bread from groat and baked it in pot made from birchbark. In the autumn they were baked in leaves of cabbage.
In Savo area the traditional days of making flat bread were Wednesday and Saturday. In large houses they made dozens of flat bread. As much as you could put in the oven. Flat bread is best straight out of oven, with butter and buttermilk. Flat bread with groat was made all around the year.
