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Orivesi Grannies Go International

Bringing generations and cultures together since 2017

Orivesi Grannies Go International brings local older people in a small Finnish community together with people from around the world. Through nature, food, traditions and practical skills, people meet not simply as hosts and guests, but as equals.

What began as a funded project in 2017 has grown into friendships and a community tradition that continues nine years later…

Yle, Finland’s national broadcaster, documented the first Grannies Go International blueberry-picking event in 2017. Watch the video.

About the author

Heidi Savolainen

The owner of the company is commited to developing sustainability in tourism and is recognised for her expertise.

Sustainability Ambassador of Finland

Visit Finland has selected Heidi as a Sustainability Ambassador 2025 for promoting equality in tourism.

Scandinavian Outdoor Award for Accessibility

Heidi Savolainen was awarded the Scandinavian Outdoor Award's IMPACT PRIZE for accessible adventures.

It started by listening

The story began in Orivesi, Finland, through collaboration between Adventure Apes and Oriveden Aurum, led by Project Manager Tiina Kuisma.

There was a need on both sides. Interviews with older residents in Orivesi highlighted a lack of social interaction and a strong desire for greater connection with nature. At the same time, international people living in the nearby Tampere region needed opportunities to build local connections, experience Finnish culture and everyday life, and learn new skills.

Older residents were involved in co-development workshops where their own needs, wishes and ideas were heard. Adventure Apes and Oriveden Aurum then explored a simple idea: what if these groups could meet and learn from one another?

The first “Mummon kanssa mustikkaan” – Blueberry Picking with Grannies event took place in August 2017. Local seniors and international participants went into the Finnish forest together to pick berries, spend time in nature, share knowledge and get to know one another.

What began as an answer to two different needs became a reciprocal exchange: local residents gained new social and international connections, while international participants gained local connections and a more personal way to experience Finnish culture, nature and everyday life.

The first event was documented by Finnish national broadcaster Yle (link opens a new window).

Doing things together

New friendships were formed, and doing things together made us a functioning community.
Erja,76 & Leena, 82
Local participants

There is no complicated formula behind Orivesi Grannies Go International. People meet and do things together.
Over the years, activities have included berry picking, cooking from natural ingredients, sauna evenings, nature excursions, birdhouse building, practical skills, cricket and cultural evenings.

A shared language is not essential. Cooking together, picking berries and mushrooms, learning to use a tool or sitting around a fire can create a connection even when people do not share many words.

Cultural exchange also works in both directions. Local residents share Finnish nature, food, traditions and practical knowledge, while international participants bring their own cuisines, cultures, games and skills. In 2026, for example, five trainees from Ibiza prepared Spanish food, introduced their culture and taught dance to local participants.

Participation in the community gatherings is free.

From encounters to friendships

The best part was meeting local people. Many of them became my good friends.
Amir Abdi
International participant since 2017

Children, young adults, adults, grannies and grandpas have participated together. Local seniors have passed practical knowledge to younger generations, while international participants have brought new perspectives into the community.

Over nine years, some encounters have developed into genuine friendships. Participants describe joy, belonging, cultural learning and feeling welcomed into a community.

One 89-year-old participant Maija-Liisa Mäkelä says that her current best Finnish friend came into her life through the group.

International participants Amir Abdi and Aftab Khan, who joined the first blueberry event documented by Yle in 2017, were still able to share their memories and experiences of the initiative nine years later.

My current best Finnish friend is from this group. At this age, it is difficult to find new ones.
Maija-Liisa, 89
Local participant

Nature is part of the community

Nature has been central from the beginning. Alongside berry picking and outdoor activities, participants have built birdhouses, collected litter and helped care for natural sites.

The environmental actions are deliberately practical. Sustainability becomes something people do together, rather than something discussed separately from everyday life.

Nine years – and still going

The original project funding ended years ago, and Adventure Apes later moved its main operations away from Orivesi to Kuusamo. The meetings nevertheless continued because people wanted them to continue.

  • 2017 – First blueberry event and Yle coverage
  • 2018 – Community nature gatherings continue
  • 2019 – The multicultural and multigenerational approach is presented at the Milan Triennale
  • 2021 – Adventure Apes presents its local-involvement approach at a Nordic regenerative-tourism conference in the Faroe Islands
  • 2023 – Local media coverage and Adventure Apes featured in Visit Finland's sustainability video series
  • 2024 – Local older residents share practical skills with international young people, including birdhouse building.
  • 2025 – International cooking, nature activities and sauna gathering
  • 2026 – Spanish cultural exchange and nine years of continued activity

The original local partner perspective

Tiina Kuisma, Project Manager of Oriveden Aurum from 2016 to 2019, describes how older residents’ needs and ideas were incorporated into the development process:

“Their own needs, wishes and ideas were listened to – involving them in the development work.”

“The multicultural, multi-generational approach co-designed with Heidi Savolainen and Adventure Apes has been very popular.”

English translations from Tiina Kuisma’s original Finnish statement, 2026.

Recognised beyond Orivesi​

The approach has attracted attention beyond the local community.

  • In 2017, Yle documented the first blueberry event.
  • In 2019, the multicultural and multigenerational approach was presented as part of Finland's Everyday Experiments exhibition at the Milan Triennale.
  • In 2021, Adventure Apes presented its approach to local involvement at the Nordic Regenerative Tourism – Building a Healthy Tourism in the Nordics conference in the Faroe Islands.
  • In 2023, Adventure Apes was one of four Finnish tourism companies featured in Visit Finland's sustainability video series. The Adventure Apes episode was titled “Vastuullista yhdessä tekemistä” – Sustainability through doing things together.

See also SOSTE’s article about Orivesi Aurum community co-development, section 4.2.3, Tiina Kuisma and Visit Faroe Islands Regenerative Tourism Conference 2021.

Our sustainability acts, like Orivesi Grannies Go International, have been noticed nationwide. Adventure Apes was one of four Finnish tourism companies featured in Visit Finland’s sustainability video series in 2024.

What can tourism learn from Orivesi Grannies Go International?

The lesson from Orivesi is not that another tourism company or destination should copy blueberry picking or create its own “Grannies” programme.

The transferable element is the process:

  1. Listen to local people. Co-create rather than design for them.
  2. Create encounters where residents and international participants meet as equals. Encourage two-way learning.
  3. Use local knowledge, nature and existing community resources.
  4. Ensure that tourism creates positive value for the people and places involved.
  5. Don’t replicate the experience. Replicate the way of listening and co-creating.

Adventure Apes is now exploring how these lessons could inform future community-based tourism development in Käylä village, in Kuusamo in northern Finland. Rather than copying Orivesi, the process can begin again by listening to the community and exploring what local residents themselves would like to develop and share.

Further reading and videos