A colourful bunch

Vesa Nevala is involved in many things and has tools in his pocket, ready to build and repair places in our village. He mainly worked in sales and is now actively involved in the renovation of the barn. Vesku also takes care of the village sauna and converting the villagers to Ilves fans.

Tuija Nevala is our village grandmother and the chairman of the board of Kurjen tila oy. She is already retired, but worked as a restaurant manager and school curator, among other things. Tuija often works in the kitchen of our community center and teaches cooking secrets to our ESC volunteers. The whole village is important to Tuija.

Susanna Kanerva worked as an early childhood educator and director at a Steiner daycare center. She is responsible for the artistic implementation of the village's summer café. Susanna is always found outdoors in warm weather and, when she moves around in a wheelchair, she is delighted that there are many things to do here that are also accessible. She is a mentor for ESC youth volunteers and diligently practices her Spanish.

Isabelle Coelho is a musician and event producer who first came to our village as an ESC volunteer from Portugal. She coordinates our ESC projects and guides the volunteers during their working days. Isabelle also organized the Kurki fest in the summer of 2025.

Jonna Kolkka is a board member of the ecovillage association and an important part of ESC projects. She is the association's go-to person for applications and administrative work. Jonna is a Kundalini Yoga teacher and a Master of Science in Environmental and Energy Technology. Edible gardens are close to Jonna's heart. Jonna is a permaculture teacher and runs sustainable development courses.

Tero Kolkka is the CEO of Kurjen tila oy and works in the ICT sector in Tampere. Tero instructs ashtanga yoga in the village and acts as the running water for our communal gardens. He has been the long-time treasurer of the ecovillage association and keeps Excels in check and in shape! Many people in our village seek relief from their shoulder pains from Tero's unique treatment.

Jukka Kivelä is a Master of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, and a recycling nutrient consultant, although he is supposedly retired. Jukka is still working on his doctoral dissertation and aims to complete it by the age of 85 at the latest. Jukka can also be seen in our fields riding a tractor in the evening sun.

Elina Nurmi is an agronomist by profession and works as an organic farmer on her home farm in Urjala. Elina has gained a lot of experience in communication tasks in sustainable agriculture projects. She is the secretary of the board of the ecovillage association and is involved in everything related to gardening and farming in the village. Elina is the project manager for our Forest Gardens for All project.

Tiina Jaatinen is the chairman of the board of the ecovillage association and enjoys participating in the village's activities. She is an international education expert, teacher and environmental educator by profession. Tiina is renovating our village barn, or at least creating content about the renovation.

Adon on ammatiltaan koodari, ja auttelee nyt Kestävän kehityksen keskuksen kunnostamisessa. Adon on muuttanut Suomeen Keniasta vuonna 2008, mutta oppi puhumaan suomea sujuvasti vasta täällä maaseudulla. Adon hoitaa kylän puhelin- ja nettiasioita.

Jan has moved to Finland from Germany, used to build ships and has three lovely children. Today, Jan works as a sustainability researcher and teacher at the university. He enjoys repairing the village's buildings and structures and enjoys a good steam bath in the village sauna.

Michelle is from Inari and a mother of three. She is finishing her doctoral dissertation on teacher education, is enthusiastic about designing her own garden, enjoys coffee breaks on the terrace with neighbors and philosophical discussions in the village sauna. The best entertainment in the village is the dance club and karaoke evenings in the community center.

Jarkko Mattila is the construction manager of our village. He is a master builder by profession and has actively participated in the construction of the village. While living in the village, Jarkko has become enthusiastic about permaculture farming and food production. Jarkko is often followed by a flock of “girls”, the family’s chickens.

Satu Mattila is the executive director of the ecovillage association and has been an active participant in it since its founding. She is also the project manager of our Sustainable Development Center project. Satu enjoys hosting groups of visitors and acts as a contact person for people who are interested in the community and moving here. And yes, Satu often goes to the sauna.

Jalo Kolkka toimii ekokyläyhdistyksen rahastonhoitajana ja on juuri perustanut 4H-yrityksen Kolkan monipalvelut. The company offers services such as tire changing, lawn mowing and other yard work.

Onni Kolkka already lives on his own on the Hervanta university campus, but regularly visits the ecovillage on weekends. He is passionate about studying programming and has coded this website of ours.

Urho Kolkka is enthusiastic about cooking, especially different ethnic dishes. Urho is probably the fastest Rubik's Cube solver in our village.