Leader pohjois-satakunta
is AN ASSOCIATION WORKING WITH RURAL DEVELOPMENT
LAG Leader Pohjois-Satakunta is located in Western Finland.
Our area (2021) consist of nine municipalities in Northern Satakunta and Northwest Pirkanmaa regions; Ikaalinen, Jämijärvi, Kankaanpää, Karvia, Kihniö, Merikarvia, Parkano, Pomarkku ja Siikainen. About 39 000 inhabitants are living here. In the summer the population doubles when people gather in their summer cottages.
Our LAG area is about 5 554 square kilometres wide and the optical fiber network coverage is the best in entire Finland. The are is truly rural with a sea coast, many lakes, rivers, forests, peatlands and eskers. The vast wilderness areas are optimal for nature tourism and one of UNESCO Global Geoparks, Lauhanvuori-Hämeenkangas, is located here. Our strategy has four main themes:
- Services in the countryside
- Active and diverse entrepreneurship
- Cooperation and new ideas in communities
- International cooperation
Would you like to know more? Check our sample videos!
Welcome to our area!
You are warmly welcomed to visit us in our region. Do not hesitate to contact us for more information. We will provide some useful and unique tips for your visit. The beautiful, peaceful but at the same time lively Finnish countryside is just waiting for you!
Some tips: ITE art
ITE art is Finnish contemporary folk art. The acronym ITE comes from the Finnish words ‘itse tehty elämä’, i.e. self-made life. Most of these artists in ITE gende are self-taught and construct their own stories through their works. In our area Karvia municipality in well-known about their summer ITE art exhibitions as well as town Parkano which is named official ITE summer town in Finland. At the moment, Association for Rural Culture and Education is having a project to find more self-taught artists in Satakunta region.
Some tips: Lauhanvuori- Hämeenkangas Geopark
Lauhanvuori-Hämeenkangas Geopark is located in the southern part of Suomenselkä, a region separating Ostrobothnia from the southern and eastern lake regions of Finland. The Geopark’s main theme is the development from a mountain landscape to a land dominated by mires. The are is around 4500 km2 were geotuorism is seen as an opportunity. Area received its status as UNESCO Global Geopark in 2020. Read more about our Geopark and Geoparks in general at Unesco website. Links below.
Some tips: Finnish Sauna
You can’t visit Finland and not to try Sauna. Sauna is good for everybody. Only newborn babies and people with serious conditions like open wounds and heart problems should avoid this experience. Sauna is a place for both mental and physical cleansing. The place were you should relax. Read more tips from link below.
Sauna can be found almost every Finnish household. There is also some public saunas for you to visit in our area. Villa Viha (pictured) is situated in Ikaalinen next to lake Kyrösjärvi in Toivolansaari camping area. It was opened in July 2020.
What is Leader?
Leader is a local development method used to engage local actors in the design and delivery of strategies, decision-making and resource allocation for the development of theris rural areas. The method has been in use for more than 20 years and it is implemented by around 2 600 Local Action Groups (LAGs). It covers over 54% of the rural population in the EU and brings together public, private and civil-society stakeholders.
In the rural development context, LEADER is implemented under the national and regional Rural Develpment Programmes of esch EU Member State, co-financed by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development. Mainland Finland has 54 Leader groups and the autonomous area of Åland has one.
