Summary in English





How did this all began?

I started to photograph Finnish landrace farm animals at summer 2006. After I had systematically taken photos of them one year, I already had so much good material, that I decided to share it somehow and put it to good use. I created a very special and unique multimedia-show of those photos, and added some very carefully selected music to the pictures. In this multimedia, all the Finnish landrace breeds are included, which are: What's happening right now?

After I made that multimedia-dvd, I started to show it in several places, including: I continue photographing these animals all the time, and I have created my own home-pages for this project :

http://www.marinmaatiaiset.net

What is happening now and in the future?

I am planning to continue photographing these animals in the future too, and the galleries keep on growing. The Finn horse is a very multi-purpose breed, and I am hoping to bring these purposes up taking photos of the Finn horse in all the tasks it can do. I am also hoping to take a large photo - series of a Finn horse from its birth to adulthood following a life on one special Finn horse.

At the future I will cycle around Finland and spread the knowledge of these landrace breeds around our country. I will use the whole summer to this special adventure, and I keep everybody up to date by keeping a diary online and opening a special place for photo-journal from my journey.

In the future I also hope to be able to take photos of other Scandinavian landrace breeds, including the canines of all Scandinavian countries.

The sights, sounds and flavours of Finland

I strongly believe in Finland's gastronomy, and to our domestic production with high quality. I believe to the motivation and skills which our farmers and producers have, especially the keepers of small farms with our landrace farm animals. Their loyalty and heart lies on the right place, and their work ethic is never unseen before.

Our national treasure, the forest, has its own remarkable production of its own: its berries and mushrooms, and its very variable game. Also our lakes, rivers and the sea brings its own specialities to our kitchens.

As a part of my main project concerning our domestic farm breeds, I will include this one to it.

My aim and my goal is to forward Finnish knowledge and skills in gastronomy and high guality farm products to foreign countries. I would sincerely hope to inspire the international visitors to get excited about our country's true and genuine flavours what we have to offer for them.

The sights, sounds and flavours of Finland will be included to these web-pages, where you can follow its process. I will be making its own multimedia- show, some brochures in various languages etc.

Why am I doing this project?

This is very simple: I love these animals!! Finnish landrace breeds are a big and significant part of our agricultural and cultural history. Some of these breeds are still very low in numbers, even endangered species. It is vital to spread knowledge of these breeds across our country and let all the people know the importance of valuing something unique and special. This project is also very educational to our children and young people, since more and more people are living in an urban setting without any connection to rural lifestyle. Also bringing this program to our senior citizens is a helpful and enriching way to bring up memories and cheering their day.

I will keep on going as long as possible, creating new ways of celebrating our very rare and fabulous landrace breeds.

It's all about love and commitment.

Sincerely: Mari Laulumaa- Hirvonen
http://www.marinmaatiaiset.net
mari@marinmaatiaiset.net