This was where he would later build a communal urban event park, ‘Sopenkorven Kesanto’. Kesanto is Finnish for ‘fallow’, meaning an unused field that has been left, but which may be cultivated later.
Eetu’s first job was to clean up the area. Eetu found that the plot was owned by the City of Lahti and was in the process of being developed into the Sopenkorpi industrial area. During the development phase, Eetu participated in a brainstorming workshop and proposed his idea, to repurpose the land for cultural events. Urban culture supports the inclusive land use development of cities and creates the possibility of growing food in urban environments. This is a direct implementation of the EU Green Deal targets.
“At the workshop, I had to explain that I saw the plot as an area for events and that I wanted to give a future to old industrial properties. All the time, I had an idea at the back of my mind about a stronger urban culture.”
Events by the community, for the community
In 2016, Eetu and his community of volunteers got permission from the City of Lahti, to use the area. The following spring the activities began and by summer of 2017, Kesanto saw its first two-day festival, ‘UGH’. It involved a wide range of performers and a variety of music genres, in collaboration with well-known Lahti venues and restaurants.
“That event proved that Kesanto had potential. Musicians came to perform in support of our new space and we already had someone to run a restaurant on-site. It all came together.”
Further events followed and Kesanto has given many songwriters and bands a chance to play in front of an audience, a place to perform and has created a sense of inclusion.
“It’s not just about my passion to create something; it’s about allowing all flowers of culture to bloom freely. Our project is for all in Lahti, regardless of background, and education.”
The first goal is to grow enough that performers and event organisers can be paid a decent wage. In this way, the Kesanto project has provided jobs in Lahti. But to be able to pay a decent wage, Eetu would like to see society and various foundations offering other possibilities, like start-up funding.
“Many funding providers are looking for completely new operations, but I think they should also support process-oriented projects like ours where, alongside already established activities, new ones are constantly emerging. The exceptional circumstances resulting from the coronavirus pandemic have shown us how easily volunteers and small entrepreneurs are under pressure if they have to shoulder everything.”
A platform for the circular economy
A principle of Kesanto is to offer a platform for local businesses and their services and products. The Sopenkorpi area, where Kesanto is located, still holds some old, small-scale industries, where artisans, flea markets, recycling centre activities and others are now operating.
“When we need iron, timber, or props for events, we always look for them in the Kesanto area first. The area already has a well-functioning foundation for the circular economy, and I believe this could be a great place for many people to work.”
“We build the city”
The Kesanto neighbourhood has become an oasis of nature in the middle of the industrial area only a couple of kilometres from Lahti’s city centre.
“The refurbished park area creates a new city space where there used to be wasted space. Our next goal is to turn this oasis into the centre of the Sopenkorpi village, welcoming people from inside and outside the city, to our events. We don’t just build events; we build the city.”
Citizen Diaries - Lahti - EU Green Capital
Valtteri Bottas began his career when he was just six years old, racing karts in his hometown of Nastola in Finland.
In the winter of 2016, Eetu Floor was walking to a friend’s band practice in Lahti. On his way there, he chose a shortcut through the industrial area of Sopenkorpi where he found an overgrown industrial track and plot.
The Lahti Pelicans is a Finnish professional ice hockey team that plays for the City of Lahti, in the ‘Liiga’, Finland’s top professional ice hockey league.
Emmi Valli-Forsback from Lahti buys almost all of her family’s clothing and household goods second-hand; and rents a market stall to sell on what she no longer needs. She rarely considers buying something new if she can find it second-hand.
Bee doctor Kamran Fakhimzadeh knows what a miracle honey is: to produce a kilo of it, bees have to visit up to ten million flowers. At the same time, bees do us a huge favour by pollinating vegetables and fruit and berry plants.
Rikka-Liisa Aalto has always picked up litter in her local area. After becoming a mother, she started picking up litter almost every day. The Puhdas Päijät-Häme network was born out of a desire to make a connection with other people who care about the environment.
In 2015, in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Sibelius Hall, the Lahti Symphony Orchestra initiated a project to help the City of Lahti reach its carbon emission reduction goals.
Fashion designer and entrepreneur Riikka Flink has been observing the clothing industry for over 30 years. She believes that ecology, sustainability, and responsibility are possible when production is closely monitored.
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In 2021, Lahti, Finland, stood at the forefront of sustainability as the European Green Capital. The city set new standards in clean energy, circular economy, and green urban living.