fbpx

Taimi Oinas-Panuma

Taimi Oinas-Panuma

Innovator

Poro-Panuma Reindeer Farm

Finland

Economic

Farming

Rural village

The innovation journey

Taimi Oinas-Panuma is an innovator behind the Poro-Panuma Reindeer Farm that offers tourism services based on reindeer herding culture, run by a seventh-generation reindeer herding family, in the village of Panuma, in Pudasjärvi.

Taimi moved to Panuma with her husband after he took over the family farm in the 1980s. At that time, the idea of having farm tourism was first joked about, but only after a house next to their estate land was left empty around 20 years ago, they started to offer it for accommodation. After that, an idea to combine reindeer activities with tourism emerged.

Being a social person, the idea of tourism appealed to Taimi, and it seemed like an opportunity to sell her handiwork, as well as to share knowledge of reindeer herding culture. Taimi took a course on female entrepreneurship organized by Oulu University of Applied Sciences in 2002, which helped her to develop the idea further.

Since 2002 the family has offered intimate visits to their farm, that consist of sleigh rides, feeding reindeer, home-made cooking, and stories about reindeer herding culture. While reindeer herding activities are the responsibility of the family’s men, the whole family participates in the tourism business. Taimi is the main organizer, who develops new ideas with her husband, all the while keeping her job as a kindergarten teacher till retirement. Their son took over the family’s reindeer husbandry in 2016, ensuring that the tradition continues to live on.

The innovation impact

Through her endeavours, Taimi has developed new ways to keep a traditional way of life viable and to spread awareness about reindeer herding culture.

The family activities have influenced local attitudes towards reindeer tourism to become more positive. Some local herders have trained their own sleigh reindeer, and one has started to have farm visitors as well.

Follow on Social media

Website

https://poropanuma.com/
Scroll to Top