Rihards Steinbergs

Talkoot, as defined by Wikipedia, “is a Finnish expression for a gathering of friends and neighbors organized to accomplish a task”. In practice this means that housing associations, club houses, parishes, and other groupings organize together for a day of voluntary work. The work can be anything from raking leaves, minor repair work, cleaning & organizing, to bigger tasks like renovating common areas or even construction.

Many countries across the world have this concept, of course under a different term, for example Meitheal in Ireland, Dugnad in Norway, Mutirão in Brazil, and so forth.

In Finland it was where I experienced it myself for the first time.

In our housing association it typically includes the usual Talkoot tasks. Getting common areas ready for winter or summer, cleaning, organizing, moving furniture indoors for winter and outdoors for summer, pruning and trimming bushes, but also bigger, and as we call them “special projects”. This could be things like fixing outdoor stairs, planting trees, fixing and renewing garden furniture.

What I really like about it though is that not everyone can contribute to the actual work for whatever reasons it might be, but people are always welcome to contribute in other ways and they are just as valid and appreciated as the actual work. They may contribute food for the talkoot party, or act as a baby-sitter, or take care of other things that would otherwise be left undone because of Talkoot taking up time.

Once the tasks that were planned are either completed or postponed until next Talkoot, it’s time for a gathering which usually involves BBQing sausages (or at least food, snacks, and drinks), followed quite often by communal shared sauna. Which might or might not be your thing, but it certainly brings the community together.

Most of Saturday was spent at Talkoot and it’s one of many things that I love about Finland.