More sustainability for Johan and Ilka

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Johan Degerman and Illka Olavi have been running the Instagram account Småbruket for two years now. The pair from Råneå advocate a more sustainable lifestyle.

In 2015, Illka left Kouvola the south of Finland to move to the north of the country. Everybody warned him against doing so. It would be terribly cold and dark, they said. But that was exactly what Ilka needed.

– I have a love-hate relationship with life in the city. I liked Kouvola, but we were packed into the place like sardines. I hungered to live somewhere where time, or the passing of time, would feel different,” Illka recounts.

Are you interested in moving to Luleå? Read more here! Länk till annan webbplats.

Everything starts small. It is as much a reminder as a way of life for Råneå residents Illka and Johan. They started the Instagram account Småbruket in 2018 as a way to inspire themselves, and others, to live a little more sustainably and closer to nature.

During those years in northern Finland, Illka became interested in climate change and the way our food is produced. He realised that our current lifestyle and diet aren’t sustainable. Not now, not ever.

The couple met in 2017; after a few years long-distance, they started to dream about a future together. Illka moved to join Johan in Råneå in the autumn of 2020. Today, they encourage their followers to take care of the environment and their health. To recycle. To be vegetarians and produce whatever food they can grow themselves in their back garden

Are you interested in moving to Luleå? Read more here! Länk till annan webbplats.

One photo of a dog and a man, digging in the ground, another of a dog and a man on a boat.

On the left, Johan (private photo): The spade in Johan's hand seems quite superfluous. Nellie, the white-brown Kooiker dog, digs for happy life! The picture was taken at the end of May, and posted as one of the first posts on Småbruket's Instagram account.Image on the right, Illka (private photo): September 24, 2019. This is how happy the sea can make you, reads the caption on their Instagram.

Who are Johan and Ilika?

  • Keep busy: Johan works as a personal assistand, Illka is a database administrator. Together, they run the Instagram account Småbruket.
  • Grew up: Johan is from Råneå. Illka grew up in Kouvola in southern Finland.
  • Ages: 29 and 31.
  • Råne Älvdal in three words: Nature, serene, beautiful.
  • Favourite place in Råne Älvdal: Degerholmen.

DELA VIA SOCIALA MEDIER

Text: Elin Carlansson
Foto: Petra Älvstrand

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