Family history

My great-grandmother came to Oulu from Kuhmo in eastern Finland. She married a man from the Oulujärvi region and began working as a laundress on the banks of the Oulujoki in Tuira. In time, my grandmother was born, and they started a family. Much later, without knowing it, I ended up moving to the exact same area of Oulu where my family had once lived.

In the 1930s, it was common to make long trips by local train to pick berries, often staying overnight and continuing by bicycle. I inherited my family’s foraging places and received the knowledge they had gathered over generations from the region.

Black-and-white photograph of relatives on the shore of Merikoski in Oulu in the 1930s.
Black-and-white photograph of my relatives on the shore of Merikoski in Oulu in the 1930s.

About your guide

Veli Jussi M.A. is a passionate forager and mushroom connoisseur, as well as a licensed nature guide. He is also a musician and a local history enthusiast, and he is part of the official Oulu2026 European Capital of Culture program. He is a mindfulness instructor with a background in meditative practices, and he has a strong interest in the QGIS geospatial information system.

If you have any questions or just want to say hello, please don’t hesitate to contact.

OuluNature / Veli Vaismaa
info@oulunature.fi
+358 45 166 0514 (Whatsapp, SMS)