Venejoen Piilo was honored as North Karelia’s Responsible Tourism Operator of the Year 2024! Receiving this recognition as a young business felt incredibly rewarding—it affirmed that we are on the right path. While many things are still a learning process, we’ve come to realize that the choices we’ve made, once requiring explanation, are in fact ones we can stand behind with pride.
In our first year, I would sheepishly explain that we had “only outdoor composting toilets.” Now, I say it with confidence—these very same composting toilets were showcased at the World Expo in Paris as a groundbreaking Finnish innovation! Why waste the world’s cleanest water on flushing toilets? Instead, we carefully sort and compost waste, returning nutrients back to nature in a sustainable cycle. Hygienic, efficient, and environmentally responsible—our composting toilets serve their purpose exceptionally well.
At Piilo’s sauna, there is no running water. In the beginning, I worried about what guests might think of the slightly amber-colored water from the nearby Venejoki River in our washing basins. But this river flows through pristine, untouched peatlands, with no farms, no industrial runoff—nothing but pure nature. It is home to a thriving wild brown trout population, a sign of its exceptional water quality. Surely, if it’s good enough for the fish, it’s good enough for us?
To make water use even more reasonable, we’ve built a rainwater collection system that filters and stores water in a regularly cleaned tank. And in the winter, we haul fresh groundwater from our well by sled for sauna guests. Used water is filtered through a natural stone bed, and only biodegradable soaps are allowed.
How do you measure the footprint of this kind of operation? By the length of a sled pull? Regardless, these choices significantly reduce water consumption and environmental impact. Together with our guests, we’re not just saving precious resources—we’re rethinking our relationship with them.