Eco-fashion in the Land of a Thousand Lakes

Avant-garde fashion was the theme of my first workcamp, which took place in Forss, in August 2017. I wasn’t expecting anything – I didn’t know what to expect, I was rather full of anxiety and a bit stressed. As it turned out, completely unnecessarily.

Our main point was a small house by the lake, in the village of Tammela. There, quite a big team was already waiting: two campleaders from Finland and a truly international group of workcampers: from Taiwan, Yemen, Pakistan, Russia, Czech Republic and Hungary. There were 13 of us in total. Despite the beautiful surroundings, the house had one major drawback – the toilet was located in a separate building and… there was no shower. However, this did not discourage us – we visited the swimming pool in Forssa twice and used the sauna on other days.
The first two days were devoted to integration: we took part in a workshop to learn how we could use plastic bottles and cans, and in the evening everyone who was involved in organising the AvantGarde Fashion Show came to Tammela. However, on the third day we had to get down to work.

We started by preparing decorations – we painted boards and then, according to our own ideas and with the help of nails and yarn, we decorated them.
We also met with pupils from nearby schools – we made scarecrows with the younger children at the Elonkierto farm, then the kids asked us about what life is like in our countries and talked about the animals that were on the farm. The penultimate day was spent with young people in Tammela, whom we taught our native languages.

On the 26th of August there was a big show, a fashion show.
Our workcampers were among the models and the others welcomed the guests who came to admire the outfits created by designers from Finland, France and also China. Tired, late in the evening, we returned to Tammela.

However, it is not only fashion (and work!) that one lives for. In the late afternoons, we went to the sauna and then bathed in the lake, made bonfires and ate sausages. In the evenings we talked about the customs in our countries and taught each other our languages. It was also a time when everyone could talk about their impressions of the day. Finally, the 30th of August came and it was time to say goodbye – nobody could hide their emotions, because during these few days we became one big family.