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ILOMAA (ee-loh-mah) = Land of Joy
Hello! Terve! Kiʔsuʔk Kyukyit! Namo Narayana! We are Om + Juho, living and caretaking within this lil' 40-acre place of Land called ILOMAA. First and foremost, we recognize the immense privilege it is to be living and working within the unceded Homelands of Ktunaxa Peoples. We acknowledge, support and continue to work towards personal responsibility and collective accountability regarding the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
ILOMAA is a Finnish word, honoring Finnish as Juho's 1st language. Finland is also where many of our teachers and Land-based knowledge comes from - many of the plants are so similar, as are many of the Land-honoring values we've cultivated and learned here from teachers throughout Ktunaxa ʔamak̓is.
We named the Land ILOMAA not to "claim it" but to give her voice and start referring to her as kin. ILOMAA truly does bring so much joy - there's vibrancy, nourishment and beauty in Trees, Flowers, Plants, Mosses, Animals...it is our mission to support ILOMAA and help her thrive in the same way she does for us.
ILOMAA is a Finnish word, honoring Finnish as Juho's 1st language. Finland is also where many of our teachers and Land-based knowledge comes from - many of the plants are so similar, as are many of the Land-honoring values we've cultivated and learned here from teachers throughout Ktunaxa ʔamak̓is.
We named the Land ILOMAA not to "claim it" but to give her voice and start referring to her as kin. ILOMAA truly does bring so much joy - there's vibrancy, nourishment and beauty in Trees, Flowers, Plants, Mosses, Animals...it is our mission to support ILOMAA and help her thrive in the same way she does for us.
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Forest Farming, Partnerships + Values
We aspire to share as transparently as possible how we practice "forest farming" here within ILOMAA. To us, forest farming is working with what the forest offers, and support her in ensuring these natural medicines and cultivated plants are available for future generations. Our primary goal is to always offer before we receive and to find ways to offer products through methods that support Land rather than simply taking.
We also partner with other local farms, like 'Niwas Ashram + Farm and Apple Quill Farm, that share (and teach!) like-minded values. By building resilient systems together, we can find ways to actively conserve Land further and build collective strengths through balanced methods of Land management.
We also partner with other local farms, like 'Niwas Ashram + Farm and Apple Quill Farm, that share (and teach!) like-minded values. By building resilient systems together, we can find ways to actively conserve Land further and build collective strengths through balanced methods of Land management.
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Sustainability + Carbon Neutral Operations
ILOMAA FORST FARM is an off-grid homestead wherein we live simply and generate most of our power through solar energy. We aspire to house our products in recyclable materials and offer a refund for every jar or piece of package that comes back to us for re-use.
As with so many systems, the shipping, packing and receiving process is not perfect and we take account of all of the farm's carbon emissions that we are not able to reduce or eliminate. It feels impossible to reduce carbon emissions to zero no matter how hard we try even with our policy to leave the decades-old native trees standing on the Land around us.
With this said, in our first 3 years of operations, we have calculated our carbon footprint and have purchased carbon offsets at the end of 2022, 2023 & 2024 as the only practical and affordable way to do something about our remaining emissions. We fully understand that voluntary offset programs should not be seen as a substitute for comprehensive government regulations to reduce greenhouse gases. We see them as one of the few steps in the right direction, and an opportunity to invest in solutions on climate change. We have invested in one carbon offset initiative we have researched to be most in-line with our values, but would love to connect with folks who have identified other high quality initiatives, especially where local communities are empowered. If you know of something, don't hesitate to reach out as we continue to calculate our carbon offsets for 2025 and beyond!
As with so many systems, the shipping, packing and receiving process is not perfect and we take account of all of the farm's carbon emissions that we are not able to reduce or eliminate. It feels impossible to reduce carbon emissions to zero no matter how hard we try even with our policy to leave the decades-old native trees standing on the Land around us.
With this said, in our first 3 years of operations, we have calculated our carbon footprint and have purchased carbon offsets at the end of 2022, 2023 & 2024 as the only practical and affordable way to do something about our remaining emissions. We fully understand that voluntary offset programs should not be seen as a substitute for comprehensive government regulations to reduce greenhouse gases. We see them as one of the few steps in the right direction, and an opportunity to invest in solutions on climate change. We have invested in one carbon offset initiative we have researched to be most in-line with our values, but would love to connect with folks who have identified other high quality initiatives, especially where local communities are empowered. If you know of something, don't hesitate to reach out as we continue to calculate our carbon offsets for 2025 and beyond!
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Take good care.Thanks so much for supporting our vision and especially for loving our products as much as we do! We hope you find joy in what we carefully craft.
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