Reindeer and Lapland Life
If you were thinking about the Lapland lifestyle and the life of reindeers and the reindeer herders now its your chance to fulfill your dreams. Whether your dream is to see the Northern Lights, spend time with reindeer, or sleep inside of a Glass Roof Sled in the middle of nowhere- its possible to get the experience unlike any other!
A local reindeer farm in Finnish Lapland is offering a adopting program where you can be a part of reindeer life and also support the small local reindeer herders during this pandemic time and later. In the adoption program people get updates and free activities for the time they come to Lapland it would make people closer even if the borders are closed due Covid-19 pandemic.
Adopt a Reindeer in Lapland
Local entrepreneurs are currently being faced with a really difficult situation across Lapland. Prior to Covid-19 we had a really bad summer, as many reindeer didn’t feed enough from nature and came back home skinnier than usual. Then we had a long winter with unusually thick and hard snow that made it impossible for reindeer to reach food under the snow, says VICTOR JOVÉ the Co-Founder of Eanan Oy.
Maintaining our herd is becoming more challenging each year due to climate change, population growth, manufactures, mines and, of course, the Covid-19 pandemic, he added.
All of these have prompted reindeer herders to feed their reindeer more and more in order to keep their herd strong and healthy. Despite all the effort and extra feeding herders have faced loss of reindeer numbers. Reindeer have either starved in the wilderness due to harsh conditions or failed to get pregnant, resulting in an alarmingly smaller herd than usual. This also has led to less profit for herders overall.
We don’t depend on selling reindeer meat but we do depend on tourism. Without tourism it’s really difficult to make an income here in Lapland. Even with all the challenges we wouldn’t trade this lifestyle. Our reindeer are our partners and they give us more than they take, Viktor said.
The adoption project
The goals and objectives since we started Eanan in 2019:
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- No Animal Cruelty: Our reindeer are never forced to work. We motivate them with love and extra snacks. In our fence, reindeer are free and they can choose freely to join us during their lunch time.
- Training: A reindeer needs 3-4 years of training to be able to pull a sled. The process can be so long because of their half-wild soul. Releasing them into nature in Summer makes them forget important parts of their training. After a while with us they start remembering with snacks and treats.
- Lifetime Care: Your reindeer will have the best food, security, and home for its entire lifetime. We will make sure their retirement is the best in Lapland!
- No Reindeer Left Behind: If a reindeer is sick or hurt, we support them in the rehabilitation process rather than giving up on them. We always put as an example of Ukko, our first adopted reindeer, who was orphaned with a month old and we fed him during 3 to 4 months milk every 3 hours without breaks.
In exchange for adopters:
Viktor says that they are happy to have people adopting their reindeer that they want to make sure the adopters get something in exchange for their support. Adopting a reindeer will ensure that he/she has the best food, training, and dedicated team possible. The whole money will be spent for the reindeer care.
Depend the plan adopters choose they will get more incentives:
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Herd Supporter, our reindeer thank you and we thank you.
This is a one-time payment where people get in exchange of 15€ an update of the moment of the support about the herd. Photos, Videos and long description will be coming in the following days via email. Then the person or group will have a personalized E-Certificate as a Herd Supporters and they are welcome to come to our farm to spend time with the herd in Levi.
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Shared sponsor, because it takes a village to raise a reindeer.
This is an ongoing monthly subscription of 30€ where we will randomly assign a reindeer to the sponsor. We will include the same things like the Herd Supporter but the updates will be monthly. Plus, Summertime GPS Tracking, Reindeer feeding and reindeer ride will be included in their visit to Levi in our farm. (This features needs to be a year minimum subscribed to receive free)
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Reindeer adopter, are you ready to become a reindeer parent?
This is an ongoing monthly subscription of 50€ where you will be able to choose the reindeer to adopt. We include the same things as Herd Supporter and Shared sponsor but with weekly updates. Plus, Northern Lights tour for a family!
Reindeer lifestyle- Story of Eanan
Eanan offers personally-guided experimental tours of the most unexplored depths of Levi, Lapland by Victor and Janita. Victor is from Barcelona, Spain and he came 5 years ago to Levi for holidays, he came to enjoy life like anyone else of this wonderful lappish nature. Then he met Janita, a local girl, she is the 7th generation of a reindeer herder with Sámi roots in Levi. After a long distance relationship and a lot of experiences together, they decided to come to Levi and make their own place where animals can coexist with people.
