Kuhmo’s willow project
Funded by Interreg II Karelia 1996-1999

Objective of the project

The objective of the project was to clarify the opportunities for the refining of willows and other young leafy trees into carpets, which could have been used to tie soil on the difficult terrain points and various other environment nursing jobs. At the time, the flowing of terrain was tried to be stopped by using a wood gantry on steep slopes. The gantries were made of pricey sawn timber, which cost around 50 Finnish marks for square metre. The willow carpet is also a perfectly disposable natural product. A lot of plantations had been released from farming use in Kainuu at the time, and on some of the free plantations there had been planted willow seedlings. Unfortunately, most of the unused plantation space had been let to grow new branches. These areas were going to be put to use with the willow project and for wild willow, there was going to be a separate purchasing price. As a result of the tests that were going to be implemented during the project, the diverse uses for the erosion carpets were going to be researched. If the production of the willow carpets was going to be profitable, it was going to be possible create new jobs to the countryside based on the production of the carpets. A preliminary report on the project had already been completed during the year 1999.

Main activities

Achievements