---
id: ch3-finland
type: spine
title: "Mallusjoki, Finland: a village building a rural event industry"
readingTime: 3
standalone: true
core: true
teaser: "A youth association in a southern Finnish village plans to turn cultural events into a development engine that draws visitors from Lahti and Helsinki."
voice: universal
parent: null
recallQ: "What is the Mallusjoki pilot building, and what does its Regional Action Plan aim for by 2028?"
recallA: "A Rural Event Industry Ecosystem: culture-led events that attract urban visitors and create local work. By 2028 the RAP aims for twelve annual festivals with 10,000 visitors, 30 % more rural SMEs linked to creative tourism, and a carbon-neutral main venue, tied to renovating the Green Cultural Centre."
highlights:
  - "The smallest territory in the network: one village in Orimattila, led by the local youth association (MYA)"
  - "More than 1,000 people involved and a 23-member stakeholder panel"
  - "RAP targets for 2028: twelve festivals a year, 10,000 visitors, a carbon-neutral main venue"
  - "Brief: a Rural Event Innovation Hub and a partnership with Orimattila, Lahti and Helsinki"
status: accepted
concept: mallusjoki-pilot
conceptTitle: "The Mallusjoki pilot"
parents: pilot-network
lang: en
lens: finland
depth: standard
formalism: none
visuality: balanced
lengthBand: deep
genre: explainer
state: core
carriers: prose|table|image
---

Mallusjoki is a village in the municipality of Orimattila, in the Päijät-Häme region of southern Finland, with Lahti as the nearest city. It is seen as typical of Finnish villages: farmland, community traditions and long-running cultural events. A model that works here could be repeated elsewhere.

![A village concert: the rural event industry of Mallusjoki](images/pilots/finland.webp)
*A village concert: the rural event industry of Mallusjoki. Photo: PoliRuralPlus pilot materials (RP5), poliruralplus.eu*

| | |
|---|---|
| Territory | Mallusjoki village, Orimattila, Päijät-Häme |
| Partners | Mallusjoki Youth Association, MYA (lead); Smart & Lean Hub, SML |
| Theme | Rural Event Industry Ecosystem: tourism from cities to the countryside |
| RAP | Mallusjoki RAP, with the Rural Event Industry Strategy 2040 |
| Open calls | Mobilise: Go Mallusjoki! (Avoin Ry). Develop: Avoin-Map (Avoin Map Oy) |

## The challenge

The pilot wants to turn cultural events into a **long-term development engine** that builds jobs, skills and self-confidence and brings in urban visitors. It has grown into an ecosystem of more than 1,000 people, with a 23-member stakeholder panel. The brief names the obstacles: an ageing population and volunteer fatigue, a 100-year-old clubhouse that needs renovation, visitors concentrated in summer, scarce last-mile transport and accommodation, low use of digital marketing and ticketing, and slow permits and finance.

## What the plan sets out

The main deliverable is the **Rural Event Industry Strategy 2040** for the youth association, with a vision, a roadmap and an action plan. By 2028 the RAP aims for **twelve annual festivals attracting 10,000 visitors**, a **30 % rise in rural SMEs** linked to creative tourism, and **carbon-neutral operation of the main venue**. The brief recommends:

- a **Mallusjoki Rural Event Innovation Hub** with a digital marketplace, AI-driven ticketing and one-stop advice;
- three regional AKIS knowledge hubs and twenty certified advisers in event logistics, digital marketing and sustainable tourism by 2027;
- a €40 million Rural Creative Infrastructure Fund (LEADER, Interreg, private capital) to renovate the **Green Cultural Centre**, add renewable micro-grids and expand accommodation;
- zero-waste certification of events by 2030;
- a partnership agreement with **Orimattila, Lahti and Helsinki** on marketing, transport and cultural exchange.

## Tools, open calls and status

The **Go Mallusjoki!** ideathon (Mobilise) produced 51 event and service concepts. Participants showed high acceptance of AI in regional development, and the ideas fed into the RAP. The Develop project **[Avoin-Map](#c/avoin-map)** is building open-source energy, zoning and activity maps and helped co-design the Green Cultural Centre. Technical pilots add a Story Pathways editor (local stories as mapped routes) and a ServQual app for service gaps at events.

The strategy and the RAP are published pilot results. The hub, the fund and the city partnership are still recommendations.

**Sources:**
- D7.3 Policy Brief No. 1, Annex 5 "Developing a Rural Event Economy in Mallusjoki, Finland". [PDF](https://www.poliruralplus.eu/docs/349/D7.3_Policy_Brief_No.1.pdf)
- D5.1 Prepared pilot by Stakeholder Multi-Actor Approach, §2.5 "Mallusjoki, Finland". [PDF](https://www.poliruralplus.eu/docs/150/D5.1_Prepared_pilot_by_Stakeholder_Multi-Actor_Approach_v1.0.pdf)
- D7.4 Exploitation plans and business models, edition 1, Annex A §2 "Finland – Päijät-Häme Region". [PDF](https://www.poliruralplus.eu/docs/342/D7.4_Exploitation_plans__business_models_edition_1_v1.pdf)
- D6.3 Comprehensive Report on Funded Activities and Impact Assessment (Go Mallusjoki!, Avoin-Map). [PDF](https://www.poliruralplus.eu/docs/437/D6.3_Comprehensive_report.pdf)
- PoliRural+ website, pilot page "Finland – Mallusjoki" (2024 and 2026 texts). [poliruralplus.eu](https://www.poliruralplus.eu/)