Final Destination: The Family Farm

Almost 22-year-old Ina Tanner has had an early start to her day. Her morning shift at the daycare began just after six, and by half past two she’s already relaxing on her couch at home in Kalanti. After a busy day, it feels good to retreat into the peace and quiet of her own space.

— For a long time, I thought I’d become an engineer like my father. But I realized I craved human interaction and work where no two days are the same, and where you can see the results both short and long term, she says.

Ina recently graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Education from the Rauma Teacher Education Department. This early summer, she has been working as a substitute in the Kalanti daycare. In August, she will begin a permanent position as an early childhood education teacher at a different unit within the same daycare.

– I feel really lucky to have secured a permanent job now, while those positions are still available.

What feels especially nice is that her future job will also be in Kalanti. Ina was born and raised in Kalanti — and has already returned once. When she began her university studies, she lived in her study town for a while, but moved back home just six months later.

– It just didn’t feel like my place. The city was too big for me, and I missed things like going to a small grocery store instead of a giant hypermarket, Ina says.
– It also felt like the student groups already had their established friend circles, and I didn’t really find my place in them.

Much of her coursework was completed remotely, so Ina decided to move back to Kalanti and continue her studies from there. When she needed to visit campus, she carpooled with a fellow student from Laitila. She completed her practical training in daycares in Kalanti and Laitila.

– There was no problem at all finishing my degree from Kalanti, she says.

For the past couple of years, Ina has lived with her boyfriend, Veeti Virtanen, in a spacious row house apartment in the center of Kalanti. Their home serves as a shared anchor, especially since Veeti’s work on construction sites takes him on the road. They usually spend weekends together when Veeti returns home from his current excavation project.

Summers, however, mean they see each other even less, as Veeti’s passion for drifting keeps him busy during the driving season.

— It works really well for us. We’re so used to living this way that if we spend too much time under the same roof, we just end up bickering over nothing, Ina laughs.

Although the couple enjoys their current home, they’ve been looking for a detached house for some time now.
Something big enough, in a peaceful area, Ina describes.

– We’d like a yard and ideally a garage or a workshop already on the property. Kalanti would be ideal location-wise, but if we found the perfect house, we might be flexible.

Kalanti clearly holds a special place in Ina’s heart.

– Everything I need is here. A grocery store, library, gym, flower shop — even a beauty salon and a massage therapist. If I need to do some bigger shopping, Uusikaupunki and Laitila are just nearby, and even Rauma and Turku aren’t far. Kalanti is nicely in the middle of everything.

Ina also spends most of her free time close to home. In addition to going to the gym and running, she serves as a trainer at the Kalanti volunteer fire department. Even the fire station is just a stone’s throw away.

Though she’s still young, Ina sees her future clearly — even decades ahead. She already knows her final destination: the Tanner family farm in the village of Lahti, Kalanti.

— Just waiting for Dad to eventually retire, Ina laughs.
— I’m the oldest of three siblings, and I feel it’s my responsibility to continue the farm.

Currently, the farm grows rye, barley, wheat, and forage peas. Ina plans to complete a vocational qualification in agriculture when the time comes to take over.

— Then again, my dad is the type who may never fully quit working — even after retiring. He’ll probably still be there advising and keeping busy. But that qualification will be useful in other ways too.

Veeti, according to Ina, hasn’t minded the idea of their future on the family farm. The calm and laid-back life in the countryside fits the couple’s values and lifestyle.

— It would take a lot to get me to leave. Kalanti is the landscape of my soul.