About us and our project | Selbstversorgerhof Omavaraniemi

Who we are

Our project “Omavaraniemi” in the wild east of Finland combines permaculture, animal husbandry, sustainability and simple living in and with nature.

With sheep, goats, ducks, a large vegetable garden, and lovingly renovated mökkis, we want to show that a mindful life in harmony with nature is possible – authentic, calm, and full of heart .

Patrick Vogel

I grew up in Büren Solothurn.
After completing my apprenticeship as an electrician (2008), I completed a second apprenticeship as a farmer (2017).
Later, I worked on care and permaculture farms and also as an electrical engineer.
I like creating things from nothing or seeing how, for example, a tree or a piece of wood can become something completely different.

Maika Häusermann

Growing up in the St. Johann district of Basel-Stadt, I completed an apprenticeship as a psychiatric nurse. Later, I attended a university of applied sciences where I received my training as a certified psychiatric nurse.
In my free time I often spend time in the garden and I love watching plants grow and develop.
Treating the soil, plants and animals as naturally as possible is very important to me.

We’ve been a couple since 2018. Shortly after we met, we began planning a bicycle journey together. In the summer of 2019, we set off and spent nine months traveling by bike from Switzerland through the Balkans all the way to Turkey. After spending the winter in the Turkish part of Cyprus, we returned to mainland Turkey.

Unfortunately, the pandemic hit, and after a lot of back and forth, we decided to fly back to Switzerland.
Due to the uncertain situation and the toll on our mental health, another long cycling trip was no longer possible.

Not wanting to return to our old environment, we decided to start a new life in Heimberg near Thun.
We were incredibly lucky to find an old apartment with a large vegetable garden. This garden opened the door for us to dive deeper into natural growing methods for vegetables, berries, and fruit.

We kept rabbits and chickens, and from them too, we were able to gain valuable experience. To deepen our knowledge, we attended multiple self-sufficiency gardening courses, learned from like-minded people, and completed a 72-hour Permaculture Design Course with our own final design.

Despite all these wonderful experiences, we realized our future was not in Switzerland.
The dream of having our own farm—where there is enough space and time to refine what we’ve learned—led us to Finland.
Here, we had the opportunity to maintain and care for a beautiful 3-hectare property.

We want to create a place:

Where nature is appreciated and supported, not fought.
Where animals have a home that truly meets their needs.
Where people can take a break and reconnect with themselves and with nature.
Where resources are reused as much as possible without compromising quality.
Where there is something to learn from everything.

Our project includes:

Renovating and renting out two traditional Finnish summer cottages (mökkis)
Finishing, maintaining, and improving the property’s infrastructure
Keeping a variety of animals for self-sufficiency, including slaughter and processing of animal products
Growing vegetables, fruits, and grains based on permaculture principles, for our own use and for our animals
- Vegetable garden
- Greenhouse
- Field for potatoes and grains
- Forest garden
Foraging berries and mushrooms from the forest and fishing in the lake
Felling and processing trees for firewood and using the farm’s own sawmill
Creating handmade products for our online shop
Learning Finnish and connecting with people in the village and beyond

If you’d like to learn more about our project, you’ll find plenty of updates and stories here—or come visit us in Valtimo and experience the peace and beauty of this peninsula for yourself.

If you like what we’re doing, feel free to share our project or support us here with a donation.