According to Mäenpää, there are currently no public saunas in Värmland that are open to everyone and where the “beneficial effects” of the Finnish sauna culture can be passed on to younger generations.
Therefore, he has now started a new project to start a so-called sauna academy in the area.
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– The sauna is part of our identity. We and our ancestors have grown up with saunas, explains Mäenpää, who has his roots in Jyväskylä in Central Finland.
Mäenpää’s goal is to particularly involve young Swedish Finns and children in nurturing Finnish sauna traditions.
Want to be the initiator
According to Mäenpää, the construction plans and bylaws are ready, but currently parts of the financing and cooperation partners in the form of private individuals or associations are missing.
– My role is to be the initiator of the project. When everything is completed, I will continue as a sauna major and adviser, he says.
Starts with a smoke sauna
The plan is for the sauna guild to have several different types of saunas at Valfjällfoten in Åmotfors in Värmland.
Mäenpää also wants to see modern self-service saunas that can be booked online.
– We start by building a traditional smoke sauna. After that, we plan, among other things, a sauna where there is a sauna unit that is always ready for use, says Mäenpää.
Several sauna associations in Sweden
In Sweden, there are already several other sauna associations that spread knowledge about the traditional sauna culture.
Among these is the Swedish Sauna Academy, founded in 1988, based in Tornedalen.
In the video, Tauno Mäenpää talks about the ongoing plans for the sauna academy.