In 1976, Lauri Hautamaki, then an Assistant Professor of Geography at the University of Helsinki, was 'familiar with the theories of Participatory Action Research, with their emphasis on self-initiated rural revival.' With colleagues he identified fifty-one villages in Finland which had mobilised through Village Committees in defence of their way of life.
As a result of the researchers travelling through the countryside spreading the story of these activist villages - the services they had saved, the new local government resources they had won, the multiple activities they had engendered - more and more villages followed suit.
1978 saw the start of the Village Alive Campaign, in which a relay baton was taken from village to village, symbolising revitalisation. The project emphasised the practical role of the school in village life and the Adult Education Institutes organised events at both village and municipal level. The researchers compiled a guide, 'Village Alive', which sold 3,000 copies. They talked of 'real-life utopias' and the mass media started to take an interest in the villages' achievements. An eight-part radio course entitled 'A Village Develops' was listened to by an estimated 22 per cent of the country's farmers. Now there are over 2,200 Village Committees, democratically elected each year at well-attended meetings of the whole village, and covering practically every rural community in the country. One village, for instance, built a village hall with voluntary contributions of materials and labour, established a music school and organised many social, artistic and craft events. Two others have produced their own village master plan for future development, which they sent to their municipal council. These plans have ensured that their respective municipalities did not foist unwanted projects on the villages.
Paul Ekins, 42 Warriner Gardens, London SW11 4DU (tel 071 498 8180).