Taito North Karelia Association

Taito North Karelia Association's vision is to be a strong North Karelian cultural foundation, that works to raise the image of handicrafts and artisanal entrepreneurship. The primary task of the association is to be a link between the past and the future. The association aims to preserve traditional ways of working as they are, but also develop a new 21^st century artisan tradition alongside it. Taito North Karelia is a part of Taito Group, which is a national, bilingual arts and crafts service organization.

Taito Group

Taito Group manages the common affairs of the organization, industry development and communations as well as domestic and international affiliations. Taito Group also functions as an advocate and authority in arts and crafts. You can read more about Taito Group on their webpage at Taito.fi.

Projects

Culture for All Axes

Culture for All Axes was carried out within Karelia CBC 2014-2020 funding program between February 1^st 2020 and December 31^st 2022. Administrator for the project was Karelia university of applied sciences partnered with Taito North Karelia and MOST RM. Project began as a partnership with Support and Development of Ethnocultural Initiatives Foundation (this partner was suspended on March 22^nd 2022), and the goal was to grow cultural services and products and their competitiveness by updating practice of service design.

Local cultural heritage is a competitive advantage in transboundary region. Common cultural heritage is one of the most vital strengths of the area and it requires utmost care from related partners. Experts say that high quality supply of culture and transportation methods are an opportunity to develop an area. Demand for ethnic culture is a great challenge for developing cultural tourism. While analyzing major issues relating to further development of agreed services with project partners, one of the obstacles was the low competitiveness of products and services that were based on local cultural heritage.

The aim of this project was to ease development of the said cultural services, so that they would be easily attainable, fulfilling the needs of a customer and known both locally and internationally. This would be achieved by actively using design methods that thrive for competitive, sustainable and versatile service practices.

Target groups for this project were local culture institutions and service providers, which work as a part of the private sector of arts and crafts and have interests in developing local heritage through services. The beneficiaries for the project were tourism companies, local officials and tourists. The project was concluded at the end of December 2022.

On the way to a Craftsmanship Experience

The goal of the On the Way to a Craftsmanship Experience project is to develop a concept that can be used to create packages suitable for cultural travellers and tourism in general. Along with, to find the right target groups for the created package services.

The aim of the project's founders (Taito Pohjois-Karjala ry, North Karelia's tourism operators, as well as handicraft entrepreneurs) is to package and offer high-quality experiences for visitors. The goal is to create interesting travel packages that exceed customer expectations.

These packages can consist of handicraft services, exhibition and event offerings. Additionally, café and restaurant services can be included in North Karelian tourist destinations and companies, as well as in Taitokortteli and other Taito North Karelian spaces.

Home Crafts

The aim of the project was to create a brand for handcrafted interior design products.

In this, Taito North-Karelia networked with local handicraft businesses and developed a collection. Which is manufactured by these local handicraft companies and distributed and marketed by Taito North Karelia.

The special focus of the project was to preserve handicrafts as a rural livelihood and to support local production.

Taito bus project

The aim of the Taito bus project was to increase the opportunities for handicrafts in the North Karelia region.

In April 2010, the association launched the Taito bus - a tour of craft counselling for well-being and doing in the countryside - project, which brings craft opportunities to the customer as close as possible.