Kärsämäki wooden church:

Timber from the forest without machines

It's unusually busy in the small village of Kärsämäki. Besides the group of workers skilled in traditional timber construction, the project to build a wooden church in the village has attracted an international 'camp' of students of architecture and construction engineering from six universities in Italy and Finland. During March, the students were able to experience first-hand how trees are felled, building timbers cut, roofing shingles made and nails forged - all without the help of machines.

Two-handed saws and frame saws from days gone by have come into their own once more.

Kärsämäki church is being built from start to finish by hand using working methods dating from the 18th century. The church is expected to be finished by 2004 at the latest. The project's chief sponsor is UPM-Kymmene Wood Products.

Sound of sawing

The pine timbers needed for the frame are being cut in the forest belonging to Kärsämäki parish some ten kilometres distant. Tracks left by sledges in the deep snow lead to the worksite, where the day's work is coming to an end. An assortment of saws and axes lies piled up, while Sisko the horse waits patiently to pull her last load home from the forest.

Sisko is a real wonder horse: it's claimed that she understands speech as well as anyone. The 13 year-old mare can look back on an honourable career in trotting, and is now enjoying retirement with her owner, Hannu Vähäkangas, spending time in the forest and doing odd jobs. "Even if we go off for a coffee break, she waits there quietly, though she's a fast mover when she wants to be. I could take her anywhere, she'd go one centimetre at a time if I asked her to", boasts Sisko's proud owner.

Hannu Vähäkangas's mare Sisko and sledge do the job of a modern forwarder.

"We cut a real big tree down today. About 130 years old with a diameter at breast height of 37 centimetres", says Jaakko Laitila, a lecturer in forestry at Haapajärvi vocational institute. Jaakko's responsible for cutting the timber for church and for teaching people the old traditional working methods.

The main building timbers for the frame have been individually selected in the forest. The church will require some 200 pine logs, a quarter of which have already been cut and taken to the building site. Although felling trees manually is hard work, perhaps the hardest job of all is sawing the logs into blocks.