Rytivaara crown forest croft – from slash-and-burn farming to cultural heritage
At Rytivaara’ s crown forest croft, it is still easy to sense the life of times past. The croft was established deep in the wilderness in the mid-1800s, though its founder remains unknown. It was inhabited for about a hundred years before being abandoned and forgotten. With the establishment of Syöte National Park, Rytivaara was restored, and the former forest croft was transformed into an experiential cultural heritage site.
A crown forest tenant was a tenant of the state
The first known tenant farmer at Rytivaara was Matti Kynsijärvi, who signed a tenancy agreement with the Finnish Forest Administration in 1870. He thus became a kind of state leaseholder, gaining the right to manage a croft and its lands located on state-owned property.
As rent, Kynsijärvi was required to pay the state 60.5 liters of grain per year, although during the first three years, half that amount was sufficient. At the request of the Forest Administration, the payment could also be converted into labor for the state, with 5.5 liters of grain equaling one day of work.
In addition, the tenant was required to maintain the croft buildings and clear 0.12 hectares of new farmland from the forest each year. If these obligations were neglected, the tenant could be evicted immediately.
After Kynsijärvi, the management of Rytivaara passed to Antti Kallioinenaho, and later in 1919 to Reete Eskelinen. During her time, Rytivaara was freed from state control when it was established as an independent settlement farm in the 1930s.
Life in a forest croft was harsh.
Life in a forest croft, far from everything, was often marked by various shades of hunger and poverty.
In the 19th century, the dwellings established in the wilderness of Koillismaa relied almost entirely on slash-and-burn agriculture, and so did Rytivaara. A keen eye can still spot traces of old burn sites on the slopes of Syöte’s fells, as these areas are now home to many deciduous trees. The old spruce forests of Syöte’s fells were particularly well suited for slash-and-burn cultivation.
However, the industrialization and urbanization of the world extended their reach even into the wildest spruce forests. The growing demand for sawn timber increased the value of wood, and the state sought to bring its forests under stricter control. To this end, the Forest Administration (Metsähallitus) was established in 1859.
The newly established agency was tasked with eradicating slash-and-burn agriculture in the wilderness. It began fulfilling this mission by imposing restrictions on slash-and-burn practices and assigning land-clearing obligations to tenant farmers.
This droves forest crofts into great hardship. For example, Johan Karlbom, who lived in Rytivaara in the 1860s before the official croft was established, was described in the census records as destitute. However, the names of Karlbom, his wife, and their three children were soon erased from the records, as they all perished during the severe famine years of the late 1860s.
The first official tenant, Matti Kynsijärvi, also fell into poverty, lost the croft, and became a lodger under the next tenant.
Forest crofters were heavily dependent on hunting, fishing, and forestry work to supplement their diet. Actual farming was mostly left to women, children, and the elderly, while the men of the family spent their time in the woods, logging or pursuing game.
The cultivated land area in Rytivaara was successfully expanded only in the 1930s. The additional fields were mainly used for growing hay for livestock, which made it possible to increase the number of animals.
It widened the crofter’s bread, but it remained thin. The many shades of hunger were a constant guest at the forest croft’s table.
A new life as a traditional landscape within the national park
Reete Eskelinen closed the door of Rytivaara for the last time as its master in the 1950s. The croft never received a new tenant but was left abandoned and slowly began to fall into disrepair.
By the time Syöte National Park was established around the turn of the 2000s, the croft had already fallen into serious disrepair. The meadow in the croft’s yard had also become heavily overgrown with shrubs.
In connection with the establishment of the national park, the croft and its outbuildings were restored, and the meadow began to be managed through mowing. As a result, many rare traditional meadow plant species have returned to Rytivaara, followed by insects. The midsummer bloom of the meadow, with its butterflies and bumblebees, is truly a beautiful sight to behold.
The croft and its surrounding yard have become an important cultural heritage site, offering visitors a journey into the life of the past. In 2013, the building stock of the croft expanded when Rytitupa was relocated from its original site by the Pato-oja stream to Rytivaara. The rental hut, situated in this traditional landscape, has become popular among hikers.
In 2016, farm animals also returned to Rytivaara when it became a destination for Metsähallitus’ Shepherd Weeks. In addition to offering memorable experiences for volunteer shepherds, the sheep play an important role in nature management, as they now take care of mowing the meadow at Rytivaara.
As the orange sun of a summer evening shines over the flock of sheep grazing on the Rytivaara meadow, and the sauna chimney sends puffs of tar-scented smoke into the clear blue sky, it’s easy to understand where the joy of a crofter’s harsh life once lay.