Hakolan Berry Farm | Hakolan Marjatila | Luomumarjat, Luomuviljat, Villiyrtit, Mehiläistuotteet, Kahvila, Janakkala, Hämeenlinna

The core of Hakola Berry Farm’s operation is simply to provide such a memorable impression and taste experience through services, products, experiences, and the location, that customers return again and again and share their unique experience with others, attracting new customers.

From a small grain farm to a small multifunctional space.

The story of Hakolan Marjatila began in 1984. At the age of 12, I decided, with the determination of a young person, that my father's family farm should not be sold. Fortunately, my mother Päivi supported this belief for many years and continued to work the Hakola fields until 2008, when we underwent a generational change and a shift in the direction of production. Nowadays, both my husband Mika (who humorously calls himself the farmhand) and I work on the farm year-round. Over the years, all five of our children—Hilm, Selma, Santra, Senja, and Aarne—have become familiar with various farm tools, from the shovel and pastry dough to honey extractors and electric whisks. Summer work has often been a little too close for comfort. Many non-family members, who have become almost family, have enjoyed working here for up to five years, including Juho, Tuuli, Jyri, Tiia, and many others. The grandmothers have faithfully helped in many different tasks. Interns from Kiipula, Lepaa, and Tavastia have also visited the farm to learn through short and longer-term work placements.

Since 2009, Hakolan Marjatila has had a farm shop. Initially, it was a self-pick station for customers and honey sales. Customers wanted a café and new products, so we began making beeswax candles after I earned my beekeeper’s professional qualification, and we started processing berries into jams and cold-pressed juices. We also made mulled wine sweetened with our own honey for Christmas. Christmas gift packages were wrapped beautifully.

A moment for reflection

In October 2015, a fire broke out in the café/shop/honey extractor building, destroying the log building from the 1980s beyond repair. In this time of crisis, we were helped by the Heinäjoki Volunteer Fire Department, Janakkala Mökki and Property Services, Janakkala Municipality’s youth workshop, and many private individuals. There was a moment when we had to decide whether to continue the farm’s growing operations or to stop. We decided to rise from the ashes like a phoenix.

First, a small shop was built, which is now the current candle workshop.

The next summer, Pekka from Ylöstalo built us a small temporary café/shop building on the farm. The night before opening, we were still painting window frames, and on opening day, we nervously hoped the paint had dried enough. We baked café treats in our home kitchen, and everything ran smoothly in the small café on sunny days. That same year, we decided to process our organic grains at Mörby Manor’s mill into flours, flakes, and groats, as well as drying berries to add to our muesli. Gradually, we also began using the easily accessible wild herbs from the farm in more refined forms, such as in wild herb pie and other delicacies.

The new, magnificent café building is being completed

Construction on the new building began in spring 2017. Aki from Siira and Eki from Piiroinen erected a two-story log building for the café and further processing. We had initially planned to put a candle workshop upstairs, but we couldn’t bring ourselves to mess up the new building. Besides, on the first day of July 2018, the opening day, a cheerful group of women came from Turenki for coffee. While having coffee, they asked if anyone would accompany them if they sang. They had brought a piano to the café corner. Well, we didn’t sing right away, but we immediately set a date for a Christmas party on December 1st.

At the christening of little Onni, we began new activities even before we finished the terrace. We built functional emergency stairs out of pallets. When the apple trees were in bloom, Onni got his name, and the building was consecrated for festive use.

Activities for every season

Hakolan Marjatila is lively throughout the year. At the "Jouluiloa" Christmas event and the "Kukon askel kevääseen" Easter event, we have had over ten years of adventures on the rooster and elf paths, admired newly hatched chicks, petted sheep, eaten Christmas and Easter treats, and ridden pony-drawn carts around the Vuorela farm. On beautiful summer evenings, we sing so that the whole Tanttala village can hear. Before Christmas, on Lucia's day, we sing "The Most Beautiful Christmas Carols," with the glow of candles and the starry sky.

Janakkala’s winter sports celebration, Laurinlatu, brings hundreds of skiers from within the municipality and beyond to ski across our fields. In 2022, skiers came for fish soup and buns for nearly two months, with the sunlight and snowy trails leading them to the open fields of Tanttala and Hakola.

Berry Farm's organic berries

Hakola Berry Farm, as the name suggests, is primarily a berry farm, but it offers much more than that.

After the generational shift, the farm transitioned to organic cultivation, and the first raspberries were planted in 2007. The cultivation of organic berries has expanded in both area and variety. Currently, in addition to raspberries, the farm grows black currants, red currants, white currants, gooseberries, strawberries, aronia berries, sea buckthorn, chokecherry, apples, plums, pears, and cherries. During the summer, from early July to late September, customers can pick their own berries on the farm.

The Arrival of the Bees

When we were digging the first raspberry beds, the benefits of animal pollination in raspberry cultivation came up in conversation. And how lucky it was that on the eve of Midsummer, a buzzing swarm of bees flew into the yard. The swarm settled in the pipe of the old barn. I called the neighbor, Martti Jauhiainen, who had been keeping bees for decades and learned from his uncle. Martti asked what we were going to do with the bees, whether we were going to poison them or try to save them. I replied, not knowing anything about beekeeping, "Let's try to save them! I’ve decided to become a beekeeper." The conversation could have ended there if Martti hadn’t had time to guide the clueless and inexperienced one. And so, the bees still pollinate our berries on the farm, and we get soft honey and beeswax, from which we make various beeswax candles in the backyard cottage workshop. Every year, new aspiring beekeepers come to the farm for beekeeping courses.

A flavorful countryside business

In 2024, we received the "Hämeen Maistuvan Maaseutuyrityksen" recognition award, presented by Maa- ja kotitalousnaiset (MKN).

The award aims to highlight exceptional flavors, ingredients, food businesses, and culinary treasures. For our part, we were recognized for our warm service, positive promotion of rural life, attention to the seasons and local products in developing new offerings, the quality, deliciousness, and freshness of our products, as well as our ability to network and collaborate, all while embracing sustainable development, environmental values, and the circular economy.

The animals at Hakola Berry Farm

In the yard, the Åland and Finnish sheep baa a warm welcome and eagerly seek scratches. You can also visit the sheep in their pen, just remember to close the gate behind you!

The Kiuruvesi native roosters and hens scratch around the yard, and sometimes they even bring out their little chicks for a show. During the Easter event and Open Farm Days, you can see newly hatched colorful native chicken chicks.

Marketta, Marja-Kerttu, and Kalevi the cats are happy to be cuddled and stroked.

Hakola’s people

We, the people, cultivate, weed, and water, cut and fertilize, plant new and harvest the old. We pick and dry. We cook, bake, and clean, decorate, pack, and roast. The work is diverse and time-consuming – a way of life, but we enjoy almost every moment of it.

Continuous development

To develop, we are involved in several projects aimed at advancing food and experience tourism, Häme’s rural areas, and everything related to the countryside. Food tourism is a deep dive into local culture. From our side, we strive to ensure that the history of Finland and Häme intertwines perfectly with new trends.

Educational collaboration

We also have close cooperation with several educational institutions through school visits, company visits, and internship periods.

Each year, we host students for internships from Kiipula Special Vocational Institute in Janakkala, Lepaa Horticultural Institute, and Tavastia from Hämeenlinna.

In 2024, we were awarded the "Teacher of the Year" title by the teachers of the Green Industry (VIPU ry) for our workplace guidance.

What is important to us?

At Hakola Berry Farm, we work with the resources of a small farm and strong faith in the land – out of love for the Janakkala farmland, with its sounds and scents. We hope that nature and the countryside will remain just as beautiful and full of experiences for future generations as we have been fortunate to enjoy.

Our story