GoodKaarma

Rocca Al Mare class at GoodKaarma

25.04.08

Muusa interview

Here are some photos taken earlier this summer by Kutt Kommel from Muusa magazine .

Tallinn Embassies delegation visits GoodKaarma

High Ambassadors & senior economic staff from Tallinn's embassies take a break from their fisheries tour to visit GoodKaarma.

Oma Saar article  (local paper)

New photos of President Ilves at GoodKaarma

We just received some more photos of the First Family's visit to GoodKaarma last month.

 

Loodusjõud - And/Tervisekontor/Maa

The Loodusjõud team came to visit GoodKaarma recently. Lots of great projects coming from this company, including the chic And lifestyle shops; the "Healthy office" project promoting organic choices for the office kitchen/ coffee area; and the new Maa health-stores being launched later this autumn in Tallinn. Movers & shakers!

And

President Ilves & family at GoodKaarma 09.08.07.

GoodKaarma was honored on the 9th August 2007 with a visit by the Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves, his wife Evelin & daughters Kadri-Keiu & Juulia.

 more photos
                   Pinus nigra (Black Pine) was specially planted to mark the occasion, and the President & his wife watered the tree. The President shook hands  with active local community members Maia Tõhk, Sulvi & Lemmi, Rein & Halja Orn , Eve Sagur-Õunpuu , Rein Õunpuu, Teele Koel, Liina & Teele. The First Family displayed great interest in all aspects of the GoodKaarma soap production, asking many questions, signing the guestbook and exploring the gift shop. This was followed by an informal gathering in the garden cafe where a  delicious sourdough bread (made by the Ilves family) was shared, along with relaxed conversation in the late afternoon sun. The President gave a limited edition print entitled "Morning in Kadriorg" to GoodKaarma founders Ea & Stephen Greenwood.

By GoodKaarma.

 

Oma Saar (original article in local newspaper)
Translation of part of the article:
GoodKaarma owners were glad that,  just before the First Family's visit, the Kaarma parish authority fixed a part of the village road leading to the soap farm which had for a long time been in very bad condition. According to Kaarma's roadworks manager, the fixing of the road was nothing to do with the special visitors, but the work was a scheduled road repair.

 GoodKaarma says...

While hundreds of people each week have come up the bumpy/muddy road to GoodKaarma throughout both this summer and last, and while journalists often noted it in their articles, only a very few visitors ever complained about it.

In such an event, while we would politely apologize, we would also point out that for years hardly anybody used it. We would add that our property used to be just another lonely farm, situated in the middle of nowhere, almost entirely forgotten. We would say that an old forgotten place was now becoming a place worth remembering! And add finally that the road maintenance program hadn't quite caught up with the change in traffic volume.

Well, the President's team (while working out the details of his itinerary) came to check us out about a week before the scheduled visit, and of course, it had rained & rained. The road could not have been worse, and we were sure that they would cancel the whole idea (cue images of  the Presidential motorcade getting towed out of mud by a decrepit tractor...). There was no way they would allow the President to be driven through that! We blew it, we thought. Damn that road.

But as it turned out, the President's team seemed to forget all about the mud once they were here. I don't know if Ea hypnotized them while I was out of the room, or what. But  the visit was on!

We were genuinely surprised, and then got genuinely worried, if it continued to rain we could have a real problem with a President stuck in the mud. But as we busied ourselves over the next few days fixing stone walls, cutting grass, weeding & cleaning,  the weather cleared, the sun came out, the road baked nice & dry & hard, and it looked like we would make it through OK. The Presidential shock absorbers might get a bit of a work out, but the motorcade would not get stuck.

Then the day of the visit came.

We wondered why we were having a quiet morning (the President wasn't due until later in the afternoon). And it turned out that the village road was all jammed up with a  busy gang of trucks that were dumping great mounds of gravel! The Kaarma roadworks roadshow was in town! Goodbye mud, hello aggregate. LOL!

Well, while the old road had rustic charm (you knew you were going somewhere exciting, off the beaten track), we were absolutely delighted about the upgrade. And as we cannot thank either the President or the local parish officially with regard to the road (as the roadwork was merely a coincidence involving routine maintenance), we will have to thank our Feng Shui lucky stars!

President Ilves is the first Head of State to visit GoodKaarma, and we like to think that he has started a trend! If not a road building frenzy, then the visit certainly did stir up local pride and it has invigorated community feeling and motivation to a great extent. The theme of his trip was to highlight the role of small scale entrepreneurship in vitalizing rural communities. And from our perspective, the President has proved himself an extremely effective partner in this mission.

Our thanks to the President, his wife & family, and to the President's team.

GoodKaarma,
Stephen & Ea Greenwood

Teejuhised GoodKaarma Tallu ehk Aarete kaart.

Siit leiad hea kaardi GoodKaarma Aiakohviku ja Seebikoja leidmiseks.

Harley Davidson, bikes @ GoodKaarma, Saaremaa

Attention bikers... do ride all the way in, right up to the house!
And if you're riding a total dream machine like this Harley.... please make some noise on the way! We love it!

Ma ei tea miks... aga GoodKaarma teeb mind õnnelikuks

     lisa fotod

külasta GoodKaarma

Citikas visit to GoodKaarma

Great kids group from Kuressaare!
More photos in the photo album.

GoodKaarma teeb seebi Haapsalu linnale

Saaremaa newspaper Oma Saar carries this story today about our Haapsalu-sea-mud soap, made exclusively for Agaata Butiik, Posti 24, Haapsalu. Tel. 5054705. The soap will go on sale in about 2 weeks from now.

GoodKaarma teeb seebi Haapsalu linnale

Saaremaa Diabeedi Selts

Ühispilt toredate prouade  (ja ühe härrasmehega) kellega koos seepi tegime peale tassi teed ja kohvi ning enne teeleminekut. 

Tallinn law-firm visits GoodKaarma

It's great when firms do unusual things together. Perhaps GoodKaarma is an interesting alternative space for team building (ugh,  "team building"... ugh.. anyone got a better phrase?...). Anyway, I hope we'll see more prefessional groups like this cheerful Tallinn law-firm that came to see the soap-making today.  Look at those smiles! If we ever need business lawyers (and without sounding unfriendly, I hope we don't... but if we do...) we're calling you guys! Glimstedt Straus & Partners

Recent Groups at GoodKaarma

 

Visit by Põllumajandusministeerium

We had visitors from the Ministry of Agriculture today. We were expecting grey men in grey suits, but found ourselves hosting 4 cheerful young ladies instead. They came to GK Talu to check out the soaps, and got a big speech from the foreigner (er, me) about Green tourism development! ... remember carbon footprinting, girls... talk to your friends in the environment ministry... green energy infrastructure development.... GK is a modular business model for rural enterprise .... you know where we  are... !!! Thanks to you all.

 

Tourism students visit GoodKaarma

 

We enjoyed this visit by a wonderful group of young tourism students from Tallinn. Everyone  jammed into the kitchen to hear about the soap making and smell the gorgeous essential oils. Thanks to you all for getting us in the mood for the summer season! We hope to see you again during the summer when the cafe and shop will be open too! (Don't forget to check out the beautiful new jewelry we are offering this summer!) We'd love to see your photos from the visit, email your favorite photos to us!

Visiting GK in Saaremaa

GoodKaarma is a creative cottage industry based on a rural farm on the Baltic island of Saaremaa. We've turned a rundown old country farm into a thriving organic enterprise, and reclaimed disused fields for organic agriculture. The thatch & log farmhouse is now our soap production centre which is open to visitors during the summer & autumn. GoodKaarma Talu (talu, farm) is a popular point of interest for visitors to Saaremaa. We offer soap making demonstrations and felt workshops. And we've built a lovely organic cafe in the garden (the only organic cafe in Estonia!). We are looking forward to welcoming visitors again in summer 2007. 

Visiting GoodKaarma Talu (more photos & info on our website)

To post your feedback about visiting the GoodKaarma farm, click on "comments" just below the Estonian text.

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GoodKaarma Talu: koht kus GK ökoseebid on käsitsi valmistatud

   

GoodKaarma on loominguline firma mille tootmiskeskus asub Saaremaal, omapärases rookatusega talumajas Kuke külas. Oleme muutnud vana mahajäetud talumaja edukaks ökokeskuseks, sõõtis põllud mahekultuure kasvatavaiks. GK ökoseepide tootmiskeskus ehk seebikoda asub vanas reheköögis. Suvekuudel on GoodKaarma Talu ja seebikoda avatud külastajatele ja saanud populaarseks uueks atraktsiooniks saarlaste ja Saaremaa külastajate hulgas. Suvel 2006 külastas meid üle 2000 huvilise.

Külasta GK Talu