The uncertain security situation has prompted many communities to consider how they could be better prepared for various disruptions. Households are being instructed to put together a 72-hour emergency fund. Now communities also have their own preparedness toolkit: Village Emergency Fund.
The toolkit, implemented as a website called Kylävara.fi, provides information and practical instructions to support local preparedness and security work. Knowledge of how to act in emergency situations also increases the feeling of safety.
The tools of the Village Reserve are helpful when the local community wants to strengthen not only preparedness for disruptions but also the daily safety and care of the community. Safety is built above all in everyday life.
The toolkit has been compiled in the Village Resources project of the Finnish Villages Association. The project manager of the project Ritva Pihlaja emphasizes the importance of community in preparedness work:
– The essence of crisis resilience lies in how we trust each other and in the fact that by working together we can cope better and more securely.
Preparedness is cooperation
Building cooperation networks is an essential part of Kylävara. The most important partner for local communities is the municipality. Jari Lepistö, Chief Rescue Inspector of the Ministry of the Interior, who is the chairman of the Kylävara project steering group, emphasizes that overall safety is built on cooperation between municipalities, villages and various actors:
– Local knowledge, neighborly help and the willingness to help others are a key part of community safety. Local networks can be an important part of coping with disruptions. It is increasingly important for municipalities to recognize these resources in communities.
The toolkit is intended to be applicable to the needs of villages
The importance of community preparedness is particularly important in rural areas, where distances and response times can be long. Common operating models and clear instructions are needed to strengthen local preparedness and safety work. The Village Emergency Response Plan meets that need, but it is not a strict set of operating instructions.
Executive Director of the Finnish Villages Association Suvi Louhelainen reminds us that the more than 4,000 villages in Finland are very different from each other, and each village operates from its own starting points:
– Long-term village safety work stems from local circumstances, needs and resources. There is no village safety effort that is too small. What is small and local creates something large and impressive on a Finnish scale.
Village resources are developed based on feedback and testing
The two-year Kylävara project, funded by the EU Rural Development Fund, has developed a toolkit together with villages and stakeholders.
– Kylävara is the result of strong co-development, and development will continue even after the toolkit is released, says Project Manager Ritva Pihlaja.
The website will also be published in Swedish during 2026. Feedback on the toolkit can be provided until the end of April.
Discover Kylävara at kylavara.fi