Kayaking in Sweden, foraging and food

Planet

We have been in business for seventeen years, and we love that we can make our amazing landscape accessible to our guests, hand in hand with boosting our rural economy.

The very nature of our trips means minimal impact on the environment. The only energy used for several days is physical strength, a couple of batteries for LED torches and gas for the cooker. Water usage is also minimal, only drinking and cooking water. We supply eco-friendly dish liquids, shampoo & soap, the sea is the only place to wash up until communal showers at the end.

Our guests receive detailed information in regards to minimising their impact on the environment. We instruct, both verbally in a briefing and written in our Travelers Code of Conduct and Guide Book, to strictly follow the codes of "the Right of Public Access", that regulate wild camping in Sweden. In our area, that especially means fire protection, observance of bird sanctuaries and not disturbing wildlife, and being respectful to the lands of farmers and locals who own and utilise some of the islands. Although open fires are permitted in the area, in leu of the destruction fires cause every year, we choose to discourage our guests from fire. The exception is our culinary adventures, which take place outside the dangerous months for wild fires and under supervision of our experienced guides.

The County Administrative Board of Östergötland is the national government representative office in the region. They're responsible for guidelines and information concerning environment and animal protection in Saint Anna. They provide info boards all over the area for a deeper understanding of ecosystems and geology. We encourage our guests to really take the time learn more about the fascinating natural processes that created the area and this unique brackish marine ecosystem. We attend board meetings to give our input and have discussions on sustainable tourism in the area.

We market ourselves exclusively online and are virtually paperless. We recycle and compost all our waste, and instruct our guests to separate their rubbish and use available recycling stations. Over the years we have learnt to use only absolute top quality kayaking and camping equipment. It's costly, but the life cycle of these products surpasses lower quality gear manyfold. Also, quality outdoor brands often follow strict environmental policies and support wilderness preservation projects. We actively search out manufacturers with an ethos of sustainability and fair working conditions. We use many Swedish brands, for example tents from Hilleberg, cookers from Trangia, staff clothing from Houdini.

People

It is our mission to support our local community in any way we can. We have established partnerships with landowners, small businesses and other locals, and use a wide range of local services and products, both for our own operation and through recommendations to our guests.

There are only a few suppliers and establishments in the area and our guests make a substantial contribution to a number of local companies, most of them small seasonal family businesses. We encourage our guests to visit restaurants, kiosks, buy smoked fish etc. and provide useful details about opening hours and services. Instead of having our own boat, we utilise local boat taxi services for solving problems with broken equipment, health issues etc. Our culinary adventure use almost exclusively locally sourced food, for example lamb from one of the islands, fish from the local fisherman, vegetables from the mainland.

We also bring revenue and employment opportunities to a few businesses in the towns close to Saint Anna. The supermarket in Söderköping supplies food for hundreds of guests every year. Our food order includes many organic products. The majority of our guests stay the night before their trip in Norrköping, resulting in many bookings for our collaborating partners, a locally owned hostel and hotel.

We have a small close-knit crew, we live and work together in Saint Anna for the season. We find that a blend of local staff and foreign outdoors enthusiasts makes for the best all-rounded team. Every season we go on several photo excursions together and collaborate on other outdoors projects. We only employ local guides who've spent years exploring the area and feel a strong duty to protect it. We prefer local drivers who with enthusiasm can share their knowledge and love of the area. At the base our other staff members pack, maintain and clean equipment, in conjunction with utilising outdoor skills like photography, wild cooking and foraging for research and marketing purposes.