Sointula
Sointula is an isolated village on Malcolm Island in British Columbia, Canada. It lies between Vancouver Island and the British Columbia mainland, northeast of Port McNeill and not far from Alert Bay. As of 2005 it has a population of roughly 800. The name "Sointula" means "Place of Harmony" in the Finnish language. It was founded by a group of Finnish settlers, led by visionary Matti Kurikka who rowed north from Nanaimo in 1901. They planned on setting up a utopian socialist society known as the "Kalevan Kansa". Financial difficulties plagued the group and in 1905 two years after a devastating fire the community was disbanded. The town remained, however, and prospered well into the 1970s as an unusually vibrant resource-based settlement. Fishing and logging activities have been the mainstay for the community. The early cooperative ventures planted seeds that are also alive today. The Sointula Cooperative Store still handles drygoods, groceries and fuel for the islanders and there are two new cooperatives. The cooperative bakery serves Finnish bread (pulla) and wonderful home-cooked meals. The shellfish cooperative, Malcolm Island Shellfish Coop (MISC) was involved in research on the feasibility of raising and selling abalone. It has gone under due to financial difficulties as of Summer 2006. The abalone were relocated to a company (Orca Sand and Gravel) donated area near Port McNeill.
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Aava House - Sointula Welcome to Aava House |
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Sea 4 Miles Cottages - Sointula, Malcolm Island, British Columbia, Canada As technology sweeps us farther away from real life, the pace of Sea 4 Miles & Malcolm Island can take you back... A hundred years ago the Finns laid the foundation for Sointula, a Utopian commune. Today we build on that dream |
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Sointula Charters and Beach home Sointula Charters offers two overnight accommodations properties in the Northern Vancouver Island region of beautiful British Columbia: the Sointula Beach House and the Snowdrift Chalet. The Sointula Beach House is located on the shores of the historic Finnish-Canadian community of Sointula, Malcolm Island, BC. The Snowdrift Chalet is located at Mt. Cain in the rugged heart of Northern Vancouver Island, an exciting and unique alpine resort featuring skiing like it used to be, snowboarding like it's never been. |
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Back to the category "BC" Last update of this page was on Wednesday, January 09, 2008
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