Tallinn Property Blog

Estonia Cuts Carbon Emissions by Planting Bogs

jyrgen — Wed, 09 Aug 2017 10:55:09 +0000

In Estonia, dried-out peat bogs emit a great deal of carbon. The government desires to reverse that.

TUDU, ESTONIA – What looks like a typical Northern European forest of scrubby Scotch pine, blueberry bushes, and ferns, about 15 miles inland from the Baltic Sea, turns out on closer inspection to be a peat bog—one that’s been drained and mined. A 10-foot-deep drainage ditch, now covered in foliage, still fills every time it rains. Furrows reveal where heavy equipment cut the peat into rectangular blocks, about the size of toaster ovens, which were dried and later burned in homes throughout the former Soviet Union.

Jüri-Ott Salm wants to bring the wet bog back.

“We are taking measurements to plan how big the dams are that we need,” he says, hopping into the ditch and plunging a five-foot long wooden stick into the neon-green muck. “The ditch is already covered with sphagnum moss and tussocks of cotton grass. If we get the water higher, there is a good potential these species will spread out and make it suitable for conservation.”

Along with a group of Estonian environmental scientists, Salm, a stocky ex-graduate student now at the forefront of environmental policy here, is hoping to restore this bog to what it looked like before the 50 years of Soviet rule that ended in 1991. During that occupation, thousands of peat bogs across Estonia were drained, leaving an opening for forest trees and shrubs.

While that might seem like a good thing, the problem is that these old peat bogs are leaking greenhouse gases—nearly 8 million metric tons per year of carbon dioxide, according to a 2015 report by the Nordic Council of Ministers. That’s more carbon emissions than all of Estonia’s cars and trucks combined.

The CO2 comes from the thick layers of peat, mostly dead sphagnum moss, that is preserved in bogs by the wet conditions and by chemicals contained in the sphagnum, both of which suppress bacterial decomposition of the organic matter. When bogs dry out, the cap of living sphagnum dies, and bacteria start rapidly digesting the organics below. That turns the bog from a CO2 sink into a copious source.

Turning back the clock is simple in principle, says Salm: You just close the drainage ditches, so that rainwater and snowmelt raise the water table back to the surface. Then you allow sphagnum and other native plants to recolonize the marshy ground. This year, with $8 million in funding from the European Union, Estonia is hoping to restore more than 50,000 acres of abandoned bogs at 89 sites. If successful, the “LIFE Mires” project will be scaled up to abandoned peatlands in Latvia, Lithuania, Germany, and Poland.

For other countries, cutting carbon emissions over the next few years might mean switching from coal to natural gas power plants, driving clean electric cars or installing solar panels on rooftops. But for tiny Estonia, home to only 1.3 million people, it means restoring the peatlands that cover nearly one-quarter of the landscape.

To Salm and other scientists here, bringing back the bogs is an environmental two-for-one: it shrinks Estonia’s carbon footprint, and it creates new habitat for rare bog creatures like the Western capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus) and the moor frog (Rana arvalis).

“When we restore these areas, we keep carbon in the soil and recreate conditions so that carbon is absorbed,” says Salm. “But these bogs are also habitats for certain plants and animal species that live nowhere else.”

Scientists hope that by restoring Estonia’s natural bogs, they can again serve as carbon sinks, instead of emitters. PHOTOGRAPH BY GALLI, LAIF, REDUX

OLD INDUSTRY, NEW TRICK

The 457 residents of Lavassaare are a living legacy of Estonia’s four-century-old peat-harvesting industry. Homes and apartment buildings are heated with peat burned in a bio-energy plant operated by Tootsi Turvas, the country’s largest peat company. An old peat-hauling narrow-gauge railway line runs through the center of town. The Soviet-era train was running until three years ago, when tensions with Russia made it impossible to get replacement parts. There’s even a museum with black-and-white photos of horse-drawn wagons carrying blocks of hand-cut peat.

Tiit Saarmets started work at Tootsi Turvas in 1987, when it was Estonia’s state-owned peat enterprise. He’s close to retirement now and is the Finnish-owned firm’s environmental manager. He takes me on a tour of the vast commercial peat harvesting area—nearly 10 square miles of dirt-brown fields.

The harvesting process takes several steps. In the fall, excavators remove the surface vegetation and cut the top layer of sphagnum moss into blocks. Stacks of the dun-colored blocks freeze and dry in the winter. In spring they thaw and are shipped for use in garden beds and as insulation.

Removing the top few feet of sphagnum exposes the ancient, dark-brown peat soil underneath—the result of twelve thousand years of accumulated organic material decomposing in an acidic and oxygen-starved environment. As the peat accumulates, it sucks up water and expands. To harvest it, the bogs are drained. Specially designed tractors roll over the surface on buoyant balloon tires, sucking up the dark soil with giant vacuum cleaners.

The peat is dried, packaged, and shipped to the rest of Europe as fertilizer. Some of it gets compressed into briquettes and sold as a fuel to a few Estonian communities. Tootsi has been working this site since the 1970s, and there’s enough peat to last another 10 years.

“After that we finish, close it, and start to recultivate,” Saarmets says.

Just across an embankment from the production area, in one part of the sprawling complex, company officials have blocked drainage ditches and begun to let nature take its course. It’s a slow process. Saarmets shows me one place where restoration began about three years ago. Only a few sparse patches of sphagnum moss cover the bare dirt.

Ecologist Edgar Karofeld checks the water level in a bog restoration site in southeastern Estonia. PHOTOGRAPH BY ERIC NIILER

NATURE NEEDS HELP

Europe’s commercial peat industry is watching Estonia’s EU-sponsored bog restoration project with wary support. Peat is big business: Holland’s global flower industry, for example, relies on Estonian peat. But in recent years some green groups have called for a boycott on peat, saying the harvesting contributes to global warming.

“The customers want us to be more environmentally friendly,” says Elar Abram, site manager for Kraver AS, a Belgian-owned firm based in Estonia. Abram worries about new environmental regulations in Estonia that kick in by 2019. Just like strip mines for coal in the United States, Kraver, Tootsi and other firms will have to reclaim the peatlands once they finish harvesting.

“We have to restore all the areas,” Abram tells me in his office near the Tassi bog production area. “But how is the big question.”

The answer, says Edgar Karofeld, an ecologist at the University of Tartu, is that it isn’t enough just to let nature take its course. Since 2012 Karofeld and a team of students have been restoring a 10-acre plot adjacent to Kraver’s commercial harvest area. They’ve taken care to keep the water table high—but instead of relying on sphagnum to colonize the restored area on its own, they’ve carefully transplanted the moss from other protected areas.

“Now there are 100 percent bog species here,” says Karofeld during a visit to the site. “If you do it correctly, you can good results after three years. It depends on how much rain you have during the summer.”

Karofeld’s team have sunk PVC cylinders into the squishy peatland and covered them with glass chambers to measure the flux of greenhouses gases. Emissions of methane rise slightly as the water returns, they find. But in places where the sphagnum returns quickly, emissions of all three greenhouse gases combined—CO2, nitric oxide, and methane—go down.

“Some of our restoration areas are already a sink for carbon,” Karofeld says.

BOG TRAILBLAZER

Estonia’s big ambition make it an ecological trailblazer, but it’s not the only country restoring bogs. Scientists from Canada and other Baltic nations are also experimenting with the process. It’s one of trial and error, says Marku Lamp, who oversees Estonia’s restoration project as the government’s deputy secretary of conservation.

At Viru bog, the closest nature area to Tallinn, the capital, and a popular spot for busloads of foreign tourists, a three-year restoration failed because dams weren’t built correctly. There wasn’t enough water to keep the mosses wet.

“We are learning from our mistakes,” Lamp says. “We can share our experiences to find the best solutions.” But he and his colleagues are starting with one crucial advantage. “Estonia is a very wet country,” says Lamp.

This article was originally published by Eric Niiler in National Gographic, please read it here: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/08/estonia-reduces-carbon-emissions-planting-peat-bogs/

Cover photo credit: SEAN GALLUP, GETTY IMAGES

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Why Tallinn? Interview with Calum Cameron, CEO at meduza.ai

jyrgen — Thu, 27 Jul 2017 08:48:20 +0000

The capital of Estonia, Tallinn, is becoming a popular location for global founders.

Calum has been living in Estonia for 10 years after three tours of duty in London from the early 90s and a couple of years in Luxembourg in between. With a background in delivering and supporting web platforms and applications for the financial and energy industries in Australia and the UK, he got the entrepreneurial bug scaling operations for a couple of startups and went on to manage Europe’s leading B2B accelerator, the Startup Wise Guys. Calum is now building his own cybersecurity company.

Calum Cameron, CEO at meduza.ai

The interview

What made you decide to move your business to Tallinn?

Estonia has an amazing self-belief missing from most countries. With Skype, Transferwise, GrabCAD, Fortumo, Guardtime, Pipedrive, Zeroturnaround et al. we know we can build massive companies from this tiny country.

And being so small, everyone is accessible. This means we can get stuff done fast here. As a result we see early stage companies from across the world – 40+ countries from all continents – coming to the Startup Wise Guys accelerator in Tallinn to launch their startup from here.

For a cybersecurity business like meduza.ai, access to people here and in Latvia, who are already active defending against nation-state cyber attacks is a serious advantage.

How important has your Australian network been to get started over here?

Not massively because I already had a strong Estonian network before moving here. It doesn’t take a lot of hand-holding to get into the scene here either as there loads of events connecting entrepreneurs. In saying that, we have a network of Australians helping out new comers with tips on visas and bureaucracy which must be pretty useful.

Have you raised money in Europe and how did you find it compared to Australia?

I never raised funding in Australia but have spoken with the angel groups and accelerators out there and it sounds like we have it easier in Estonia because there is a history of successful startups coming from here. European VCs and corporate investors are also pretty visible here so funding is available for quality teams. To get their attention, though, you have to prove you can get out of the Estonian market (too small). Once you do, the Estonian brand becomes a real asset for raising.

What is it like to do business in Estonia?

Estonia has this bizarre contradiction of being a very conservative culture but able to pump out seriously successful startups. I think this comes down to their blunt approach to themselves and one another: there is some serious execution quality and a willingness to help those who are committed, but you’ll be told quickly if you are bullshitting.

In particular though, there is easy access to key decision makers and entrepreneurs who have been successful before. Australia can learn from the success here to remove hurdles to sharing knowledge. If teams can get access to the right people fast, they can move their business forward faster. That’s good for all of us.

Are you working as a remote team or did the team move over with you?

Meduza.ai is very young and built from scratch in Estonia but with Latvians. We will hire locally or regionally in the coming six months. There is lots of talent but we want the stars.

Startups who have come through the Startup Wise Guys program have often distributed their teams between Estonia and their home countries, or built their operations here in Estonia and sent their sales teams to target markets. Prices are going up but Estonia still offers more bang-for-buck than most European countries.

What do you love about living in Estonia?

The quality of life is hard to beat: if you live in the centre of Tallinn you can walk nearly everywhere and meet everyone you need. In short, you can move and build faster than almost anywhere else in Europe.

For Aussies coming to Europe, the biggest tip is to just dive in. Use the Australian community to connect you but don’t hide out in Earls Court. If you can, sort out your paperwork before coming over and even set-up your EU business in Estonia before landing.

This article/interview was originally published in aussie.eu, please read it here:
http://aussie.eu/2017/07/03/why-tallinn-interview-with-calum-cameron-meduza-ai/

Cover photo by Wikipedia.

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Small Flats Attract Both Home Buyers, as well as Rental Property Investors

jyrgen — Sun, 18 Jun 2017 10:03:56 +0000

According to the data of the Statistical Office, a total of 2264 residential properties were built in Tallinn in 2016. Only 6% i.e. 133 of these properties built were one-room flats. 850 of the properties i.e. 38% were two-room flats, while 35% or 790 properties were three-room flats. 22% i.e. 491 of the residential properties built in 2016 were flats with four rooms and above

This shows that the residential property development process in Tallinn is clearly skewed towards two- and three-room flats. Such predominance of flats with smaller number of room is caused by better liquidity of flats of such size, i.e. the estimated shorter selling period. A shorter selling period allows developers to exit from the project within an optimum period of time and keep their risks at a controllable level.

Demand Favours Smaller Flats

Demand plays its own role in such intensive development of smaller flats. This demand is fuelled by both home buyers, as well as rental property investors. The share of the latter on the market has visibly increased in recent years. The preferred choice of rental property investors is a one-room, at most a small two-room flat. The absolute buying price of such flat is low and the expected rental yield is the highest.

In addition to rental property investors, flats with smaller number of rooms, i.e. flats with one to two rooms attract individuals who are looking for their first proper home. The price of flats with fewer rooms and fewer square metres is more affordable. This offers a wider range of consumers a possibility of purchasing such a flat. This increase in popularity of smaller flats is also backed by the trend of decreasing size of households.

Beside first-time home buyers flats with smaller number of rooms are also sought after by older buyers whose children have left home, causing their need for space to decline. A smaller flat is cheaper to keep and could offer a good solution in a situation where utility bills of a large flat begin exceeding one’s means.

Offer Does not Grow in Proportion to Demand

Due to such high demand property developers would be happy to build many more one-room flats than today. However, they cannot do it because the effective requirements set to parking make it impossible.

Rental property investments into smaller, i.e. mainly one-room and two-room flats have created a situation where in 2016 around one thousand of new offerings were added to the rental property market of the capital city. In a situation where the population in Tallinn is growing they have not created clear surplus of offerings and a drop in rent rates yet, but there is a slight risk that such a situation could emerge.

The demand that favours rather smaller flats is still going strong. Even more so, because the difference between prices of new and older flats is not very big. For instance, according to Land Board data, in 2017 the average transaction price of flats built in this decade was 2290 €/m². The average price of transactions involving flats built the last decade is relatively similar, i.e. 2100 €/m².

In conclusion it could be said that although the market of newly built flats in Tallinn is already skewed towards smaller flats, then in view of the actual demand the offering of one-room flats could be much higher than it is today.

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Housing Loan Market Growth Is Supported By Property Values And New Borrowers

jyrgen — Sun, 09 Apr 2017 19:57:59 +0000

The number of transactions at the Tallinn apartment market is high and on an upward trend; also, the transaction prices are rising. The vast number of transactions and other positive trends of property market are to a large extent backed by the loan market. The turnover of housing loans is thriving upon low interest rate and this gives more and more people an opportunity to buy a home with a housing loan.

The number of apartment transactions is showing a strong increase

The number of apartment transactions in Tallinn is robustly growing. In Q1 2017, 2,449 apartment ownership deals were signed in Tallinn. This corresponds to an annual growth of 19%. The number of transactions has gone up in terms of home buyers as well as rental investors. Demand has been supported by rising wages, high employment rate, but also favourable loan conditions and low interest rate.

Double turnover in housing loans

The turnover of new housing loans is growing hastily. According to Eesti Pank, the turnover of housing loans issued over the last three months was EUR 260 million. Compared to the EUR 212 million turnover of the previous year, the growth is 22%. The total housing loan turnover in 2016 was EUR 1.04 billion, i.e. 10% more in a year-on-year comparison.

Debt finance is the lifeblood of the entire economy, but also of the property market. Increasing credit sale is strongly supporting the completion of transactions. The only factor keeping the pressure of price increase of housing, caused by high demand with the help of loans, within the confines of common sense, has been tight competition between property developers and sellers.

The balance of loans is outpacing the economic growth

Given the circumstances of fast-growing loan turnover, also the loan balance, that is the amount of loans currently being repaid, is increasing. As at the end of February, the housing loan balance reached EUR 6.7 billion. The balance of housing loans has increased 5.6% compared to the year prior. Setting this indicator against the modest economic growth, we may admit that the loan balance is rather growing fast, or even very fast.

It is wise to keep an eye on the boosting loan balance; still, we should not take it as a serious warning sign, at least not for now. The reason being that alongside with the loan balance, also the income of consumers is growing and unemployment is on a quite reasonable level. This means that even under the conditions of increasing loan burden the consumers have no problems with repayment of loans.

Rate of bad loans is low

We may even say that in essence, almost all of the issued housing loans are served on a very good level. In February 2017, the volume of housing loans overdue for more than 60 days was EUR 37.7 million. Accordingly, the share of bad loans in the housing loan portfolio was 0.6%, which can be considered a rather low indicator.

Still, it can be said that despite the increasing turnover, getting a loan is paradoxically not too easy for a borrower. The banks evaluate the creditworthiness of a home buyer very carefully. If there is a risk that the borrower may not be able to repay the loan, they will generally not get a loan. This is what keeps the rate of bad loans low.

Interest rate remains favourable

Growing sales and balance of housing loans are most definitely driven by low interest rate, sustained by negative Euribor. According to Eesti Pank, the interest rate of new housing loans, issued in Estonia, has remained between 2.1 and 2.7% for more than four years now. We may quip that this extremely low interest rate has come to be regarded as a human right.

It is clear that during the housing loan term, reaching to 30 but even to 40 years, the borrower will experience much higher interest rates than those valid today. Currently, it is really difficult to estimate the time when the interest rates start rising. One of the first indicators of this is emergence of inflation in the European Union.

Also, the number of loan agreements is increasing

In addition to sales growth, one should pay attention also to the number of loan agreements. Besides the price rise, the loan turnover could increase also due to the fact that people are buying more recently built and accordingly more expensive housing.

As at February, 170,884 housing loans had been granted in Estonia. Compared to the year prior, 3,736 new loans had been issued, meaning that the number of loans has grown by 2.2%. In view of this, we can say that the growth of loan turnover is caused by appreciation of assets in the transaction as well as the fact that new borrowers have emerged to the market.

Rental investors are using a housing loan

New borrowers should, at least according to rules, use a housing loan for buying housing for their own use. Regardless of the intended purpose of a housing loan, in practice this long-term low-interest loan is still used also for making rental investments.

It may be said that buying an apartment with an intention to re-lease it has in a sense become a national sport. When before, such investors had mainly a long-term lease view, then for now, AirBNB and Booking.com have made also short-term lease as the right and opportunity of every landlord.

It cannot be claimed as if using a housing loan for investment purpose is massive; still, to some extent it is used for buying rental apartments.

Loan market as hot as property market

Housing loan market is showing quite hasty development at the same rate with property market. The pace of growing credit sale and balance is not at all modest. However, considering the overall economic situation, where the fast wage growth plays an important role, there is no need to assume any problems at the loan market.

Provided that the global economy will not see any cataclysms, we could estimate modest cooling on the property market and continuing moderate expansion of the loan market. To avoid overheating and possible bitter setbacks, it would be rather positive to see the growth figures of loan market decline a bit.

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Here’s a Map That Shows the Top Tourist Attraction in Every Country

jyrgen — Fri, 24 Mar 2017 14:37:52 +0000

VoucherCloud, a money-saving mobile app, compiled a map of the most popular tourist attractions from each country around the world according to TripAdvisor’s top-rated “Things to Do” feature.

The map highlights the sights to see in 197 countries and is organised into four different types of attractions: historic, natural, religious, and tourist.

However, the map has unexpected surprises: for instance England’s tourists are flocking to the Harry Potter Studio Tour, and visitors in the United States care more about strolling through Central Park than seeing other natural beauties like Yellowstone National park or the vast Grand Canyon.

In Estonia, you are advised to visit the beautiful Old Town of Tallinn.

(You can also see the full map here)

The majority of destinations around the world are natural wonders, closely followed by spots of historic interest. Out of 197 countries, there are:

76 natural attractions
54 historic attractions
38 generic tourist attractions
29 religious attractions

including:

24 beaches
19 museums
13 national parks
9 waterfalls
6 national reserves
6 fortresses
4 castles

Regional analysis points out that Western Europe seems tourism focused, while Eastern Europe is rich in history. The Americas are predominantly natural, along with much of the Caribbean with its stunning beaches. Asia has a solid mix of historic and tourism-first attractions.

Read the full summary spreadsheet of TripAdvisors top tourist attractions here.

What’s the place you would recommend to visit in Estonia? Leave the comment below!

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5 Rookie Mistakes Made By First-time Homebuyers

jyrgen — Mon, 30 Jan 2017 10:49:23 +0000

Homeshoppers should buy with their heads, not their hearts

Key Takeaways

Overspending, making an emotional purchase and under-researching a neighbourhood will lead to first-time homebuyer regret.
Needs should always trump wants when buying a home.
After setting a budget for the home-shopping process, strictly adhere to it.

Becoming a first-time homebuyer is an exciting and often complex process. Summer is the busiest season for home sales, and new shoppers can easily get caught up in the thrilling pursuit of their dream home, which often leads to overlooking potential problems along the way.

In a race to get to the finish line, inexperienced buyers can become distracted by some of the flashier amenities available on the market today.

Cosmetic upgrades such as granite counter tops, outdoor pools, raised vegetable gardens and spa bathtubs can camouflage some serious red flags and easily lead a new homebuyer to overspend or overlook structural issues.

The key to being a savvy first-time home-shopper is recognising some common mistakes, understanding where to look out for them and knowing how to fix them.

1. Making an emotional purchase

Home-shoppers often have an emotional attachment to a house they’re looking to purchase. Maybe it was their childhood home, or it’s located in a favourite neighbourhood where they often dreamed of raising a family.

One of the most important things to remember when house hunting is to buy with the head, not the heart. Although a choice based on emotion might initially make home-shoppers happy, they could begin to regret a hasty decision and find flaws they’re unable to overlook.

Letting nostalgia guide the home-buying journey could lead home-shoppers right into one of the biggest house hunting missteps: stretching the budget too far.

To avoid this, it’s important to take a step back and look at the home objectively. Create a checklist of the most important home qualities — do these match up with what this house has to offer?

Decide beforehand which features are wants and which are needs. Stay as true to the list as the established budget allows.

Remember when house hunting: buy with the head, not the heart.

2. Overspending

First-time shoppers are especially prone to the rookie mistake of overspending. Before hunting for a home, it’s crucial create a realistic budget.

While building the budget, home-shoppers must remember to factor in the cost of extras including furnishings, home improvement upgrades, monthly utility payments and property taxes.

It’s easy to get swept up in a beautiful house — however, once the bills start rolling in, home-shoppers quickly realise that they are in over their heads. They might be able to manage a mortgage payment, but this likely comes at the expense of disposable income and can ultimately jeopardise their financial goals.

Before pulling the trigger on buying a home, home-shoppers should look at the house they are leaving behind.

Did they meet their monthly payments? If so, will they still be able to do so assuming the costs increase? Home-shoppers should be sure to meet with a lender to get pre-approved for an amount they can afford to spend on a home.

Once they understand their financial boundaries, then, and only then, should they begin the home-shopping process.

3. Failing to ‘investigate’ the neighbourhood

Not all neighbourhoods are created equal. Although home-shoppers can do some preliminary digging online to learn a little bit about the prospective home’s location, the real estate agent will be the most knowledgeable source.

Outside of typical questions about the safety of the neighbourhood, home-shoppers should be sure to ask about its economic standing, any hidden surprises, etc.

Also, home-shoppers should take it upon themselves to visit the neighbourhood on a weekend night. If they hear anything unusual or discover the most popular fraternity is located within a few blocks, they should be encouraged to look at another option if a quiet neighbourhood is on their list of needs.

4. Buying furniture without a test run

When it comes to larger items such as couches, bureaus and beds, homebuyers should test out their furniture before purchasing.

Returns aren’t always possible, and exchanges are often a huge hassle that can waste precious time and add pressure to an already stressful moving process.

Keep a tape measure handy, as well. Having accurate dimensions of a new space is key to making sure everything will fit. This simple task will make the process much easier and prevent owners from having to create a makeshift pulley system to drag a couch up to the second floor of the house through a window!

Luckily, technology is on our side, and it is easy to use a virtual staging platform that creates a 3-D rendering of a home.

An interactive home design program allows users to drag and drop rendered furnishings. This will provide a realistic view of what a home would look like fully furnished, and it allows users to develop their own staging with just a few clicks of a mouse or swipes on a mobile device.

Keep a tape measure handy. Accurate dimensions of a new space will ensure everything fits.

5. Always looking for a better deal

All of the above tips encourage consumers to err on the side of caution when home-shopping. To add a little perspective, it’s important to check off as many boxes as possible, but it’s not necessarily a smart idea to perpetually hold out for the “perfect” home.

It’s extremely difficult to find an option that has everything a home-shopper is looking for — in fact, it’s often impossible.

Making a tiered list of top priorities will help home-shoppers narrow down a few options to find one that fits best. A list of needs and a list of wants can help them easily prioritise if a particular home will work for their needs.

Is a kitchen island a big want but an extremely safe neighbourhood a definite need? Needs should always come first when making a decision that fits within the established budget.

Needs should always come first when making a decision that fits within the established budget.

At some point, almost everyone encounters the daunting task of purchasing a home for the first time. But among all the uncertainty and hesitation, it’s important to remember that home-shopping is a bit of give-and-take — knowing what to give and what to take is where the pros set themselves apart from the rookies.

Following these tips will help any shopper avoid making common mistakes that can ruin an otherwise thrilling experience!

This article was originally published in INMAN. Read it here.

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The Land Of Organic Forests

jyrgen — Tue, 17 Jan 2017 22:48:19 +0000

Lonely Planet, the largest travel guidebook publisher in the world, has ranked Estonia as the number one best value destination for 2016. The guide recommends going into the forest as a worthwhile experience. Estonia has a lot of forests. 40% of them are certified organic!

Whereas the tiny country of Bhutan, nestling in the Himalayas, aims to become the happiest country in the world, equally tiny Estonia, on the shores of the Baltic Sea, is going for the title of most organic country. Indeed, there is potential – plenty of fresh air, forests, land and sea. We have tranquillity and space, untouched nature and a variety of clean, raw materials close at hand.

On the other hand, we are a smart IT-country with our e-state, e-Residency and startup culture. These two sides – natural and innovative – could prove to be a match made in heaven.

Organic is the green way of thinking and living, caring for nature and people, considering the balance of the environment, giving up what pollutes and destroys. It is a long-term and responsible attitude, in order to leave the next generations with a dignified life and a clean natural environment to enjoy.

Smart and organic state

The idea of Organic Estonia won the grant of the Development Idea competition organised by the Estonian Development Fund in 2015. Life in Estonia was curious to find out from one of the authors, entrepreneur Siim Kabrits, how the idea of Organic Estonia was born and what it contains.

‘Organic Estonia refers to a state which values clean food and a free natural state of being. Half of the Estonian territory is covered in forest, which, as our forests are all naturally grown. Hence the produce of our forests is actually already organic. Organic Estonia is also in tune with the global trend of appreciating a sustainable and environmentally aware organic way of thinking,’ says Kabrits who grew up in the middle of the wilds of South Estonia, which explains his love of the woods.

‘As Estonians we have managed to preserve the know-how of our forefathers, our rich traditional culture. On a grassroots level our way of thinking and our values are organic anyway. The organic way of life benefits everyone, it offers the best chance for a successful future, the key to ensuring the health and wellbeing of generations to come.

It is Estonia’s trump card to show that as a small country we do things differently – in a caring and sustainable manner.’

Kabrits, the Sales Director of Berry Group which provides Nordic forest and garden berries to European, Asian and North-American food- and pharmaceutical industry travels extensively, especially in Asia. ‘The fact that it takes half an hour to drive from Tallinn city centre to the forest to pick is total science fiction for most countries. Whereas we check the air temperature in the morning news, in Asia they ask how clean the air is.’

The right kind of decisions on the national and individual level will help maintain the valuable things in Estonia which have disappeared in many countries or which countries are really struggling to restore. ‘We began a very long process last year. As residents of Organic Estonia we can tell our story all over the world, turn our smallness into a strength, emphasize the importance of sustaining a clean natural environment in all political future decision-making and take advantage of the unique opportunity to market Estonian agricultural and forest products as organic products in the world. All Estonians will benefit from this,’ claims Kabrits.

Four Pillars of Organic Estonia

The idea of Organic Estonia stands on four pillars: forest, food, cosmetics and tourism.

#1 Forest

One of the world’s tallest pine trees, at a towering 46.6 metres, grows in the Ootsipalu valley in southern Estonia. Just a hundred metres away from it the tallest tree in Estonia – a 48.6 metre common spruce – can be found. Would such giants be alive at the age of 140–160 years, if our forests were polluted? Probably not…

We have real forests, and not parks, in Estonia. It is illegal to fertilize or spray forests and we have no tradition of growing GMO cultures. In exceptional cases, toxic substances may be used in reforestation works.

At the initiative of Organic Estonia, Estonian state forests have been declared organic forests and entered into the Organic Agriculture Registry of the Ministry of Rural Affairs since spring of this year. Estonian state forests are organic forests, where economic activity is carried out on the basis of the same principles as on organic agricultural land.

‘We live in the middle of the woods’, goes a popular Estonian ballad. And this is indeed the case. Fifty one percent of Estonian land is covered in forest, 40 per cent of which belongs to the state and 60 per cent is in private hands.

‘One of the goals of Organic Estonia has been reached,’ says Kabrits. ‘For the next step we want private forests to be declared organic, too. For this we need to collaborate with the state and to create a simple and efficient, non-bureaucratic system to help register and monitor private forests. This may materialize as early as this autumn, although Organic Estonia has set itself the goal of turning 51 per cent of all the Estonian land into organic land by 2017.’

Estonian people are real gatherers – they love to go picking mushrooms and berries and other natural ‘gifts’ – everything from herbs and tree sap and pine kernels to nuts and needles – in the woods. This really surprises many visitors to Estonia – what do you mean you go to the forest to pick berries and not to the store? Now this pleasant pastime, which reduces stress and offers healing for body and soul has another benefit, which is the knowledge that the produce is certified organic.

These are largely ‘superfoods’ too, as in harsh Nordic climate conditions only the bravest and most adaptable species can survive. In summer there is about 4-5 hours of darkness in Estonia whereas in the winter the proportion of daylight approximately the same. In summer, temperatures may rise to +35˚C, and in winter they can drop to -35˚C. The growing period for plants is extremely short – only three to four months. This forces plants to really pull themselves together, so to speak! Our forests are a real paradise of superfoods and as such are nature’s own medicine cabinet!

#2 Food

If we consider that our state forests are organic and add to it the private forests which also operate on organic principles, we can easily deduce that Estonia is covered in organic forest. If we add the 16 per cent of organic agricultural land to the 51 per cent of organic forest, we can reach the conclusion that most of Estonia is in fact organic! In terms of the share of organic agricultural land we are already third in Europe and fifth in the entire world.

‘Although there are people who think that organic agriculture means working the land and raising cattle in the way peasants did in the 18th century, organic agriculture is in fact very innovative. A small country has limited agricultural land – there is nowhere to expand, which means that we need to be very smart, effective and innovative in our approach,’ says Kabrits. ‘For example we can use drones to monitor fields. There is a company in Estonia that has developed drones with sensors which are capable of detecting areas of damage created by plant disease or pests. Thanks to this, it is possible to act in time and with moderate measures, without using pesticides on the whole field just to be sure. One sensor is able to monitor 10 000 hectares per day.’

One of the authors of the idea of Organic Estonia, Siim Kabrits praises those of our farmers who are behind the innovative thinking. He also has good things to say about our food industry. Estonian Spirit OÜ Moe Fine Liquor Plant – the second longest-established vodka producer in the world – has the necessary certification to produce organic alcoholic beverages. Saaremaa Dairy produces organic cheese ‘Öko Saaremaa’, and Berry Group Ltd. offers different frozen wild berries from Estonian forests. These are just some examples out of many.

Small producers are even more active. The production of organic honey has more than doubled in a year. Nopri Dairy Farm collects birch- and maple sap in spring, and then bottles and freezes it in order to offer this valuable product all year long. Chaga Ltd. produces freeze-dried pine buds and spruce tip powder. One of the first organic producers in Estonia – Pajumäe Family Farm – offers organic yoghurts, curd and cheese in addition to milk.

At the initiative of Organic Estonia, restaurants, organic farmers and providers of innovative logistic services met in May in order to think about and work towards a joint goal – to open 100 organic cafes and restaurants in Estonia for the 100th anniversary celebrations of the Republic of Estonia in 2018.

#3 Cosmetics

The Estonian natural cosmetics industry is still young, but the home-based preparation of natural beauty products has a long history as our ancestors were well informed about and made use of the exceptional power of herbs. Research into the properties and effects of the more than three hundred herbs growing in Estonia continues. The same can be said about the production of natural cosmetics, which makes use of essential oils extracted from natural herbs only, avoids the use of genetically processed or animal-tested ingredients and uses only human- and environmentally friendly preservatives.

The term and content of natural, and especially organic, cosmetics still needs to be exactly defined at the European Union level. Currently there is a unified standard which sets criteria for natural- and organic cosmetics only in the development phase of the product. But there are various organic labels in existence already: NaTrue, Ecocert, Cosmebio, BDIH, etc.

As certification is a complex and expensive process; there is no production of top level organic cosmetics in Estonia where at least 95 per cent of the ingredients extracted from nature or made of natural substances would be gathered from monitored organic lands in the wild. If the future Estonian eco-state starts to support the process, the number of organic cosmetics producers is bound to increase.

However, there are local producers such as GoodKaarma, Domina Elegans, Nurme, TurBliss, Lumi and others, who use certified organic ingredients in their cosmetics. There are also cosmetics producers whose creams, lotions and soaps include natural and local tinctures, honey and wax, beeswax, sea mud and bog turf, such as Joik, Tilk!, Sõsar, Ingli pai, Ehe ilu.

In addition there is a unique research, development and production centre in Estonia – the knowledge-based health- and natural products competence centre at the Estonian University of Life Sciences in Polli, near Viljandi. The activities of the centre include the development of plant-based cosmetics products and research into bioactive compounds from garden ingredients for the product development of functional beverages, foodstuffs, household products, natural cosmetics and natural plant protection.

#4 Tourism

‘When I tell my Asian clients about clean nature and fresh air, they do not get what I am talking about – they do not have either. For them it is almost science fiction. When they visit Estonia they are in shock when they see that they can pick blueberries themselves in the forest and eat them,’ laughs Kabrits. ‘These are irreplaceable experiences and emotions which Estonia can offer its visitors,’ he goes on.

Tourism gourmands who yearn for everything organic want to experience other things than the life and activities centred around Tallinn. Workaholics from a London bank, Shanghai skyscraper or the New York Stock Exchange want to recharge their batteries, restore their energy in calm and peace, to breathe in fresh air and to enjoy tasty organic food. Swimming in a bog lake, hiking in the wilderness, picking and eating forest produce in the autumn, skating on smooth river ice in the winter, smoked saunas and many other Nordic-style experiences are ‘exotic’ things they cannot even dream about. This is the uniqueness which Estonia has to attract visitors who are into everything organic.

We have over 20 accommodation providers which have received the international environmental label Green Key. It was in 2001 that Estonia joinedthis system, created in Denmark in 1994. At least half of the ingredients on the breakfast menu of a Green Key accommodation provider must be local. All crockery must be reusable and over-packaging is avoided. Water is used sustainably, toilets ideally use rain water, for example, and vehicles used have low CO2 emissions.

Furthermore the Estonian Eco-tourism Association and the NGO Estonian Rural Tourism have created a local organic tourism quality label called EHE – the Natural Way. Almost fifty tourism farms and excursion providers have the quality label and offer environmentally-friendly and sustainable tourism services and genuine experiences which also preserve our historical heritage.

Trips can be taken down the Sauna Route, Food Route and Onion Route. Visitors can enjoy the Barrel Fair in Avinurme, the Rye Festival in Sangaste, the Pickle Festival in Tahkuranna, the Day of Airing the Traditional Dress in Valga, the Tuulekala Festival in Hiiumaa and the onion and fish fair in Lüübnitsa, the Dandelion Festival in Kihlepa. Enjoy a night of ancient fires, skiing trips and other excursions from sunset to sunrise or even a sauna bus party.

Let’s think big

‘Let’s think big. Let’s show the world that we care about nature, the environment and future generations. Let’s announce in 2018 – when the Republic of Estonia will celebrate its 100th anniversary and hold the presidency of the European Union – an Organic Year in Estonia,’ says Kabrits enthusiastically.

Apparently one of the best things he has been asked is when the project is likely to end. As a reply he always says it is an idea, not a project which lasts until the Estonian state lasts. He also experiences how support from society for the idea of Organic Estonia grows every week. ‘People realise that it is not just a single undertaking, but the normal way of being, living and thinking. Of course we have a lot of work to do but together we are moving towards our goal every day. Let’s do it together! Let’s show the world how little Estonia can do great organic things!’

This article was originally published by Life In Estonia, read it here.

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The future is here: Self-driving minibuses in the streets of Tallinn by 2017

jyrgen — Mon, 19 Dec 2016 17:50:19 +0000

Estonia will be holding the presidency of the EU for its first time during the second half of 2017. As such, it’s expected that the number of foreign officials visiting Estonia will increase exponentially. This is a unique opportunity to present the tech-savvy nature of Estonians.

With approximately 20 high-level events due to take place, as well as up to 12 unofficial meetings of various ministers from all over Europe, it is important to show the world what Estonia has to offer, what the country can do and how Europe could benefit from our actions.

Around 20000-30000 visitors are expected to flock to Estonia during the EU presidency, therefore it is vital to ensure that the transport system can cope with this pressure. Of course not everyone is going to use public transportation, but if they do, it should be as high-tech and convenient as possible.

One of the best examples of this ideology, and by far the coolest, is that starting July 2017, at least two self-driving minibuses will start roaming the streets of Tallinn. And they will not be driving empty. Both foreign visitors and locals can jump onboard and experience the innovative transportation technology. Even better: riding the buses is completely free of charge.

Self-driving buses could grant people new opportunities

“The presidency grants the opportunity to introduce Estonia as a country, that’s open to new ideas. Self-driving vehicles used for public transportation could positively benefit road safety, as well as help to save the environment,” said Valdek Laur, who is responsible for the development of a digital image of Estonia’s EU presidency.

He went on to explain that self-driving buses could be used to aid people, who have trouble moving on their own, as well as to grant people living in the countryside better movement between their homes and various locations.

No dusty roadsides

Self-driving buses have already graced the streets of Finland and similar projects have been run elsewhere in Europe. In Estonia, the self-driving buses will be operating in the center of the town, with the goal of providing transportation service on routes frequently used by the locals and tourists.

At this point in time, no decision has yet been made about which routes the buses will use. This needs to be coordinated with the local transport authority and other various local agencies. To find an operator for the buses, the Government Office of Estonia has announced a public procurement.

Once the buses are released into the wild, the “drivers” will be able to explain how the buses work and what using them actually means. Foreign visitors can also enjoy the explanations offered by the drivers, as they’ll be fluent in both English and Estonian, as well as Russian.

E-Estonia to the rescue

If self-driving buses aren’t enough to “wow” the visitors, they can always visit the e-Estonia Showroom, which offers a unique opportunity in getting to know the ways of e-Estonia on a deeper level. Around 10000 people visit the e-Estonia Showroom every year but it is to be expected that the number of visitors will increase drastically during the presidency.

The e-Estonia Showroom also plans to launch, by the time of the EU presidency, other technological innovations such as a unique online environment to introduce a wide range of different Estonian e-solutions. The e-environment will be based on virtual reality, using VR glasses and audio-visual solutions and will enable everyone to learn about and experience Estonian e-services without being present in Estonia but at the same time still feeling part of the actual local environment.

Read the original post here: https://e-estonia.com/self-driving-minibuses-set-to-roam-the-streets-of-tallinn-in-2017/

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15 Breathtaking Pictures of Medieval Tallinn

jyrgen — Sun, 11 Dec 2016 13:44:03 +0000

These fabulous pictures provide secret views of one of the best preserved medieval old towns in Europe – Tallinn.

Tallinn was first mentioned in 1154 by the name Qlwn (or Qalaven – possible derivations of Kalevan or Kolyvan). Nowadays it is one of the Europe’s best kept secrets.

This magnificent gallery was posted to boredpanda by a Tallinn based photographer Kaupo Kalda, who captured these photos while enjoying a casual walk around his hometown.

More info: kaupokalda.com, Facebook

Read the original post here: http://www.boredpanda.com/travelling-back-in-time-15-breathtaking-pictures-of-medieval-tallinn/

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€100m makeover for Linnahall to be completed in 2019

jyrgen — Thu, 08 Dec 2016 08:25:30 +0000

Reconstruction of the long-abandoned Linnahall entertainment arena in Tallinn’s port area is expected to be completed in 2019 at a total cost exceeding 100 million euros.

“During the past six months, we worked toward making sure how to proceed,” said Deputy Mayor Taavi Aas, standing in for the mayor, at a press conference on Tuesday. “I am beginning to hope that the grand house with a grand history will come to life again. We have reached an agreement with the government that we will do it together.”

Aas noted that the design stage is the next step.

According to the deputy mayor, the funding of the building had been more or less determined by now. “Around 40 million euros are to come from the coalition agreement,” he noted, adding that it was too early to say how that money would reach them. “It is not clear who the partner is — whether it is the Ministry of Culture, Enterprise Estonia, state real estate management company RKAS or someone else.” The total cost of the concert hall and conference center is to come in at 80 million euros, of which the state’s contribution would be enough to cover approximately half.

Aas said that the design procurement tender is to be announced at the end of this year or beginning of next year, with construction set to begin in 2018 and renovations projected to be completed by 2019.

The entertainment and sports arena known as Linnahall, designed by Estonian architect Raine Karp and boasting a seating capacity of 4,200, was completed in time for the sailing events of the 1980 Moscow Olympics, which were hosted in Tallinn. The four-story building has a total enclosed area of 37,000 square meters.

View original post here: http://news.err.ee/v/business/154ec7de-a696-4bf4-92a5-708821771d08/linnahall-s-100m-makeover-to-be-completed-in-2019

Photo credits: Marko Mumm

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