Our challenges
We are proud and happy to be recognized as an ecotourism company certified by Nature’s Best. Our goal is to meet these high standards in everything we do, and we truly appreciate any tips or suggestions for improvement.
However, in our daily work, we face several challenges—here are a few of them.
Transportation
We operate across a large geographical area, which means we need to transport materials, equipment, guests, and more. Naturally, this leads to carbon emissions. To reduce our impact, we coordinate our transport as much as possible—for example, by having specific start dates for all our packages and transporting equipment together with our guests.
At the end of each season, we calculate our total CO₂ emissions from internal transport. In recent years, this has been around 2.5 to 3 kg per guest. To offset these emissions, we have supported solar energy projects in India and purchased old-growth forest in Sweden.
As a guest, you can also help reduce emissions by choosing trains or buses instead of flights or cars when traveling to Värmland.
Local supplies
Northern Värmland is a sparsely populated area, which brings both opportunities and challenges for our business. Whenever possible, we choose local services and products, even if it sometimes means higher costs. One key focus is organic products in our food supply boxes. We source these from the small country stores in the Klarälven Valley. By doing so, we help support their businesses and ensure they can continue to serve the community. At the same time, we also need to adapt to their selection. The stores do their best to provide organic and locally produced goods, though it’s not always possible.
Still, we are incredibly grateful for their presence and excellent service, which help keep the countryside alive.
We encourage you, as our guests, to either purchase our food packages or shop at the small local stores to support them.
Logs and ropes
Our Timber Rafts are built using only logs and ropes. In the past, when timber (pulpwood) was still floated down the Klarälven River, we used those logs to construct the rafts. It was essential that the logs were free from nails or metal, as they were destined for the pulp industry—hence, the use of rope bindings.
When log driving ended, we had to source our own pulpwood in 3-meter lengths. Today, we use locally purchased spruce logs, which we reuse for as long as possible. Once the logs start losing their buoyancy and breaking apart, we sell them to local heating plants for energy production.
The ropes we use are made of polypropylene. While this is considered one of the most environmentally friendly plastics, we are aware of its negative impact on the environment. That’s why we invest a lot of time and effort into maintaining the ropes to extend their lifespan. We dry them before storing them for winter, clean off sand to reduce wear, splice them when needed, and do everything we can to make them last. However, they are exposed to heavy strain and naturally wear out over time. So far, we haven’t found a suitable alternative that would work for our operations.
You, as our guests, can help both us and nature by making sure no ropes are left behind on the riverbanks when leaving a campsite or floating downstream after dismantling your raft.
Our Team
Each summer season, our team consists of 15 to 20 people who work together to take care of our guests, equipment, campsite, and everything else that keeps our operation running smoothly. We are always happy to have a mix of experienced instructors returning from previous years and new team members joining us. This combination helps us maintain our routines while continuing to grow and develop.
No matter their previous experience with Vildmark i Värmland, all instructors go through basic training before the season starts. As an ecotourism company, sustainability is always a key part of this training. Of course, everyone is at a different stage in their personal sustainability journey, which influences their actions and mindset. We have high expectations and hope that all instructors embrace our ecotourism values and apply them in their daily work.
As our guests, you will have the chance to fill out a survey after your trip, where you can give us feedback on your experience and our service. If you prefer, you are also welcome to speak directly with an instructor on-site or call us anytime with your thoughts or suggestions.