Together with the representatives of Honka in Ukraine, Honkarakenne continues to take part in projects for the reconstruction of Ukraine. Between May 20 and 23, 2024 a delegation from the Ukrainian city of Borodyanka visited Honkarakenne to study the best practices for building schools and early childhood education and care centres from solid wood. The visit’s highlight was the signing of a Memorandum of understanding on the establishment of friendly relations between the city of Borodyanka and the municipality of Karstula, Finland, where Honkarakenne’s factory is located.
The Ukrainian delegation was led by the Mayor of Borodyanka, Iryna Zakharchenko, and the Head of the Department of Education of Borodyanka, Nataliia Novikova. Hosted by CEO Marko Saarelainen and Vice President of International Business Development Maarit Taskinen, the members of the delegation visited Honkarakenne’s headquarters. They also paid a visit to the Karstula factory, where they were able to see for themselves how Honka constructs buildings out of solid wood.
Honka offers quickly constructable, aesthetically pleasing and comfortable environments for development, learning, contemplation and recovery. Restoring social facilities is key to creating a stable, safe and prosperous environment.
Marko Saarelainen, CEO, Honkarakenne
The Ukrainian guests were treated to a tour of two log building projects completed by Honka, the Koivukylä early childhood education and care centre in Vantaa and the Karstula school. They also met Ukrainian children currently living in Karstula. Pekka Kanervio, the Mayor of the Municipality of Karstula, and Kirsti Keihäsvuori, Director of the Department of Education and Culture, warmly welcomed the Ukrainian delegation to Karstula. The visit served to facilitate a more active dialogue and deepen the relations between Karstula and Borodyanka.
We wish to thank all participants for the meaningful discussions we had during the course of the visit, for offering such a warm welcome to our special guests and for sharing our cause to support Ukraine in its reconstruction process.