A historical profile of Valamo Monastery's agricultural practices, with implications for agricultural and extension education

The purpose of the study was to create a vision to empower monks and civilians to make their decisions about developing a renewed agricultural extension and demonstration system for the Valamo Archipelago based on agricultural technology transfer in time. In other words, the purpose was to propose better ways to educate people of the described area about how to live in harmony with the environment.;Two research questions guided the study: (1) What components of an informal agricultural education system were in use at Valamo Monastery prior to World War II; and (2) What basic elements can be applied to develop a system of agricultural extension in present-day Valamo Monastery to educate people about agriculture in the pre-WWII years?;The need for the study rose from the need to make agriculture once again productive in that area and from the need to make the agricultural knowledge available to all people. Agricultural knowledge on the Valamo Islands has an indigenous character, however, it can also be of value for the entire world as an extension system that can incorporate this knowledge for adoption in the other areas throughout Russia through the activities of the church, and through Western involvement as well as through communication systems. Pilgrimages and tourism should also make valuable contributions to this system.;The findings represent several facts: (1) There is a potential for an agricultural extension development in the regions of Karelia and Ingermanland of Russia. (2) The monasteries (and particularly Valamo Monastery) can be key parts of such an extension system, just like the universities in the Western world, because of their existing network in the country, their agricultural involvement and their connections with local communities. (3) An indigenous system of sustainable agricultural production has existed on Valamo archipelago prior to the cesession of that territory to Soviet Russia during World War II. (4) It is possible to develop a system of agricultural production in the same area based on the past experience of the monastery of Valamo, and to develop a system of agricultural information dissemination centered at the monastery that would benefit local consumers of agricultural information, i.e., producers of agricultural products.;This research study explored the history of a human-oriented economy on the islands of Valamo and the educational aspects related to it. This study may offer a basis, or a vision, of the key element, or elements, for a future extension system that could be created in Karelia, Ingermanland, and other parts of Russia. This system takes into account the historical features of Russian agricultural development and is church-based. The study is unique as it explores the religion-based aspects of agricultural educational development that are specific for the historical path of the country of study.