Researcher Joonas Vola tells a story about his attempt to conduct ethnographic fieldwork by following the ideals of environmental and economic sustainability
“Some people would pay for it. Can I do it differently? It could be fun!” These are some of my leading thoughts when I decided to give it a try, and instead of renting a car for a fieldwork trip, to get myself with my bike into a public transport (bus) towards the Northernmost Finland. The aim was to reach and meet people for interviews concerning the cultural and societal influence of Christian spiritual music translated and interpreted in Sámi languages. This is part of the ongoing project on the Societal Networks of Laestadianism, led by Tapio Nykänen from the Faculty of Social Sciences / University of Lapland, funded by the Emil Aaltonen Foundation.
A fieldtrip usually means that one needs to give up from one’s leisure time daily routines, which normally balance the work. Recently, in my case this has been regular visits to gym and swimming hall. But a fieldtrip does not have to mean giving up for physical training, I convinced myself. It could be replaced by cycling from the place where I was staying overnight to the location where my interviewees where living. In my case the maximum distance was around 45km to one direction, so for the day it would make around 90km. Luckily I had approached my colleague, who is more experienced in cycling, asking her what is her recommendation for a daily journey, when it comes to the distance and equipment. I followed her instruction with the latter (when it comes to saddle and pants) but not so much with the first one …
I thought that my timing for the fieldwork was relatively good when it comes to the weather and insects. This went partly correct, since around mid-June the spring was late even when it comes to the local circumstances in the north. I did my journeys in a slightly rainy weather with +3 to +5 Celsius. This of course meant that there was no need to be worried about mosquitos, especially along the Deatnu/Teno/Tana River where the wind was strong enough to slow you down even when driving downhill. So, did it pay off? I had lower expenses, since taking a bike with you only costs around 10€ per direction and there where no expenses from fuel, and ecologically my carbon footprint was slightly smaller, due to the use of public transport and bike. Furthermore, I probably made an impression to my interviewees with my old-fashioned single gear traveling method (as the early ethnographers and preachers moving from one village to another with a horse carriage or a bike), weather this impression was good or bad, I might not be able to tell. But, I have to admit, that personally I felt that the idea was insane after the very first 200 meters on the saddle. It sure did not sustain my buttocks, so to say.
Text and pictures by Joonas Vola