Joaveski

Joaveski is a small industrial village on the picturesque banks of the Loobu River in Lahemaa National Park: here a hydroelectric power plant was built in 1898 to supply the then-established cardboard factory. The earliest written source about the area dates back to the 13th century, with the watermill operating already in the 1600s. In 1994 production at the Joaveski cardboard factory was stopped, last years were spent making stamp albums and cardboard from waste paper. For 25 years, the complex has stood empty, several machines and tools belonging to the factory have been preserved.

Joaveski has great historical and architectural value: the original cardboard factory, designed by renowned architects, includes various architectural examples and several outbuildings, around which local cultural history has accumulated for over a century. The Joaveski factory building is also in the state register of cultural monuments. Hundreds once lived in Joaveski, back when it functioned as a local center of sorts, providing jobs and the necessary infrastructure.

Today, approximately 20–30 people live in the village, most of them seasonal residents. Although the doors of the renovated community center reopened in 2013 with a library, an event room and accommodation, the village is slowly fading. Public transport does not reach Joaveski today and there are close to no employment opportunities. Yet, there are many things speaking for Joaveski: the surrounding nature, the remoteness (no reception!), rich folklore, and enthusiastic residents. So much so that a few years ago the locals compiled a book on the history of Joaveski.

Therefore, the largely abandoned Joaveski shows spatial and communal potential. EAD and its partners have made their goal to support the community in order to revitalise the region, both culturally and economically. Rethinking the use of the abandoned cardboard complex has started: rooms have been refurbished for future pop-up studios and residencies, continuation of local hiking paths is in development, as are the alternative art (exhibition) spaces.