At Camp Ripan, the idea that nature is a source of recreation and well-being has always been self-evident. When we started planning our spa, the direction was clear; we wanted a spa that is built around the natural elements surrounding us. Wood, stone, and water, materials that symbolize warmth, cold, and vitality but also form natural elements in the Lapland nature, communities, and cultures, were the obvious choices for us. We use furniture made from sustainable natural materials and many of the decorative details are crafted by local artisans and artists.
Natural Treatments – The Stävan Spa Ritual
The treatments at Aurora Spa are based on ancient Swedish, Sami, and Tornedalian healing traditions. The products used in our spa ritual, Stävan, contain natural ingredients and are preservative-free. We produce many of the products ourselves, for example, our homemade birch leaf scrub. When the birch leaves sprout, we collect them from nature and then produce a delightful scrub from birch leaves, oil, lemon, and salt.
In the foot bath, we use iron ore pellets from the town’s mine; we clean and reuse our pellets after each treatment. The packaging/jars included in the spa ritual are also reused. Our delightful coffee scrub is made from certified organic coffee grounds, which would otherwise be discarded. We add organic and Fairtrade-certified cocoa, oats, and rapeseed oil. We know our coffee scrub tastes good too—it’s actually edible!
Locally Produced & Organic
At the bar in Aurora Spa, we serve organically and biodynamically grown wines, our refreshing beers are locally produced or organic from Sweden. Our snacks are organic, animal products come from Swedish meat, wild reindeer, and moose. All organic waste is composted and turned into fertilizer to grow new raw materials. In the future, we plan to build a greenhouse adjacent to Aurora Spa, where we can grow new raw materials with the help of the fertilizer from our organic waste.
Towels and bathrobes are transported along with the postal trucks to the Swan eco-labeled laundry JD Tvätten in Umeå. This co-transportation reduces a transport distance that would otherwise have occurred with our own truck.
We collaborate with Care of Gerd, organic skin and hair care products from Jokkmokk.
“For me, sustainability is not just about preserving our resources, it’s also about making the most of what we have in our beautiful surroundings…” – Frida Lind Oja, co-owner at Camp Ripan
