Talkoo is a Finnish word meaning people voluntarily coming together with neighbors to work on something for the good of the neighborhood. It is associated with a strong sense of community: participating in ‘talkoot’ is not seen as a chore, but instead, something fun.

Our Talkoo group, in the San Jose, CA area, is a neighborhood of chosen friends who help each other with projects, who learn new skills together while enjoying fun group events. That is what our group is about. Naturally, we are always at choice about which projects we get involved in. But, a group of friends who you can ask for help from -- and offer help to in return -- is such a huge blessing in our lives. We learn from and grow with each other. We take trips together, make dinners together, while working and developing a strong community. If being part of a group sounds interesting to you please email us at admin@talkoo.group and / or attend one of our public events. Our Event Calendar is here. 

Crowdsourcing: an ancient Finnish tradition?

Talkoot is a form of collective voluntary work that’s been practiced in Finland for over 1300 years. The concept dates back to when people first began to build log houses. Because houses had to be completed before winter (and because it’s hard to lift a ridge-pole all on your own)  people called on their (often very distant) friends and neighbors to help with construction. By definition, talkoot is unpaid. Reimbursement is usually food, shelter and, of course, the satisfaction of doing a good deed.

More information about this historical tradition can be found here. (Internet Archive link, because the blog.microtask.com site seems to be gone.)