Martha organisation

Martha Organization
Marttaliitto ry
NicknameMarthas
Formation29 March 1899; 125 years ago (1899-03-29)
TypeNGO
HeadquartersLapinlahdenkatu 3, Helsinki, Finland[1]
Location
  • Finland
Membershipc. 44,000
Secretary General
Marianne Heikkilä [fi]
Key people
Annie Furuhjelm, Lucina Hagman, Cely Mechelin, Dagmar Neovius, Alli Nissinen and Helmi Setälä
Websitewww.martat.fi

The Martha Organization[2][3][4] (Finnish: Marttaliitto ry or Martat, Swedish: Martharörelsen), also known as the Marthas and the Martha Association,[5] is a Finnish organisation founded by Lucina Hagman in 1899. The organisation defines its activities as follows: "The Martha Organization is a citizens' organisation providing advice in home economics, with the aim of furthering welfare in homes and families, and providing diverse activities and possibilities of influencing the community and its members." The Martha Organization takes its name from the biblical figure of Martha.

The regional Martha suborganisations in 2018.

The organisation has a three-tier structure. The lowest tier consists of local Martha communities and clubs, which the members belong to. These communities belong to regional Martha suborganisations. The Martha Organization itself is the central organisation. The members of the Martha Organization, called Martta, number about 50,000. The Martha communities now also accept male members.[6][7] They are called Martti or Matti.[6][8]

Whereas the organisation's activity was previously focused mainly on the countryside, the organisation has lately sought to expand to cities. University students have also formed Martha communities. Men have founded Martti clubs. The Swedish clubs have their own national organisation called Swedish Martha Association in Finland [fi; sv] (Swedish: Finlands svenska Marthaförbund or Marthaförbundet).[3]

The organisation publishes a magazine called Martat that comes out six times a year.[9] The magazine was formerly named Emäntälehti Martat.

In 2007, Finnish anarchists established their own Martha Organization based on anarchist principles.[10] The Anarchist Marthas have operations in Helsinki and Rovaniemi. It had about 130 members in 2011.[11] The Anarchist Marthas organised popular public knitting clubs, among other events.[12]

References

  1. ^ "Marttaliitto ry". Kauppalehti (in Finnish). Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  2. ^ "Marttaliitto". Union of International Associations. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Advisory organisations". Ministry of Education and Culture. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  4. ^ "Martat" (PDF). Martha Organization. 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  5. ^ "In English". Martha Organization. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  6. ^ a b Vilenius, Esa: Willit Martat ottivat itselleen laatuaikaa lumikenkäretkellä Archived 2011-07-20 at the Wayback Machine, Etelä-Saimaa, 9 March 2004. Accessed 16 September 2009.
  7. ^ Ignatius, Heikki (23 July 2004). "Joensuun torin Marttakahvio täyttää 30 vuotta". Karjalan Maa (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 16 September 2009.
  8. ^ Historiikki Archived 2011-07-20 at the Wayback Machine 2008, Pyhämaan Martat. Accessed 16 September 2009.
  9. ^ "Martat-lehti". Martat (in Finnish). Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  10. ^ "Anarkistimartta meni marjaan" (in Finnish). Helsingin Sanomat. 3 August 2009. Retrieved 4 May 2014.(subscription required)
  11. ^ "Anarkistimartat haastavat pullantuoksuiset martat" (in Finnish). Yle Uutiset. 17 August 2011. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  12. ^ Sjöberg, Barbro; Porko-Hudd, Mia (2019). "A Life Tangled in Yarns – Leisure Knitting for Well-Being". Techne serien - Forskning i slöjdpedagogik och slöjdvetenskap. 26 (2): 49–66. ISSN 1893-1774.