Shovel

This shovel was used in bog and peat work in the Konnunsuo central prison. Perforated shovels were developed in bog prisons, where the surrounding bogs were converted into residential areas and farmland. The shovel was manufactured at the Rahkola workshop, probably in the 1930s or 1940s. The Konnunsuo prison was established in 1918 as a prison farm. Prison operations in Konnunsuo ended in 2011.

Prison farms were established in different parts of Finland to diversify work activities in the first decades of the 20th century. The reasons behind this were the increased number of prisoners after the Civil War and the attempt to reform the working activities of prisons without endangering Finnish business activity. Prison farms initially concentrated on agricultural work, but as society changed, the activities were industrialised in the 1970s. Prisoners worked in factories, sawmills and repair shops as well as on construction and renovation sites in various parts of Finland.