The Sauna Aid initiative

Sauna Aid is a multicountry initiative, sponsored by the International Sauna Association (ISA), to provide movable sauna facilities and supportive services to people facing natural and man-made disasters.

During the 2011 Fukushima tsunami and nuclear plant accident, ISA and the Japanese Sauna Society maintained a tent sauna for five weeks and used it for decontamination and cleaning of over a thousand locals.

Sauna Aid is now focused on the war in Ukraine. The sauna, or laznia/banya, as it is known among Ukrainians, is an important part of everyday life and provides a means of hygiene, stress relief, socialization, psychological comfort, and social identity. It is not considered a luxury, nor is it only about cleanliness. It is a social event that brings together the young and the old, the rich and the poor and promotes peace and a common sense of humanity. Ukrainians call the banya their “second mother”.

Currently Sauna Aid is delivering a 14-person wood burning sauna unit to the affected area with funds generously donated by the Japanese Sauna Spa Association. The sauna is built by the Lithuanian company, Edjusta Sauna and utilizes a Harvia wood burning stove. 

This represents the fourth sauna, Sauna Aid has delivered to war-torn Ukraine, and the third sauna to the Kharkiv region. Sauna Aid is also in the process of designing, constructing, and funding a public sauna complex on Nebo Beach, a beloved recreational spot nestled on the southern shores of the beautifully tree-lined Lake Nahorivske located just outside Kharkiv city limits.

 Other Sauna Aid programs are in the works, including coordinating services between commercial bathhouses and people in need and coming up with other portable sauna solutions. 

Everything we do takes money. We need your help. Please donate!  

Sauna Aid is accepting monetary donations and equipment as well as recruiting volunteers to help with our efforts.

Offer your sauna facilities to refugees

Besides providing onsite mobile sauna support, Sauna Aid coordinates and promotes free and subsidized access to existing public sauna/bath houses in countries hosting Ukrainian refugees. If you are involved with a public bath facility that offers these services, or is interested in offering these services, Sauna Aid would like to help. We can publicize your generosity, offer trauma training for your bath attendants, and in some cases, help financially. Contact us at info@sauna-aid.com

Basic therapeutic skills for sauna professionals

Sauna Aid, in cooperation with the Lithuanian Bath Academy, has created and distributed for free a healing toolkit for bathmasters to help approach trauma, loss and suffering.  

News

Who we are

About The International Sauna Association (ISA)

The International Sauna Association (ISA) is a non-profit association of over 20 national sauna societies. The ISA was founded in 1958. Its goal is publicizing the sauna and promoting its use on a global scale by rallying supporters of sauna activities in different countries as well as promoting the scientific studies of the history, sociology, and medical benefits of the sauna.

Participating organizations: 

Japan Sauna Spa Association, Lithuanian Bath Academy, Association of Professional Bathmasters, British Sauna Society, Finnish Sauna Society, Polish Sauna Society, German Sauna Association, Norwegian Sauna Society, Danish Sauna Association, Finnish Embassy in Poland, North American Sauna Society, Swedish Sauna Academy, New Zealand Sauna Society, The Australian Sweat Bathing Association, Finnland-Institut Berlin, Austrian Sauna Society, and the Czech Sauna Association.  (More organizations to follow.)

Sauna diplomacy

As well as providing Sauna Aid, the ISA is offering Ukrainian and Russian officials a suitable location and sauna to meet and work out a peaceful settlement. Sauna diplomacy was used famously during the Cold War when Finnish President Kekkonen hosted Soviet and Western leaders to a secret sauna just outside Helsinki to sweat and discuss the future of the world while comforted by the relaxing heat and steam of the sauna.