Simple Living, High Thinking #10

For the week of August 4th-10th, 2008

We'll pick a box full of beans and then sing a song about Krishna, as we take a look into the festivities and goings-on this week in the Small Farm Training Center at New Vrindaban Dham.

What we got done
-Click here to read the report on this week's Farm Circle, hosted in the Teaching Garden, as Tapahpunja spoke about our community food and water security, and Adi-Guru spoke about his experiences growing up on a family farm in Punjab.

-This week our Farm Crew took part in a maha-harvest of our green bean crop up top at the Garden of Seven Gates. For four days, our Crew carefully untangled boxes and boxes of beans from the jungle-like foliage. By the end of the week, Tom and Tulasi had boiled and frozen the catch for storage, to be used for temple foodstuffs in the winter months ahead. All in all, we harvested, froze, and have stored 110lbs of green beans just in the last week alone.

-Just outside the Garden of Seven Gates, an interesting project is going on. Inspired by the vision and efforts of HH Varsana Swami and HG Devananda Pandit Das, a small fenced-off area has been erected, and within it will contain the humble forest home of Bodhi, our resident donkey, and a goat friend of his. Varsana Swami is hoping to train these animals in various agricultural tasks as he tries to revive animal power here in New Vrindaban.

This week, our newest apprentice Adi-Guru Das helped in putting up a few locust logs to support the fencing. Here's some pics.


Hauling heavy equipment


-Along with our massive green bean harvest, we've also been picking okra, zucchini, and cucumbers, which will be available in our weekend Organic Farmer's Market, and feel free to stop by over at the Teaching Garden to grab some vegetables for your home. Donations are greatly appreciated.

-Tom was seen today adding concrete reinforcement in between the tires in the foundation of our new Workshop extension in the Teaching Garden. With most of the wood pieces and floor stones now gathered, construction should begin in earnest in the next couple of weeks.

-Here's a few more pics of our new apprentice Adi-Guru in action.

Don't be lazy in front of the boss


Proof positive that farm life makes one effulgent

What we realized
We are what we eat. It's pretty simple, but not a common thought in our world in its present state. You can drive by a sudden cornfield next to the freeway, and if you take notice of the signs, you'll see these are GMO crops. GMO....what does it mean? Genuine people may be thinking these modifications will have genuine benefits, but for me....why stray from the original formula? Krsna has already made the process perfect, so we may conjure up a whole bundle of problems, besides the usual political, economic, and moral ramifications. As Mom used to say, "don't play with your food."

Here at New Vrindaban, we have a dual mandate: To create a Krsna Conscious rural community, based on the melding of simplicity and spirituality, creating our own foodstuffs and utilities, combined with our other role, as a place of pilgrimage for all spiritually-minded people. If we can fully unite these two aspects, by social and financial cooperation, then the possibilities for expanding Prabhupada's dynamic vision for New Vrindaban become limitless.

Please help us out! Your hands, heads, and hearts can help us restore Srila Prabhupada's vision of self-sufficency here at New Vrindaban Dham. We're out shining and even in the rain in the Teaching Garden across the street from the RVC Temple, or up the hill at the Garden of Seven Gates. See HG Tapahpunja Prabhu for all the details.

Click here for more info on the Small Farm Training Center.

Stay tuned for next week's update! Hari Haribol!