Reports

This spring we continued ox plowing our fields with great success.  Daivata prabhu renovated an old plow he found and it works great to turn over sod.  Each year the ox team is improving our technique and we are learning the right time to plow for the soil condition.  The oxen are getting stronger and have a better feel about when to pull harder.  We have been plowing gardens all over Saranagati Village, inspiring people to use this ancient and sustainable method of soil preparation. 

Climate change has brought us more extreme weather, this year an elongated winter and a summer full of rain in a normally dry season.  The gardens are expanding and the trees and bushes are bearing more fruits.

Despite a lack of labor, forest clearing, wood milling and building continues.  Some of our neighbors, Garuda and Ashrith prabhu are apprenticing at the milling operations.  Our first building project using locally milled lumber is almost complete, the bathhouse is functional and now we are experimenting with techniques to insulate the walls using cob.

Our best crops this year were kale, parsley, beet, carrot, potato, corn, plum & strawberry.  In the greenhouse tomato, cucumber, pepper & flowers were abundant. Thankfully, no major losses to birds, grazing cows, deer or bear this year.

We are currently growing Carrots, Beets, Potatoes, Peas, Cucumber, Broccoli, Kale, Chard, Lettuce, Spinach, Strawberry, Cabbage, Green Beans, Zucchini, Tomato, Cherry Tomato, Eggplant, Peppers, Melon, Radish, Fennel, Squash, Asparugus, Parsnips, Turnipsand Corn.  We have planted hundreds of Apple, Pear, Cherry and Apricot trees.  Dozens of Hazelnut and walnut trees have been planted.  We have raspberries, strawberries, currants, gooseberries, honeyberries (hascaps) and saskatoon berries.  We are growing millet and buckwheat seed for future plantings.  We grow assorted flowers, herbs, and spices.

We inherited an over grown forest, thick with small trees fighting each other for survival.  The forest floor was full of debris from fallen trees and branches.  This pile up of forest debris is a great fire risk

First we cleared the debris and sorted it into piles for garden mulch, wind blocking piles and burnable wood. Thin trees were thinned and used fire wood and fence materials.  Larger trees can be made into building material.  To accomplish this, we acquired a wood mill with a saw blade that can cut logs up to 2 feet wide.  Most of the trees we are milling are only one foot wide because large trees cannot grow in a dense forest due to competition for sunlight, water and soil.

Society in Vedic history was a flourishing self-sustaining cow-centric and cow-revered culture. Cows and bulls are an essential contributors to peace and economic prosperity. Sastra tells human society how to live a simple life free from anxiety depending on the cow and bull, the land and the ample supply of natural gifts from the Creator.

To cultivate this culture in our village, Govardhan Goshala hosted Gopuja in a grazing areas on the full moon purnima.  The puja featured Surabhi cow and friends who were fed our locally grown foods.

Our desert like summer weather normally begins in June.  Everyday we are eating salad and green leafy vegetables from the garden and still carrots from last harvest.  A favorite is carrot, beet and parsley juice.  New vegetables are harvested every week.

To plow our weedy garden plots, we employed the two ox from the Govardhan Goshala in Saranagati Village.  The ox walked 2 km and stayed in a fenced off area of the garden, grazing on the grass growing on the edge of garden and between the fruit trees.  A greenhouse was their temporary shelter while they lived here. 

One day they escaped and went home, but the next morning they were walked back to the eco village for their morning plowing duties.  The ox are almost 2 years old and are away from home and mothers for the first time.  The training has been good for ox health and well being.  Dharma mani ox has become very friendly.

The results from ox plowing are fantastic.  They can nicely turn-over previously cultivated land.  We will plant our seeds soon after in the plowed rows.

This spring important developments are taking place to manifest the Vedic Eco Village. We now have our Master Plan secured and have begun implementing certain aspects of the overall project.

Our initial priority to is build a bath house on the deck of the main cabin, as well we will build a kitchen to provide prasadam for workers and visitors to the Village. We will start with a simple outdoor kitchen. We will need a basic structure with roof, cob stove (for cooking with wood and dung), stainless steel sink, tables and storage areas.

Daivata prabhu has re-launched the ox training program at Govardhan Goshala. The ox are being trained on yoke pulling a cart. When they are ready, they will pull the cart to the Eco Village and we will stay for a month in the fenced garden.  There we will train them to pull a simple hoe to turn-over the soil in preparation for planting in May.