News Reports

Food Supply for Eco Village

Farming and cow-protection provides the foundation for self-sustaining living and also generated prosperity for the rest of the society. A village should be an ecologically closed unit. Dung from cows fertilizers the grains and vegetables, and waste from vegetables and grains is food for cows and sheep. The surplus from this ecological cycle should be sold to markets outside the village. This makes for a stable economy. We are currently growing Carrots, Beets, Potatoes, Peas, Cucumber, Broccoli, Kale, Chard, Lettuce, Spinach, Strawberry, Cabbage, Green Beans, Zucchini, Radish, Fennel, Squash, Asparugus and Corn.  Apple, Pear, Cherry, Apricot, Hazelnut and Walnut trees trees are 10 years old.  Raspberries, strawberries, currants, gooseberries, honeyberries (hascaps) and saskatoon berries are growing. Millet, buckwheat, grains and pulse seeds are being saved for future plantings.  We grow…

Promoting Cow Culture and Vedic Village

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. The ox team has been plowing our garden fields in preparation for planting.  They are doing the work…

Ox plowing garden fields

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.   "You have to engage more men for plowing. Two bulls will be required for each plow.... you cut the tree,…

Spring renewal

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. We are also…

Cows Protection in Winter

Winter is a prime time for diseases to flourish in cows. Cows have no difficulty handling snow, but rain is the biggest enemy of cows during winter.  A goshala provides excellent protection against excessive wetness, but it must be well-ventilated  to avoid trapping ammonia which can lead to respiratory problems like pneumonia.  Cows barns need heat in the winter.  Our neighbouring Govardhana Goshala recently insulated the barn, keeping in body heat, but this prevents fresh air from entering. There are plans to build an external wood stove and to pump heat (via water pipes) into the goshala. Foot health is also an issue in winter. Cows on pasture typically have fewer foot problems than cows housed on concrete.  However, the goshala has a concrete floor and the cows spend most of the day inside in the winter. It is bad for health to drink cold water on cold days.  Drinking Water in…