News Reports
Report on July 1, 2017
Varnasrama College activities are in full swing. This week was dedicated to clearing the Eco Village land, in preparation for building. Forest debris around the tool shed and greenhouse were moved into piles - 1 building materials, 1 chipping materials and 1 for building berms (wind blocks).
Both the new toolshed and new greenhouse structures will be adjacent to the existing Bhaktivedanta Library building and once the areas have been cleaned of debris, we will concentrate on beginning landscaping work in the east entrance of the Gurukula Colony where we have two plots of land on each side of the Raj Marg dedicated for gardens. We plan to start the construction for the toolshed and greenhouse very soon.
Devotees hold daily Srimad-Bhagavatam class in the morning at the cabin. Seen in the picture are Daiva prabhu giving class, and Bala Krishna prabhu’s guests visiting from the USA,…
Report on June 24, 2017
This week we setup a new home for our new Eco Village participants from Indonesia. Bala Krishna prabhu laboriously moved the trailer using his tractor, a process that took half the day.
Our two devotees from Indonesia, Kisora Krsna prabhu and Danavir prabhu, arrived in Vancouver on Thursday June 22nd and after spending that day at the ISKCON Burnaby temple took a bus to Cache Creek where Ramanath prabhu picked them up. They were shown to their new residence, a trailer conveniently placed near the log cabin. The very next day they were helping with some of the renovations taking place in the log cabin. The renovations included taking out the old bathtub (must have weighed 200 pounds or more) and shifting the wooden stove from its the south-west of the cabin to the south-east of the cabin. By the end of the day the yajna was completed and the devotees could finally rearrange the interior…
Measuring the Land
This past week has been a week of "measurements". We started by selecting the site for the greenhouse soon to be coming up. The greenhouse will be located to the east of the existing library building and will measure 20 by 40 feet using metal posts as the arches. It will be a similar model to the one constructed in Ramanath's garden. We will start planting when the soil is transferred and laid out. The greenhouse will provide food for the Eco Village from March until November. In addition to the greenhouse, we also measured out the future toolshed that will be located to the immediate west of the same library building.
The third project to be taken up in the days to come is in connection with the unfinished loft at the log cabin. Both Bala and Ramanath are seen measuring the length needed to add a 1/4-inch log to give support to the loft. We plan to relocate the wooden stove to the…
Irrigation Systems for Farming and Cows
Now that the water line and hydrants are in place, we can easily irrigate our fruit orchard. A drip system is in place using a barrel. The barrel is filled with water and it drains slowly to the drip line below. We have also planted some poplar trees as a wind block. As well, the first of the strawberries have been planted. The next stage of farm infrastructure building is to prepare the soil for the future greenhouse.
We now have a total of nine hydrants for our Vedic Eco Village project and we are beginning to see how useful it is to have them strategically placed at different locations. We have three hydrants east of the Minnabariet road that divides the Gurukula Colony and the cabin area. Two of those hydrants are close to the main cabin. One has been placed adjacent to the newly cleared area that will be home for a trailer we plan to shift this week. This will serve students…
Waterline Completed and Operational
One of the most basic and vital utilities needed for an individual and community is water. To provide for the effective development of our Vedic Eco Village we had envisioned adding a new waterline that would have to cover 3500 feet. Just for the materials, a total of 1500 feet of two inch and 2000 feet of one inch pipes had to be ordered, along with seven hydrants and various brass fittings for the connections, an initial investment over $ 6,000. So not a simple undertaking.
The work involved digging up a six feet deep canal covering the total distance of 3500 feet where the connected water pipes would be placed and safely covered. The first 1500 feet would be the two-inch pipe and the balance of 2000 feet would be the one-inch pipe. Due to harsh winter seasons in Canada where the temperature drops 20 degree below zero or more, a pipeline needs to be well insulated from the frost,…