International Society for Krishna Consciousness: Farm

Hare Krishna Valley

Guna Mani Nitai dasi — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 08:33:06 GMT

The devoted staff down the Hare Krishna Valley, also known as New Nandagram, are gradually turning this big expanse of land into a little jewel.

Nestled in the pristine and green surroundings of Bambra, the farm features Sunday Feast programs, retreats, festivals, accommodation, Care-for-Cows and Eco-Living projects.
With these projects under development at New Nandagram farm we are a step closer to Srila Prabhupada's vision of "natural living, high thinking". Learn more about the Hare Krishna Valley by browsing its website. There is also the "Hare Krishna Valley" Group for the Facebook adepts.

Farm Retreat : 11 - 14 June

Guna Mani Nitai dasi — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 07:55:28 GMT

We just came back yesterday from a most enlivening retreat with Bhurijana Prabhu and Jagattarini Mataji.

Mataji's topic for her seminar was: 'Going beyond time', dealing with Srila Rupa Goswami's transcendental and deep litteratures on the spiritual work.
Bhurijana Prabhu chose a lecture: '5 minutes with Srila Prabhupada in Mayapur' for his classes in which Srila Prabhupada stresses the importance of bhakti in our offerings to Lord Krishna.
Jagattarini Mataji had us taste the nectar of kunja-vihari astakam every morning while Bhurijana Prabhu concluded each night with his captivating lila-kirtan sessions.
Here's the slideshow.

New Link to Hare Krishna Valley Webpage

Rasanandini — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:48:37 GMT

Our homepage now has a permanent link to Hare Krishna Valley's website.

You can find it at the left-hand side of this page under Navigation.

Blogging Hare Krishna Valley

Rasanandini — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 07:27:43 GMT

Keshava has begun blogging from Hare Krishna Valley:

We have planted pumpkin, zucchini, eggplant and tomatoes, which will all be ready for harvesting in the near future. Manigriva prabhu has been delivering our organic produce to the Melbourne temple on a weekly basis. We have all but completed the kitchen renovation, and it has turned out to look like a first class catering facility.

Its just a click away.

Devamrita Swami Farm Retreat 18-19 July

Guna Mani Nitai dasi — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 10:01:00 GMT

Saturday 18 July saw approximately 80 devotees making their way to the Hare Krishna Valley after breakfast, for yet another wonderful weekend. His Holiness Devamrita Swami launched the retreat with a documentary for the adults while the children carried on happily with their table-tennis game in the adjacent room.

Manoj Prabhu provides a detailed testimony of the shared experience of the audience on his blog. This was followed by lunch, then the last part of the documentary and finally a light dinner. Everyone got back again for a 'movie' session after which a dazzling campfire attracted the bravest souls in the cold outdoors. They called it a day after a soothing sit-down kirtan.

The Sunday program started at 8am with a lecture followed by breakfast and a most-engaging drama. During free time, some chose to tour the farm and visit the cows while others engaged in sports and games. Everyone gathered for lunch, after which Maharaja delivered the conclusion of the retreat. Finally, the devotees cruised back to Melbourne after roaring kirtan and a gulab-jamun treat.

Here's the slideshow.

Voice Connections Retreat 3rd - 5th July

Guna Mani Nitai dasi — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 02:37:15 GMT

Carmella Baynie and Jambavati dasi hosted the Voice Connections retreat on the first weekend of July at the Hare Krishna Valley.

Carmella is a gifted singer and inspirational award winning composer who has performed and studied sacred music throughout Australasia from an early age.

The retreat featured a 3-days workshop of contemporary sacred world music, where Indian traditions of sound came together with other cultural explorations of expressions. The aim of the retreat was to facilitate sound as a healing force, as a vehicle for transformation and vibrational healing, for creating harmony with the whole of nature and ultimately for union with the Divine.

The 19 guests who attended the workshop expressed how Carmella had successfully lead them to use their voices to release emotional blockages, open their hearts and enjoy peace.

Here's the slideshow.

Sadhana Retreat 2009 - Bhurijana Prabhu

Jayendra — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 07:03:22 GMT

Kirtan.

Sadhana Retreat 2009 - Jagattarini Mataji

Jayendra — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 06:53:23 GMT

Jaya Radha Madhava.

Sadhana Retreat 2009 - Bhurijana Prabhu

Jayendra — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 06:39:51 GMT

Day 4-The Great Hero Dhruva Maharaja 3.

Sadhana Retreat 2009 - Jagattarini Mataji

Jayendra — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 06:38:37 GMT

Day 4-The Life of Srila Madhavendra Puri 5.

Sadhana Retreat 2009 - Bhurijana Prabhu

Jayendra — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 06:36:29 GMT

Day 3-Lila Kirtan 2.

Sadhana Retreat 2009 - Jagattarini Mataji

Jayendra — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 06:34:55 GMT

Day 3-The Life of Srila Madhavendra Puri 4.

Sadhana Retreat 2009 - Bhurijana Prabhu

Jayendra — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 06:33:38 GMT

Day 3-The Great Hero Dhruva Maharaja 2.

Sadhana Retreat 2009 - Jagattarini Mataji

Jayendra — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 06:32:07 GMT

Day 3-The Life of Srila Madhavendra Puri 3.

Sadhana Retreat 2009 - Bhurijana Prabhu

Jayendra — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 06:30:13 GMT

Day 2-Lila Kirtan 1.

Sadhana Retreat 2009 - Jagattarini Mataji

Jayendra — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 06:28:43 GMT

Day 2-The Life of Srila Madhavendra Puri 2.

Sadhana Retreat 2009 - Bhurijana Prabhu

Jayendra — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 06:27:00 GMT

Day 2-The Great Hero Dhruva Maharaja 1.

Sadhana Retreat 2009 - Jagattarini Mataji

Jayendra — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 06:25:02 GMT

Day 2-The Life of Srila Madhavendra Puri 1.

Sadhana Retreat 2009 - Bhurijana Prabhu

Jayendra — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 06:22:47 GMT

Day 1-Introduction and Presentation.

9 Days, 8 Nights: Weekend away with HG Bhurijana Prabhu (Part 2)

Rasanandini — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 05:19:32 GMT

More on the Queen's Birthday sadhana retreat from Manoj Prabhu:

"Before the first class on Saturday, one needs to wake up. And this was tough...By the time I could get some sleep, it was 11:20pm ! And at sharp 3am, I got up. Oh Krishna…it was tough...By 4am, I was out of the cottage into the dark forest of New Nandagram. Walking up the gravel road, lit only by a faint moonlight, I made my way to the temple room. Few other devotees from my cottage and others were also making their way. Looked like no one wanted to miss the morning prayers before the much anticipated class began."

9 Days 8 Nights: Weekend away with HG Bhurijana Prabhu (Part 1)

Rasanandini — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 05:08:14 GMT

Manoj Prabhu reports on last weekend's sadhana retreat:

"...It was fantastic ! While many of my friends and work mates decided to stay at home to enjoy the long weekend break (Monday was a public holiday here) and also to avoid the harsh weather reported (rain, heavy cold winds) , I decided to venture out. I would be spending 3 days with 120 odd Melbourne devotees, His Grace Bhurijana prabhu and HG Jagattarini mataji at the New Nandagram farm of ISKCON Melbourne temple."

Winter Fuel Cut at the Valley

Rasanandini — Tue, 19 May 2009 03:53:06 GMT

Recently two crews of devotees spent a day each at Hare Krishna Valley cutting wood for winter fuel. I caught up with the Sunday crew.

Manigriva (wearing ear protection) felled a large Stringy Bark. When it is all cut up, the tree will provide a year’s fuel for the farm. The space the tree leaves will encourage others that were in its shade to grow. Adrian (black shirt), Ratnam (white shirt), and Visesh (red shirt) split large logs with a mechanical splitter. After the devotees filled the tractor trailer with the split wood Kesava (blue shirt) delivered the logs to the ashrams, where Visesh and Rhythm (striped shirt) stacked them to dry.

Apples for the Cows

Rasanandini — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 02:20:21 GMT

Anyone who takes shelter of Hare Krishna Valley for a retreat carries its peace and contentment home in their heart. Thanks to the efforts of a succession of caring devotees, Sri-Sri Gaura-Nitai’s farm remains a true shelter from the austerities of devotional life in the city. This year marks the Valleys’ twenty-second year of service to ISKCON.

By the force of time, however, Krishna has reduced Hare Krishna Valley’s herd of cows and bullocks to seven. They are all in their old age: the youngest cow is eighteen. Madhu the bullock (top left) has a chronic infection in his foot, and his other family members are also suffering various geriatric problems.

So a couple of weeks ago Veda Priya set aside some apples to give the herd a treat. Although some were too ill to relish the sweet fruit, Cintamani (second at left) and one of the red bullocks (third at left) followed eagerly on our heels as we offered apples to everyone. They relished some extra fruits (below at right).

A treat is just what it should be, though: cows can develop bloat from eating apples. If you would also like to visit the cows, just contact Veda or Kesava on 0405-577-453.

New Earthen Floors for the Solar-powered Ashram

Rasanandini — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 01:35:07 GMT

Here's the latest from Hare Krishna Valley. Veda, Keshava and Christian have just restored the original cow dung floors in the former brahmacari ashram. The solar-powered, mud brick building will be used as the project manager's residence.

The building's original flooring was made with a layer of cow dung, laid over an earthen base. The devotees have taken up the worn cow dung. It was cracking as moisture penetrated the areas of floor without damp proofing. In its place they have laid a mixture of earth (with a high-clay content), sand and cow dung. After the coating dries, it will be sealed with linseed oil and natural turpentine.

If you are interested in natural building, a visit to Hare Krishna Valley this autumn could be enlightening.

"7013-Varnish-with-linseed-&-turps-l"

New Hare Krishna Valley Website

Rasanandini — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 01:35:55 GMT

Thanks to Chetan Prabhu, our farm community in the Otway Ranges has an exciting new website. You can browse retreat programs and accommodation, read up on eco-living and the farm's history, or write to the project manager Kesava Das.

'Our motto at Hare Krishna Valley is "natural living, high thinking". Natural living means that we live a comfortable, uncomplicated life in harmony with nature. By reducing our "wants" to "needs", we manage to live in a peaceful state of mind. Peace of mind is a prerequisite to true happiness.'

Farm Retreat Report from Manoj « 9 Days, 8 Nights

Aniruddha — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 08:01:29 GMT

A report from Manoj Prabhu on this last weekend's retreat with Devamrta Swami held at Hare Krishna Valley...

If all had gone according to plan, I would have started my ultimate Tasmanian backpacking adventure with an ocean kayaking exercise this weekend. But I decided few weeks ago that I was going to sacrifice this pleasure and spend time instead with the devotees at the Melbourne Hare Krishna Temple who would more or les provide me with the same, perhaps more adventure and memories. I couldn't have been more right as this weekend, I went on a farm retreat with His Holiness Devamrita Swami and his wonderful disciples.

Food costs are up, and there's more pain in store - theage.com.au

Aniruddha — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 05:06:45 GMT

Here's a challenge to our prasadam distribution...

THE cost of a range of basic grocery items has risen well above inflation over the past five years and industry experts warn that prices are set to increase further in 2008.

The prolonged drought, soaring farm business costs, high grain prices and booming overseas demand for some Australian produce is putting pressure on food prices.

...and an opportunity for the farmers amongst us.

Hay Baling

Aniruddha — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 05:14:41 GMT

We had a bigger than usual hay crop last year and so the task of collecting all the bales and storing them in the hay shed is a big one.

Hay bale collection

Fortunately the weather was quite cool yesterday so Manigriva and the boys made use of it. Manigriva sent me this picture from his phone. Thanks to Kesava, Dandakaranya, Glenn, Dave and Peter for their assistance. We are also in need of a new slasher to cut the grass which is quite long due to the early summer rains and warm weather. Manigriva is going shopping for one this week.

Kesava and Veda-priya are now settling at the farm full time in preparation for a full year of retreats. Well perhaps not a full year but our target is fourteen which means on average two a month and in some more than that. Prahladananda Swami will kick off the year in the third weekend of Januarywith his workshop "From Sraddha to Prema". Its open to all but you will have to get in fast.

Devamrta Swami will be holding a student retreat in the last weekend of the month.

Prahladananda Swami Retreat January 08

Aniruddha — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 23:41:24 GMT

Prahladananda Swami is arriving in Melbourne on the 18th of January and will be holding a retreat at New Nandagram over that weekend.

Prahladananda Swami January 08

The retreat begins Friday January 18th at 6pm, andfinishes on Sunday January 20th at 3pm.

The cost is

$85 concession
$155 single
$205 couple
$25 per child

Please contact Keshava dasa on 0405 577 453 or 5288 7383 to book your place.

Garden of seven gates at New Vrindaban - Dandavats

Aniruddha — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 03:14:21 GMT

Putting our philosophy into practice, the great challenge for ISKCON...

Even though technically within the Iskcon movement we don't have such a great working model as yet, we do have the philosophical foundation to explain why and how spirituality is connected to sustainability and that there is no such thing as sustainability without spirituality. It is nothing but understanding the movement of the modes of nature, the permutation of goodness, passion and ignorance moving around. But the actual sustainability is that you are doing it for the pleasure and service of God. Therefore by Gods grace and his expansions or assistants, that arrangement makes everything co-operate with your effort to make nice devotional offerings. That's actual sustainability.

Here's Pabhupada's angle on it.

Human beings can inhabit any place on the surface of the earth by clearing jungles and converting land for agricultural purposes. People can keep cows, and all economic problems can be solved in that way. One need only work to produce grains and take care of the cows. The wood found in the jungles may be used for constructing cottages. In this way the economic problem of humanity can be solved. SB 4.30.44

Dairy Life: A Vegan View, and My Response - Kurma

Aniruddha — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 18:11:08 GMT

Kurma responds comprehensively to a vegan challenge. This is a challenge for all ISKCON. Something we need to do a lot more work on...

We serve the cows, look after them, and treat them with love and affection until the day they die of natural causes, like we would our mother.

In return they happily give bountifully their excess milk for use by us. With these dairy products we prepare offerings of sacred food for God, and those who prepare these dishes, those who partake of these foods, as well as the cows themselves, are all spiritually elevated.

These ideas are far, far beyond the ken of the materialistc vision, what to speak of mundane dairy industrialists.

Cows are unique amongst all animal species and there is a very sacred and deep bond that spiritual adherents based on traditional Vedic lifestyle can appreciate.

Farm Plots Ready for Sale

Aniruddha — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 03:28:42 GMT

After quite a few years of preparation we are now able to release two plots of land for sale at New Nandagram. These are freehold plots each with their own titles .66 of a hectare in size, 60 metres wide by 110 metres long. They are situated on Seaches Outlet Track, the road you enter our property from off the main road between Winchelsea and Deans Marsh.

Each has electricity installed and an entrance which has just been completed; see the pictures below. These were taken with Manigriva's mobile so they aren't the highest quality. The next job is to fence the area off but for all intents and purposes we are now ready for sale.

If you know someone who might be interested suggest they contact me for details.

Completed entrance to farm block

Metal for the drive surface

Drainage in place

Moving top soil

Yamuna the cow - Dandavats.com

Aniruddha — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 16:09:56 GMT

For some reason or other, I don't know why, I love cow stories. This particular piece is in a format I can't regularly cut and paste from. The text is actually a graphic. Anyway, to cut to the chase, it's about a cow, Yamuna, that lived at New Vrajamandala in Spain who used to give an average of eight litres of milk a day for 14 years. She only had two calves in all that time. Approximately 40,000 litres of milk in her lifetime. That's incredible...

Nandagram Tree Pruning

Aniruddha — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 06:35:14 GMT

You may recall these trees when we planted them a few years ago. We pruned them about three years ago and now at just five years old they need another trim. As you can see they have really taken off thanks to the rain we got just after they were planted. It's taking a lot longer to do the job this time. They were not more than a metre high when we first got stuck into them but now each tree requires at least five minutes work. We've got at least five thousand trees so that's a bit of work ahead of us. If anyone is interested we are planning a working bee at the monthly Sunday Feast in December. You can contact Gangesvara Prabhu for details.

Gangesvara

Aniruddha

Completed Lot

Canning - A Way to Preserve Your Food - Life With the Cows and Land

Aniruddha — Fri, 22 Sep 2006 20:27:08 GMT

We used to call this "preserving" and I remember my mother keeping fruit like this in our pantry. That's when we used to live in the country and were a long way from the supermarket. In fact the house we lived in at the time didn't have electricity...

Before freezers were around canning was the most popular method of preserving. In many cold climate households, especially in rural areas, canning is still the primary method of storing garden produce. An obvious advantage of canning is that there is practically no storage problem. You may can until your basement bulges whereas your freezer space is definitely limited. And you need only invest in a pressure canner and canning jars, both of which can be used over and over again, through many harvests.

A Deeper Shade of Green - Bill McKibben - Clean Energy Partnership

Aniruddha — Sat, 26 Aug 2006 07:33:06 GMT

Caru Prabhu had this article up on the Utah Krishna's web-site. It's a thought provoking read about the necessity of dealing with the rapidly increasing affects of climate change.

More stuff is not making us happier--but we can't break out of the cycle that offers more stuff as our only real goal.

What we really seem to want, according to the economists and psychologists conducting such research, is more community. Standard economic theory has long assured us that we're insatiable bundles of desires. That may be true, but more and more it feels like our greatest wish is for more contact with other people. We've built the most hyper-individualized society the world has ever seen: According to some surveys, most Americans don't know their next-door neighbors, which is a truly novel idea for primates. That's contributed to the great success of our economy--each of us rises and falls based on our own efforts, which is a great motivator. But it's also contributed to that gathering sense of dissatisfaction, and to that cloud of carbon dioxide.

The article makes one amongst many interesting conclusions in that faith communities can help since they tend to see things differently.

"This is God's world," (they said), which is a shocking idea for a culture that's come to think of everything as ours.

Retreat Preparations

Aniruddha — Tue, 18 Apr 2006 07:19:17 GMT

Manigriva sent a few shots of progress at the farm last week. There are quite a variety. The new roof on the old farm house is impressive. Jason and Manigriva have really cleaned up around the brahmacari asrama. You can see the before and after shots. It looks like there will be plenty of fire-wood. Jason has also welded a new wet-back onto the pot belly stove so the brahmacari hot water supply should be steaming and plentiful.

Brahmacari asrama pre-cleanup

Brahmacari asrama post cleanup

Cleanup front veranda

Cutting fire wood

Farmhouse roof repaired

Jason cutting fire wood

Moving the lumber

Pot belly stove restored for action

The old bus ready for the weckers

Confirmation of Dates for April Retreat

Aniruddha — Thu, 23 Mar 2006 03:24:55 GMT

For all those booked for the Retreat please take note of the following details.

The retreat starts at 6pm on Friday 21st April and continues until 2pm Monday 24th April. The next day, Tuesday is a public holiday in commemoration of Anzac Day.

Bhurijana prabhu's seminar ~ Knowledge, Surrender, and Devotion:
A Study of Three Powerful Sections of the Bhagavad-gita
Jagattarini matji ~ "Saintly sons- Dhruva and Prahlada"

The retreat starts at 6pm with prasadam and the first program is at 7.00pm. On your arrival at New Nandagram please see Kesava for your room and service allocations.

Paddock clearing New Nandagram

Aniruddha — Thu, 03 Nov 2005 07:31:12 GMT

Manigriva sent me some shots from his Sunday working bee at the farm. He’s working on the front paddock which is on the right hand side of the track as you enter the farm. We’re removing bracken so we can plant grass seed for a hay crop to be harvested next year.

Hari Bol prabhu, we had a good day at the farm today we just worked on the front paddock, dunda was really good value on the tractor and rama was a strong arm on the end of some pretty big logs, i dont think he,ll have any trouble sleeping tonight. Weve got about 40% left to clear im hoping to get that done this week.

Cow Corral

Aniruddha — Fri, 08 Jul 2005 10:08:35 GMT

Manigriva and Jnana have been putting up a pen for the cows at Nandagram. The weather was pretty good by the looks of it. We've got a few cows who need a bit of maintenance on their feet so this little pen will help us manage that process nicely. The plan is to build a decent sized cowshed nearby where we can shelter and feed sick and ailing cows. Our herd is very old so we are going to have to do a fair bit of that in the next few years.

Make Hay while the Sun is Shining

Aniruddha — Sat, 25 Dec 2004 09:59:00 GMT

We're planning a working bee at the farm on Monday. We've got over 300 hay bales to stack away. We're leaving around 8.00 am from the temple.

Jayapataka Swami's flight leaves at 7.00 am so we'll head off after we've seen him off at the airport.

Zucchini Planting

Aniruddha — Fri, 19 Nov 2004 00:25:12 GMT

I didn't get time to post these shots before I left. They'll give you some idea of the size of this year's zucchini patch. The seedlings were started from organic seeds and cultivated in our green house. They are all on an irrigation system, although Jnana told me that one of the tanks has been half emptied because someone left a tap on. We will have to pump water from the dam into the irrigation tank. With a bit of luck we'll continue to get more rain which will help keep everything topped up.

There are 200 zucchini plants and 400 sweet corn. We are going to have zucchinis and sweet corn coming out of ears by the end of summer.

Jnana is now working on fixing up the Goshalla area. We need to install a cow shed, crush and pens for keeping the cows while we work on them. They need their hooves trimmed, drenching for worms and other maintenance from time to time. The old dairy isn't up to the task so we are planning a bigger facility for the future care of Krsna's cows.

Finished Hoeing the Market Garden Area

Aniruddha — Thu, 11 Nov 2004 02:53:55 GMT

Manigriva has finished hoeing the market garden field. All the oats has now been folded back into the soil. I guess it lies like that till next year when we do the same again. You can see the patch on the right of the shed. If you look closely you can see the tractor in there. It's pretty small which gives you an idea of how big the paddock really is. Once we get that all planted we're going to be busy.

Jnana told me they also planted 200 sweet corn and 200 zucchinis in the smaller market garden area. You can see its southwestern tip just below the big white shed.

They also have plans to start work on our new cow pen and shed.

Farm Progress

Aniruddha — Sat, 06 Nov 2004 00:53:15 GMT

Manigriva sent me a few pictures of work done at the farm this week. Although it doesn't look like much the parking space in the shed has been greatly improved so our equipment can be parked inside. They cleaned up a fair bit of mess by the looks of it. Now our tools won't be exposed to the elements and thieves are less likely to want to drive off with them. It's a reality we have to deal with. Tools were stolen earlier this year.

If the picture above looks a bit blurry don't worry, it's not your eyes. I wish he would hold his camera still. I couldn't post the last lot of shots because they were too blurry and the one above almost didn't make it either.

Manigriva has also rotary hoed half of the oats (above) that were planted as a manure crop for what will eventually become our market garden area. He also has completed our smaller plot where we had a reasonable crop of zucchinis last year.

This was a nice crisp shot. The oats in the foreground will be ploughed back into the soil to increase the organic matter.

Fertiliser Time

Aniruddha — Wed, 01 Sep 2004 02:43:27 GMT

Manigriva is getting ready to spray organic seaweed fertiliser on our oats crop. It looks like he's all set up and ready to go.

We also want to get some other pasture ready for the cows who will eat grass all day long if you let them.

Jnana has been given some more cricket bat willow setts which he was planting out yesterday. With spring on the way we need to get them in to take advantage of the good weather in the offing. Mind you the farm is still pretty much in winter mode for a while to come.