VEDIC VILLAGE REVIEW # 31

Adventures in New Jaipur, Prabhupadanuga Farm in Fiji

NEWS FROM NEW JAIPUR

The problem of the mynah birds has a new development. On the web there are
instructions how some Australians have succeeded in catching these birds in
a double cage with narrowing tunnels. We made one and have caught two of
them so far (out of about 25 that have invaded our farm from down the
coast). It requires patience and some rice prasadam as bait, being careful
to stay away from the cage during daylight hours when the wary birds will
see you. Mynahs are very intelligent and clever birds. The birds were
released 40 kilometers away to find new people to harass!

But our mynahs at least sing and chirp, and are little compared to farm
pests in other parts of the world. In Fiji, the only mammals are horse,
cow, sheep, goat, pig, dog, cat, fruit bat, and mongoose. Feral pigs and
mongoose are a headache in Fiji. We received a note from Damaghosh Prabhu
from outside Seattle, our longtime small farm inspirator regarding a
problem he has to deal with:

*Speaking of pests- I have my share of them here in the form of growing elk
herds… two nights ago a herd (probably 20) of these huge animals tromped
through our gardens and ate whatever they liked including leaves off my
broccoli plants, kale, and the branches and bark off apple trees. They even
broke some large branches off. So last night my wife spotted the herd down
the road coming our way. I went out there, as the sun was setting with
heavy fog. In the dark I couldn’t see the elk but knew they were there. I
took firecrackers and a nautical sounding horn. I really wanted to set a
few arrows in their rears to warn them, but unfortunately couldn’t get
close enough to see them. I set off a large pack of firecrackers which
scared them off- at least for last night. It’s an ongoing battle with elk
that really belong in the mountains where there is ample food. In one night
they can ruin an entire season of food for anyone.*

The six cottages under construction now have completed concrete slabs with
septic systems. The 6000 concrete blocks are delivered and on site, ready
for the block-layers to put up the walls and give some 3-dimensional shape
to these ocean-view, hillside future devotee residences. Soon Euston and
Isaac will start milling vesi and raintree timber for their roof
structures, doors, and windows.

Visitors lately include two Indian children who resided next door when we
lived in town last year. Shani and Shaneet, being on school break, came for
a week to the farm and attended all programs, receiving a presentation of a
pocket-sized Gita for successful completion of New Jaipur’s first Hare
Krishna summer camp! They swam in the river and watched lots of devotional
movies. They chanted their allotted rounds and had prasadam any time they
wanted! Also John and Barbara came for a few days from town, where they
have been retired from the US for almost two decades. John has very kindly
offered to help us set up a basic website so interested persons can better
be informed about Prabhupada’s farm project in Fiji. Jim Marco also brought
his yacht from Savusavu to the sheltered harbor out front of the farm
property, and stayed a few days as well. He enjoyed the prasadam and helped
improve our solar battery situation. Jim used to attend our Sunday feasts
while we operated our center in town 2010-2012.

The 22 cyclone shutters for the Krishna Lodge are completed and ready in
storage for when they might be needed. Cyclones in Fiji are not as serious
a threat as in the Caribbean or the Philippines, where they are more
frequent and destructive. Lives are rarely lost in Fiji due to cyclones. In
our 4 years in Fiji, we have seen 3 cyclones, but we did not get any
significant damage because their centers did not pass close enough to us.
Many Fijian homes are simple wood and corrugated iron structures not able
to withstand strong winds, but we are using roof screws, concrete, and
cyclone proofing techniques in our construction. Still, in preparation for
the inevitable big storm that hits anywhere in Fiji about once every 10-15
years, we built the Krishna Lodge at the farm very soundly and the shutters
are meant to protect the windows from flying debris.

This year’s cyclone season has started, as it runs from November to May.
Many of the local overseas yachts (yachties) have departed, while others
will sit tight in safe harbors through the season. A cyclone often causes
flooding- however, New Jaipur’s buildings are built on high ground. But the
winds can flatten bananas, papayas, crops, fruit trees, and cause erosion
where there is barren soil from road or housing works. It is simply a fact
of life in the tropics that cyclones must be accounted and prepared for
ahead of time. In summary, cyclones are not too bad in Fiji. A serious
earthquake is rare in Fiji, and we have experienced only a few minor
tremors thus far. Tsunamis are generally stopped cold by the myriad of
fringing reefs that encircle the 330 islands in Fiji. In 1953 a
reef-cushioned tsunami resulted in fish being washed up on the downtown
streets of the capital Suva, as everyone ran about collecting them.

SELF SUFFICIENCY

MONEY-

We received a good bit of feedback on the issue of how money fits in with
Prabhupada’s instructions on self-sufficiency. First, everything including
money should be used for Krishna. We must reduce our need for outside
supplies that cannot be produced on the farm, and thus reduce our need for
money to buy them. Of course, if we have extra farm production, we can
trade for that which we do not produce ourselves. In a simple lifestyle,
when we have a cottage, our food, some clothing, some common sense
knowledge of local herbal medicines, then we will not need much money. In
modern life we need money for rent, utilities, education, transport,
medical expenses, appliances, entertainment, insurance, lawyers, taxes,
loan interest, fees, etc. Life in any simple-living, Prabhupada-based farm
project eliminates over 90% of the need for money. New Jaipur is providing
qualified devotees with a cottage, and anyone can learn to grow their own
food in this fertile tropical location. We will not need much money on the
farm because our basic necessities are easily arranged.

The conclusion is that we do not intend to ban money or live without it,
but minimize the need for it by leading our simple lives on the farm.
Although many talk about simple living, we must recognize that it takes
time to make the serious mindset adjustments in the shift from a severely
conditioned state of having spent all or much of our lives in the modern,
artificial civilization. Fiji is an ideal place to make this transition
because many local people are already leading very simple lives, with no or
minimal electricity, without appliances, no car, without even a bank
account. One will be pleasantly surprised at how much relief is gained each
time we shed one of the items of conditioned, modern life. For example, the
silence and quiet on the farm is too intense for some people at first,
silly as it sounds, as they soon get the itch for the confusion and noises
of the city. Later the peace of a natural setting is greatly helpful in
one’s spiritual progress.

HEALTH-

The healthy lifestyle in the Fiji countryside with fresh air, pure spring
water, fresh food grown on uncontaminated virgin rainforest soil, and sweat
from working in the tropical sunshine, will result in much less medical
problems. Genetically modified food and environmental pollution, major
causes of health problems today, are easily avoided by living in
well-arranged farm projects. We must be careful to develop a healthy
lifestyle and diet. For example, we use only ghee or coconut oil for frying
food, as all soybean, canola, or sunflower oil is most probably GM.

Rates of disease will fall drastically by these simple, pure living
standards. Any remaining incidence of serious disease can either be taken
as one’s time to depart, or one can still avail of many different systems
of medical attention, such as allopathic, homeopathic, or ayurvedic. There
is also, we should note, by arrangement of providence, very many local
herbs and plants that are ameliorative or curative for many common
ailments. For example, last week I learned how to instantly stop the pain
from wasp stings using a very common weed. Someone in our future community
evolution must become well-versed in natural and herbal medicine. For those
who have understood the facts, the modern medical system is most corrupt
and primitive, and should be largely rejected on that basis alone.

TRANSPORT-

When we produce almost all what we need on the farm (a farm in the
rainforest on the coast of a South Pacific dormant-volcanic island), and we
are loving our service to the deities and the association of other devotee
neighbors- then our need for transportation becomes very little. Sometimes
we may go to town for preaching or odd supplies. Sometimes we may go on
pilgrimage to India. Otherwise, we could do without any petrol-fueled
vehicle. Perhaps we can catch a ride with the local bus or another vehicle,
like the Fijian locals in nearby villages. Last time I went to town, the
Toyota pickup took FJ$147 in fuel, and after selling my firewood, water
cress, and fruits I came up with less than that. This is unsustainable.

When Srila Prabhupada visited New Talavan farm in Mississippi in 1975, he
twice emphasized to me that the bulls must be used for “transport.” Ox
driven carts and wagons seem to us fast-paced modern men as too slow, but
they certainly are easy to maintain (no parts required from Japan!). Slow
is relative to our lifestyle. It was only 55 years ago that our neighbors
would take their children to Levuka 120 km away for the school term *in a
sailboat*. Maybe we can build a sail-craft and go to town (only 26 km) like
that! Fijian natives formerly used platformed, double hulled sailboats that
cut through the waters quite fast. The conclusion is that we have to learn
a new way of life. Simplify, simplify, simplify….

Yours in Prabhupada’s service,

*Nityananda das                      *

New Jayapur, Vanua Levu, Fiji Islands

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Hare Krishna! All Glories to Srila Prabhupada!