Project Overview
“This I want to introduce, let them be satisfied whatever they can produce themselves locally. What is that, little cloth, little food? Any man can produce these things. There is no difficulty at all. They must agree to this simple life. Otherwise, everywhere you can produce your own food and cloth and cottage. If possible you can construct big buildings. There is no need.
And they should be satisfied, happy with Krishna. Then life is successful.
This I want to introduce now, anywhere.
And it is practical. It is not something bogus. It is… We have already experimented. By God’s grace we can produce everything from the lands, sarva-kama-dugha mahi, sarva-kama-dugha mahi? You can get everything. If they are satisfied with this simple life, then they save time for Krishna consciousness and happy life.” – Srila Prabhupada, 1977
This project will be a community of devotees who endeavor to fulfill Srila Prabhupada’s instructions regarding varnashrama. Devotees will endeavor to live locally and in harmony with Mother Earth. This “local living” lifestyle will serve as a good, timely example of sustainable living that is widely being discussed at the present time. The project can also serve as a sanctuary where devotees can come as economic conditions in the USA make living locally imperative.
Purpose: The primary purpose of the project is to fulfill Srila Prabhupada’s instructions regarding living locally, with the intention for an actual varnashrama society to gradually evolve. The project can also serve as a preaching tool where guests can come and experience simple living, high thinking. Additionally, considering the current situation in the United States and Srila Prabhupada’s predictions for the future, is a good idea for the devotees to have a facility (or facilities) where it is possible to grow significant amounts of food without having to rely on fossil fuels. This project can also serve as a sanctuary where devotees can come to take shelter as such circumstances arise.
Location: It is common sense for the devotees to have “local living” projects scattered throughout North America (Srila Prabhupada said, “ This I want to introduce anywhere…. ). This overview will concentrate on a location within the Pacific Northwest. The Western part of Pacific Northwest, has some distinct features that make it suitable for living locally. A hundred and fifty years ago this area was the end of the Oregon Trail–the destination for settlers who understood the challenges of living off the land. Most areas West of the Cascade Mountains have rich, volcanic soil, ample rainfall and a mild climate. Additionally, it has other resources such as timber that can be used for building materials and for fuel.
Krishna’s assistance: Many devotees have expressed their feeling that the economic situation in the US has already deteriorated to the point that it is too late to begin a “local living” project and it would be better for interested devotees to participate in projects that are already started such as Saranagati in British Columbia or Sandy Ridge in North Carolina. Here is my response: Bhakta Billy (my husband) and I are currently unable to consider joining any of the existing projects for various reasons. However we have had a series of mystical experiences that indicate that Krishna would like us to develop a project in the Pacific Northwest. You can read about some of these experiences in the “Forum” section of this website. We will make every effort to be unattached to our personal preferences and to try to understand Krishna’s directions and desires regarding establishing this project. So far, we feel that He has shown us a sanctuary in the form of a valley that could support many thousands of families, but that is currently uninhabited. Amazingly, although this valley is almost entirely owned by National Forest and big timber companies, a 70 acre parcel is available for us to purchase (the owner isn’t really interested in putting the parcel on the market, but will sell it to us for our purpose.) However, unless Krishna indicates otherwise, it seems to make sense to purchase a parcel of established farmland in the next valley to the north (that is already inhabited), and develop a “living locally” project that can be used as a preaching/teaching tool as well as place to learn “living local” skills. This initial farm should be situated within walking distance (5 miles) from the sanctuary valley.
What the future holds: The infrastructure in the United States is highly centralized and dependent on fossil fuels. Any occurrence that stresses the infrastructure can result in a total or partial economic collapse that could result in varying degrees of hardship for individuals. I recently read a credible account that explained that approximately seven million US citizens died of starvation during the Great Depression. The Great Depression occurred at a time when people knew how to produce food using simple animal drawn implements. A similar economic scenario at the present time will result in much greater hardships and chaos due to the mentality of the modern US citizen. Devotees, have been given instructions about the value of living locally and we now have a great opportunity to perform a huge service by developing a project that can produce food in spite of what is happening economically. We will also teach people how to live locally and distribute prasadam as much as possible.
Potential Properties: We have identified two suitable properties that are within walking distance to the valley sanctuary. The first is 45 acres of pasture and some trees that has a barn and a small house. The acreage is in three parcels, so there could presumably be two more dwellings built on the property. This property is priced at $299,000 The second property is about 250 acres on the Cowlitz river. It is a former dairy farm and includes a huge barn and two original farmhouses. There are many other outbuildings. It is in several parcels and priced at $910,000. For more information, please call me at: (253) 875-1842
Our Skills: Billy and I have been endeavoring to live locally as much as possible on our 3 acre farm here in Washington State. We already grow much of our food and Krishna gave us a little cow this winter (I care for a cow belonging to a Pioneer Museum during the winter when they’re closed, and they gave me the cow’s calf). I teach cheese making and have had experience training a team of oxen. Billy often astounds people with his range of skills including:
Building: Billy has been a builder his whole life and has studied building using local materials. His current interest is cordwood construction and designing passive solar homes that can be comfortable year round using a minimum amount of fuel. He integrates the golden mean into his designs to produce structures that are both beautiful and functional.
Alternative energy: Billy has had experience living off the grid and understands solar, wind and other natural power sources. He has a great design for a methane digester and is currently working on a solar Stirling engine. He has also almost finished me a solar dehydrator (to dry apples, tomatoes etc.) that is both beautiful and functional.
Growing food: We have been learning to grow food and were able to extend our growing season this year by erecting a 12′ x 30′ hoop house. We have discovered that with very little effort, it is possible to grow potatoes, pumpkin and greens such as spinach, chard and lambsquarter. We believe that we can currently grow enough food for our family to survive on our 3 acre farm.
Boat building: we have a beautiful cedar canoe that draws oohs and ahs whenever we take it out. It skims through the water and because of the grace of its design, actually adds to the scenery when we are out paddling.
Billy has the attitude and experience that “if we need it, we can make it.”
I have also been endeavoring to learn self reliant skills. Here are some of my interests:
Herbal medicine: this area has a wealth of plants that can treat a variety of ailment. For instance the usnea lichen, made into an infusion is an effective antibiotic, anti-fungal and anti-viral medicine. A tea made from the bark of the willow growing in the stream can treat headaches and muscle soreness.
Composting: although composting happens, there are techniques to accelerate the process. Good composting practices are essential to growing food in harmony with Nature.
Animal training: motivating animals to assist us is a useful skill when endeavoring to live locally. My dogs always come when they are called (even if in the middle of chasing a coyote) and will heel off leash. I’ve taught my horse to fetch, play soccer and do other tricks. I’ve also trained a team of oxen to pull a cart. In a self-reliant situation, these training techniques could be used, for instance to motivate a dog to be a better watchdog and a horse can be trained to only let the humans he knows approach him.
Making fabric: On a practical level, I’ve tried growing flax this year and will make some of the fiber into thread, hopefully. From my studies, making fabric involves spinning fiber into thread and then weaving it. It is a simple concept, but so far, my knowledge is theoretical. However this subject is interesting to me and I hope to eventually to learn how to make fabric locally. In the Pacific Northwest plant fiber can be obtained from flax or perhaps nettles. Sheep, angora goats and alpacas are fiber animals that thrive in our climate.
Home Dairying: For the last two years I’ve cared for a dairy cow during the winter and have learned how to make all kinds of dairy products including cheese, yogurt, butter etc. My video on youtube about making mozzarella cheese has been seen over 45,000 times!
Beekeeping: In conjunction with another member of our Self Reliant Community Group we have recently acquired bees and will be learning the art of beekeeping. Our hives are top bar hives and are quite different from the typical commercial hives. Top bar hives, although they don’t encourage the bees to produce as much honey as the typical commercial hives, help the bees to maintain good health. There are no instances of colony collapse and very little mite problems when bees are housed in top bar hives.
Billy and I have been putting effort into obtaining tools that will assist living locally such as a hand powered grain mill, a hand water pump, a solar dehydrator to preserve vegetables and fruit, hand woodworking tools and hand metal working tools. We are active members of a local “Self Reliant Community” group that explores all aspects of living locally.
What you can do: A couple of months ago, my across-the-street neighbor said to me, “you know, I thought you were a little off with your predictions of an economic catastrophe, but now I see you are right. I’m going to make some preparations, too.” And in fact, our little neighborhood of only 8 houses, almost everyone is talking about making preparations for an economic collapse and the possibility of having to live locally. (You know people are taking this seriously when your neighbors bring up the subject of how to survive without toilet paper.)
As devotees of Srila Prabhupada, we have two reasons to make an effort to live locally: Srila Prabhupada instructed us to do it and if we don’t do it, we are likely to have to endure severe hardships in the near future. Here is an article about the lifestyle of some villagers in Russia who were completely unaffected by the Soviet economic collapse.
If you are reading this, you can and should make some preparations to live locally as soon as possible. Here are some ways that you can prepare:
One important preparation is to have a good storage of grains. Srila Prabhupada said that having a good stock of grains is one way to assure the presence of the Goddess of Fortune in your home. You can purchase 25lb. Bags of grains and/or beans at restaurant supply stores such as Cash and Carry for between $10-$15/bag. A 400lb stock will cost you less than $300 and is enough food for one person for about a year if no other food is available.
You can also learn how to grow food, even if you are living in a city. When Cuba’s economy collapsed about 10 years ago, the average Cuban lost about 30lbs (something that might be good for us, too). Eventually even the residents of Havana learned how to grow their vegetables within the city, growing food in any available nook
You can gather tools that will help you as the infrastructure dissolves. These tools include garden implements, hand powered water pumps, hand powered grain mills, a scythe, metal working tools, hand woodworking tools and animal powered farming tools such as plows and harness.
A library of books that have knowledge for living locally is something else you can do. Subjects such as plant identification for medicinal purposes, building using available materials (cob building, thatching, cordwood building etc.), gardening, alternative energy and food storage are some ideas.
Having a collection of heirloom seeds is also a great preparation. Most vegetable seeds purchased today are hybrid varieties that produce abundantly, but are almost useless for producing seeds for subsequent years. Learning how to save seeds from heirloom varieties of plants and maintaining a seed collection is a great preparation for living locally.
If you are living in a city, identify a location and make arrangements to move to a sustainable location. Now is a good time to identify a location and to make arrangements for your family to relocate when the cities become uninhabitable. Of course Billy and I think that the Pacific Northwest is ideal for sustainable living and will make every effort to assist devotees or other interested people to make arrangements to have their supplies secured in advance of their need.
If you are inspired to use your resources to assist in developing a significant project, please give us a call to discuss this further. We have several devotees who have pledged significant donations and currently have our 3 acre property on the market with the intention to use the proceeds from the sale of our property to purchase property near the sanctuary valley for the use of the devotees. But of course, the more laxmi that comes, the better the property we can purchase. Please give us a call (253) 875-1842 or e-mail if you would like to discuss this further.
www.makevrndavana.com/
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