THE ISCOWP NEWS
Volume 5 Issue
3
Oxen's
Winter Work
This
winter has been one of the most harsh winters in the history of the United
States. The capitol of the country, Washington D.C., was brought to a standstill
because of heavy snowfall immobilizing city traffic. In other parts of the
country similar conditions persisted even after all modern emergency-disaster
methods were applied.
We are all forced to question the value
of high technology when it fails to provide the simple functions of daily life
during adverse weather conditions. On the contrary, in the same extreme weather,
oxen trained by ISCOWP continued to log wood from the forest for heating and
cooking.
One
ISCOWP trained team, Jaya and Nanda (pictured at the bottom), can pull 500
pounds of wood at one time out of the forest, and Vraja and Gita (pictured at
the top) can pull 1 ton. The wood can be used not only for heating and cooking;
one log has been used for making a new yoke for Jaya & Nanda. Step by step,
project by project, we are realizing how absolutely dependent we are on the work
that the oxen are providing. The oxen are the pivot point of all our activities.
In
this issue you will not only find a financial report for ISCOWP's year of 1995,
a financial report of the Sponsor a Teamster Campaign and update, but also
letters from around the world concerning alternative methods of survival. Your
financial support for training oxen and teamsters and to spread the knowledge of
an alternative lifestyle is the foundation of ISCOWP We are very grateful for
your help and wholeheartedly welcome you to the even more productive year of
1996.

Index of articles
Letters
Stoves, Housing,
Oil Lamps, Sauna, Yokes/Harnesses,
Progress in Yugoslavia, News
from Bangladesh
Sponsor
a Teamster Campaign August 95 - August 96
Evaluation of Fiscal Year 95
LAKSHMI'S KITCHEN
Expand ISCOWP
Membership
New Plows!

Letters
Dear Readers,
The following letters were mostly
submitted to the cow conference, therefore the introductory email message. We
left this information intact because if you wanted to get in touch with the
writers you would be able to do so via your computer.
Stoves
Text 139476 (81 lines)
From: Internet: Varis Lux-Karnergrauzis
100526.1600@compuserve.com
Date: 26-Dec-95 07:06 EST
To: Cow (Protection and related issues) [594]
Subject: American stoves are foolish
The following two paragraphs in carrots
are referring to ISCOWP's previous entry in the cow conference.
>>When I was in Russia I saw many ceramic ovens that doubled as fire
places which consumed considerably less wood and did a much better job of
heating the home than the iron stoves that we use here in America.
A question for devotees in cold European climates that are familiar with these
types of stoves. Are there any people in these areas that know how to build
these stoves that would give you this information so that it could be shared
world-wide through this conference.<<
The temple's two buildings here in Riga are total about 1000 square meters,
three floors plus basement. It is completely constructed from logs - like a log
cabin, but the walls are covered with other materials. When we reconstructed the
building we pulled down a few walls to make a temple room kitchen, etc, and we
saw that the walls were made from solid wood about 6 to 10 inches thick. There
are a lot of buildings like this one here in the centre of town. I have not seen
this type of building in any other areas.
However the main unique features of these buildings are that they are built to
be heated by wood. Now they usually have central heating, but still the wood
stoves are preserved. In this particular building several stoves were destroyed
or stolen, as the building has suffered a fire on the top floor and was vacated,
declared as condemned. When we decided to save the building we had to rebuild
many of the stoves so we have some experience. We also built a huge wood-fired
bread oven in the basement-right in the centre of the city.
The basic principle of these stoves are that they are very massive brick
structures right up to the ceiling that act as a heat battery. The stove is
usually lit once a day and then keeps the room warm the whole day. At the bottom
is one fire box about 18 inches deep with a door that's about 8 by 8 inches.
From the fire box there are flue channels going up to the chimney in an indirect
way, sometimes as a spiral, other times criss-cross wise. In certain strategic
points there are plugs which one can pull out in order to gain access in order
to clean the channels from soot. Fire bricks should be used in the fire box.
Sometimes they even use stones in the construction that keep the heat longer,
but they should be tested first that they don't explode. Sometimes the exterior
of the stove is covered with very special ceramic tiles which are made so that
they can be built into the design, rather than just stuck on like usual. They
are like concave bricks with one side glazed and with special intersecting
joints with the adjacent tiles.
They don't manufacture them anymore around here. Sometimes they can be very
fancy with designs and different shaped mouldings. Sometimes they can be
unglazed and then painted with oil paint, as the out- side of the stove does not
reach a high temperature, probably maximum about 70 degrees Celsius. Its heating
effect is based on the large surface area. Nowadays I'm sure you could get some
high-tech glue and just glue the tiles on. The whole stove is often constructed
with approximately one part clay mixed with 3 parts sand between the bricks or
tiles as it resists the temperature better than cement. Sometimes cement is used
to render the outside, to make it stronger All gaps and cracks are filled with
the clay mixture. Of course the clay should be allowed to cure for two weeks
before firing, and then it is stoked very slowly for a few days. Full heat
should be stoked very gradually.
There are many variations of this principle. For example a very practical
variation is that there is a cast iron cook-top included with two holes with
concentric rings. Some of them have a water receptacle also. The same principle
is maintained, that as you stoke the fire to cook, the flue gases go through the
stove into the wall which has channels going through it (by the longest course)
and the whole wall heats up. In country areas the houses are usually wood but
have the "heart", a section of flued brick walls. Imagine a square
house with say, four rooms of equal size. So at the intersection point (the
"cross" point), that corner is bricked and flued. So when the
housewife is cooking in the kitchen then she heats up the whole house. Some of
them even incorporate a bread oven into the design.
A very quaint feature, often in Russian homesteads is that they have a low brick
wall, like a seat built into the design, on which one can even sleep. This is
the traditional place for the elders of the family they sit there all day on
their warm seat and even sleep on there.
In a museum in Germany I saw some medieval homestead design where parts of the
floor were heated in such a way, with the fire box below floor level. This would
be good for devotees as we are accustomed to sitting on the floor. I have heard
that in China they have such a heating (and seating) arrangement called a "kang".
After being a devotee for a while it is easy to see how most people live very
foolishly in small matters. For example I could never think of using toilet
paper or NOT using a tongue scraper, but yet there are literally millions of
people living in ignorance of this. I get the same feeling when I see the
American style potbelly stoves and other cast iron "convection-stoves"
advertised. They are very inefficient and very expensive. Better just get some
bricks, clay and order a door for the fire box and some rings for the cook top
and do it yourself for the fraction of the cost and save heaps of firewood. I
would be happy to answer any questions if more details are required.
Guruttama das
Riga,
Latvia
Text 141510 (35 lines)
From: COM: Smita Krsna Swami (Sweden) <Smita.Krsna.Swami@com.bbt.se>
Date: 04-jan-9611:24WET
Reference: Text 138460 by ISCOWP (Balabhadra Dasa & Chaya Dasi)
To: Cow (Protection and
related issues) [608]
Subject: Problem solving
The tiled stoves of Russia had
supposedly their origin in Sweden. In Sweden they are very common in older
houses. They do not have to be tiled; their efficiency is in their inner
construction and the kind of material you use. On a visit to Riga, just two
weeks ago, I was impressed by the recently built heat storing stoves they had in
their temple. They were not high quality but did their work. Guruttama Prabhu
had the local people make them for cheap money. But they might not last long. In
the temple there they also had the old tiled stoves built in the beginning of
the century.
The Riga temple is situated in the center of the town, it is an old two story
wood building. It is quite a unique temple; it has almost the complete
possibility to be heated by wood stoves as spoken about here. There is also a
big bread oven in the cellar fired by wood. The oven has the capacity to bake 50
kg loaves at the time.
In the former Soviet Union they are in one sense blessed because they have not
yet managed to destroy the old know how in certain areas, as Gadadhar Prabhu
also from Riga spoke about in the other conference, Varnasrama, I think it was.
At Almvik I am projecting a small house and the heating there is to be solved by
this heat storing principle of this tiled stoves. But we are going to use the
chimney as storage. There is one local person that does it here but he is quite
expensive so we are going to try to make it ourselves.
On a visit to Almvk Jagadish Maharaja ,spoke about one German devotee on the
west coast of USA that was going to learn the skill of building this tiled
stoves in a professional and durable way. That devotee's name was not mentioned.
Previously I mentioned that we built one house here at Almvik from clay, hay,
and wood. We intend to get more houses like that which are cheap in material but
require more work
Smita Krishna Swami
Jarna,
Sweden
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Housing
Text 143507 (8 lines)
From: Internet: Mani Bandha <manib@jolt.mpx.com.au>
Date: 15-jan-9610:OONT
To: Cow
(Protection and related issues) [619]
Subject: Straw bale houses
I have just recently seen a highly
recommended book on constructing houses with straw bales titled
"Construction with Straw Bale" By Leo Newport. It costs $A41.95
including postage in Australia, overseas is extra. Available from PO Box 1299,
Armidale, NSW Australia 2350. One interesting comment he makes is that rice
straw has been proven to be preferable to cereal straw. It may be possible for
rice growers to find a ready market for rice straw rather than burning it. Just
recently in Australia 600,000 tons of rice straw was burnt.
(Text 143507)
Comments: Text 143686 by COM: Smita Krsna Swami (Sweden)
Text 143686 (25 lines)
From: COM: Smita Krsna Swami (Sweden) Smita.Krsna.Swami@com.bbt.se
Date: 15-jan-96 19:28 WET
Reference: Text 143507 by Internet: Mani Bandha
To: Cow (Protection and
related issues) [620]
Mani Bandha <manib@jolt.mpx.com.au>
Subject: clay and straw houses
Rudrachandu Prabhu who is the man who
built a clay/straw house at Almvik gave the following titles for those who want
to know about the building techniques used by him. Rudrachandu is from
Switzerland and thus his main language is German and the literature he uses is
in German. There is one title in English you could try to get hold of. The
English version is a little more hippie -like he thought, but it still gives the
idea. Here are the titles:
Gernot Minke, Lehmbau Handbuch, ISBN
3-922964-56-7
Franz Vollhard, Leichtlehmbau, ISBN 3-7880-7383-7
Mc Cann.J. Clay and Cob Build, 1983 Aylisbory
Mac Henry, PG. Adobe and Rammed Earth Build. N.York
1984.
Rudrachandu has also attended a course
run in Sweden for this kind of clay/straw houses and has had help from
enthusiastic clay/straw house builders in Sweden for the present houses built
there.
The
immediate plan here is to project and build a couple of more of these houses.
There will be the possibility for householders to buy or rent them. There is
also an idea of a building company of this kind of houses operating from Almvik
and thus creating incomes and engagement for devotees.
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Oil Lamps
Text 140172 (12 lines)
From: Vraja Kishor (Dasa) DDS (Towaco)
Date: 30-Dec-95 11:49 EST
To: ISCOWP (Balabhadra Dasa & Chaya Dasi) [1048]
Subject: oil
Here is a self-sufficiency question
which is practical for me, since I have switched to natural lighting: can one
use regular corn or vegetable oil in a common oil-lamp - or does he have to buy
the petroleum based pre-made lamp oils?
Vraja Kishor das
Towaco, New Jersey
ISCOWP REPLIES
Yes, one can use regular corn or
vegetable oil in a common oil-lamp. You need not buy petroleum based pre- made
lamp oils.
There are a variety of oils that can be used. Different oils give off different
amounts of smoke as they burn. We will be researching this and if anyone in the
cow conference can add information please do.
Srila Prabhupada talked about castor oil. And
when we were in North Carolina we were considering growing castor beans. However
the plant and the beans are both poisonous which really scared me. They are a
big bean and when dried they could be mistaken for a dahl and cooked up and
digested- a disastrous situation. We want to grow an oil crop here in New
Vrndavana and have been discussing mustard but I have heard that it does not
burn very cleanly and I would like to research different alternatives for a
lighter oil.
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Sauna
Text 138881 (99 lines)
From: COM: Gadadhara (das) HKS (Riga - Latvia) Gadadhara.HKS@com.bbt.se
Date: 21-Dec-9500:32WET
To: Varnasrama
Development [665], Cow (Protection and related issues) [593]
Subject: Traditional sauna and it's value
Let the Russian devotees (and some
others, too) kindly excuse me. I'm aware, for them it's nothing new. But some
might benefit. In many places around my country, people still use the
traditional sauna. Why? I'll boldly state that it (or some substitute, like
Japanese furo, sorry if I misspell it) is relevant in the places with cold
winter.
You go down to the rivulet, and see a small, even tiny wooden building on the
bank. An old willow tree has spread it's branches partly over it. From the
chimney, some aromatic birch wood smoke goes up towards the late evening moon. A
big barrel with cold water and a wooden bucket outside the door wait for you to
splash yourself after sitting in the vapor chamber.
Inside you find three rooms. In the first, you dress
and stoke the fire. The stoker comes several hours in advance and makes the
fire. (The stove has a mouth in the first room, in the second a big built-in
"kettle" for hot water, and in the third it consists of stones up to
50-70 cm big) When the stones are somewhat above 110 Centigrade (sorry, I do not
have the exact number), the stoker pours water over it: fs-s-sh!! and the room
fills with hot vapor.
Now you can go into the second room and wash yourself. It's quite warm there,
but not too hot. (Only) After taking off the dirt from the body surface, you are
ready to enter the vapor chamber. But where is your birch "brush"? Oh,
here. It's made of thin birch twigs (sorry if I'm using an improper word, no
dictionary here) WITH leaves, some 50-90 cm long, tied together in a bunch to
easy hold at hand. (They always used to be a staple in the market, - or
self-made, dried and kept hung somewhere, to have them ready all the year round.
And the leaves are NOT just an option.)
Birch leaves are good against rheumatism and back pains, but not only. But, some
time ago one of our God-uncles reported of his wonderful experience with Russian
sauna (which is, as far as I know, basically the same as described here). He
mentioned oak twigs, but I believe he somehow took birch to be oak
OK now we open the door to the third chamber. Wow! It's air - or is it air at
all? - burns your throat, and makes you to shed tears and - in one instant -
covers body with profuse sweat! Wiping your eyes, in the dim light you see one
devotee sitting on a long wooden bench and whipping him/ herself with that kind
of brush - hands, legs, back - all over. Then you see another devotee laying
down on the second bench which is located behind the first one, and some half-
meter higher. Yet another devotee is energetically whipping him/ her on the
back. He/she dips the "brush" in a bucket of hot water, shakes the
excess off, and continues whipping.
"Hey, haribol!" somebody shouts from the third bench which is still
higher, “Why don’t you try and come to me?" You agree and try stepping
on the bench, getting higher ... oh Krsna! Your breath is choked! Unbelievable!
How can he/ she be still alive there?!
Everybody laughs, "You have to have some training", the elders tell
you. Start with the lower bench." After two minutes, it becomes too much
for you. You return to the second room and wash the sweat off. Then you consider
that you want to get rid of that nasty chronic disease, and go into the vapor
chamber again.
After some time the others invite, "OK, come with us! Let's go!" You
go outside - and suddenly somebody pours a bucket of cold water on you! But
-astonishingly enough - you feel it just pleasantly cooling.
Finally you have finished those procedures. Still reddish from the hot, you go
to the ashram feeling reborn. Now you're ready to the next traveling sankirtana
tour It is said that ancient people used to get rid of many diseases just by
attending this sauna. It was also used for other medical procedures, and child
delivery. So it was considered almost sacred.
--WARNING!-- Better go to sauna with experienced people, to avoid damage to
health due to fanaticism. The same in regards to building one, or stoking.
Gadadhara dasa
Riga, Latvia
PS. Nowadays here dry-heat saunas are
very popular. We call them "Finnish saunas" (sauna is Finnish and
Estonian word, actually - excuse me Finns for reminding), although I was told of
purportedly vain search for them in Finland. They found only moist vapor saunas
there. And I have read of that dry heat being cancerogenous.
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Yokes/Harnesses
Text 139559 (111 lines)
From: Internet: Noma T Petroff npetroff@polar.Bowdoin.EDU
Date: 26-Dec-95 20:24 EST
To: Cow (Protection and
related issues) [597]
Cc: Varnasrama
Development [669]
Subject: Three-padded German Ox Collar
From: Hare Krsna dasi, Brunswick, Maine
In response to the question about an
address for the author of the book on the German Three-padded Ox Collar, as far
as I know (as of 1991) his address is:
Dr. Rolf Minhorst
Gestermannstr 28
D-41 00 Duisburg 11
GERMANY
His
book is called: Modern Harness for Working Cattle: The German Adjustable Three
Pad Ox Collar How to make it and how to use it: A Practical Manual for Ox
Farmers, Development Assistants, and Hobby Teamsters.
Related to a conversation we had earlier about the use of head yokes, Dr.
Minhorst says that the head yoke is widely used in Latin America and Quebec
because of several advantages: "low price, easy construction, suitable to
force even restive oxen to work." He says these advantages, however are
opposed to serious disadvantages (p. 9):
1. Only oxen of the same size and force,
with a short and compact neck and a thick base of horns can be yoked together.
This yoke is not suitable for oxen or cows with a weak neck, thin base of horns,
and all the more not for polled animals. Until today, the users of the head yoke
have not recognized that this yoke is too far away from the gravity center of
the ox's body [my italics] and that the ox has less pushing force in his neck
than he has tractive force in his whole body-trunk.
2. When pulling two wheeled carts, every roughness of
the road is transmitted by the wheels, the axle and the shaft to the head yoke
which for its part is beating on the head of the draught oxen. Very hard beats
can cause unconsciousness, break the horns or even cause fractures of the skull.
Going downhill, the oxen must halt the wagon with the yoke tied to their horns
which represents an enormous burden for them.
3. A free movement of the head is impossible. just
imagine the insect plague during summer time. When trying to keep the traces
permanently at an optimal angle, the oxen have to keep their heads down thus
being forced to inhale dust and to become tired early. While working on a slope,
both animals have to distort their necks in an unnatural way which causes them
much pain (Fig. 10, 8).
Hitching oxen with a double head yoke is
inefficient because this yoke forces animals to synchronize all their movements,
thus hindering them to completely develop their tractive force. Besides that, an
ox team with a head yoke is much less maneuverable in comparison to a team with
a modern collar harness.
[Dr Minhorst continues:] In Germany, the use of the traditional double head yoke
was prohibited in the 1920's to prevent cruelty against the draught cattle.
Thus Dr. Minhorst's comments strongly support the
position presented by ISCOWP earlier on in this conference that use of a head
yoke for oxen should be avoided by devotees in the Hare Krsna movement because
it causes unnecessary pain to the animals. It would put us in a bad light in
regard to cruelty to animals and in regard to using the most efficient method of
harnessing.
Dr Minhorst proposes, of course that the German three-padded ox collar is the
most efficient and comfortable collar for oxen. Wouldn't it be great if we had
an ISKCON experimental agricultural farm where we could make long term tests
with a three-padded collar and the traditional yoke and compare the results?
Here are his comments:
The [three-padded] collar is very flexible and fits tight to shoulders and neck
of the walking animal without exerting any bad pressure on shoulder blade and
joint of shoulder, above all when benched iron hame-rods are used (Figs. 40,41).
It allows the animal a complete freedom of movement of neck and head, and in
comparison with other types of cattle harness a comfortable working without
premature fatigue (Fig. 42).
[Minhorst continues:] In the judgment of the old farmers and harness makers the
adjustable three pad ox collar was an excellent and serviceable cattle harness.
It was developed by [Heinrich] Steinmetz in the 1930's in Germany and was only
30 years in use before the German agriculture was completely motorized in the
1960's. Probably because of World War II, no more scientific comparisons were
carried out at that time to qualify and quantify the superiority of the new over
the traditional harness. Nevertheless, even without scientific proofs small
farmers in several Middle European countries recognized very soon that the
German ox collar was the best cattle harness ever known in Europe.
[later] Horses enjoy great estimation throughout all the Americas. For both, for
saddle and for working horses there are anatomically well fitted and beautiful
made leather harnesses, but not for the bullock- Today, as 4500 years ago, the
ox has to struggle with a wooden yoke. It seems as if the working bullock,
already a longer time ago, had got into a sociocultural dead end road where he
simply has been or- gotten. Might it be possible to get him out of there at the
end of the 20th century?
If any European devotees can go and meet Dr Minhorst and even work with him, it
might prove a great boon to expanding Srila Prabhupada's varnasrama mission. In
the late 1980's and early 1990's Pitavas prabhu and his wife Aradhya prabhu made
friends with the great French animal equipment designer, Jean Nolle, but
unfortunately never had the opportunity to work extensively with him before he
passed away.
We should not miss this opportunity with Dr. Minhorst. It's a chance to help him
in his Krsna consciousness, and help us become expert in skills that will help
spread Prabhupada's mission.
Hare Krsna dd
Brunswick,
Maine
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Progress in Yugoslavia
First
of all I would like to ask you to forgive me for not informing you earlier about
the receipt of the training video, for being so neglectful and ungrateful. Thank
you for sending it so quickly. I have really thought that we will need it soon,
but I have learned later on that our farmer has no time at all to think on
training of Nandi or finding someone for that purpose, since he remains almost
alone with his family on the farm without workers and help. We haven't seen the
video yet, because we needed to find someone to record it from NTSC to PAL video
system. We hope that it will be done these days in Beograd and that we will
finally have the opportunity to see it soon. I thank you once again for your
understanding and help.
I am also very much thankful to you for printing our
letters in your newsletter. It was very inspiring and helpful. Thanks to your
attitude and introductory words, my son and I have seen that we are doing
something, no matter how modest it may be, and that we are somehow included in
the plan of the Supreme. We have been having such a great wish to do something
for the satisfaction of our spiritual master, H.R Harikesa Swami, that could be
offered to Srila Prabhupada for his centennial. We are really very much inspired
and great enthusiasm was arisen in us to take up this task of cow protection
with more responsibility and surrender, for our personal purification and
satisfaction of our Guru Maharaja. We would also be very glad if our letters
could inspire your readers.
I would like to inform you that our society for cow protection GOPALA was
registered by our government. We i.e. the secretary of our society, Bhakta Momir,
a longtime friend of the
devotees and a jurist in one great firm, is working on the completion of the
papers. We plan to organize the first meeting of our society soon, to see what
could be our first steps and to set some plans for the future. We ask you humbly
to pray to our Lord so that he can use us as his instruments in fulfilling His
divine plans, and to utilize as much as possible this society for that purpose.
I am also very glad that I can let you know that our Adopt A Cow program
progresses very nicely. Till now we have 8 regular donors and my son Milan and
his friend Bhakta Milomir were very successful in December with collecting
funds. They have distributed a magazine ATMA for Srila Prabhupada's marathon and
by the mercy of our temple authorities in Beograd they have obtained a percent
from each sold magazine for cow protection. I have also made a few birthday
cakes for donation and we have succeeded to pay regularly the required monthly
amount.
My son, who helps very much, who distributes the Maha prasadam to and collects
the donations from our donors and runs the finances, plans to make a short
financial report for our donors and friends in February, which will be enclosed
to the letters to our friends the both of us prepare, as you do.
We thank you again very much for all your blessings and nice example you set for
us. Whatever we do, we have learned from you and we will do our best to continue
to follow in your footsteps to be more and more successful. We thank you also
very much for your suggestions on how to continue with preaching. My son and
another friend of his Bhakta Igor, a student of agriculture, are enthusiastic to
prepare some leaflets and literature on the model of yours, we will distribute
on various occasions. Unfortunately we are not yet in a position to take Nandi
and Syamala to different events. We have no facilities and there is no one among
us who could handle them. We have not yet become capable for doing such things,
so that we can only pray to Lord Jagannatha to send us a person who could train
Nandi and treasure this suggestion for the future.
Thank you also so much for quoting the verse from Srimad Bhagavatam and Srila
Prabhupada's purport, and for emphasizing this very important sentence that
"These greatly sinful acts are responsible for all the troubles in present
society." Thank you.
We wish you and your children a happy beginning, i.e. continuing of your work in
the village at Madhuvan Farm. We also wish you all the best, much, much
happiness and success in this very auspicious year of Srila Prabhupada's
centennial.
Magdalena Ristic
Patrigarha Rajacia 43
Yugoslavia
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News From Bangladesh
Thank you for your letter of January 1,
along with the information on rice hullers. There was one hand operated huller
there that looked promising if we could build a similar one ourselves. The
picture of the ox driven stone cylinder is very similar to one picture that I
have seen in an old hand made paper-making book (here being used for pulping
with the stone enclosed by two walls). Unfortunately there are no naturally
occurring stones in this river delta country, but I am thinking it may be
possible to use brick or perhaps some particular heavy hardwood species of tree.
Although we separate the majority of the paddy from the stalks by hand beating,
that remaining on the stalks is separated at the end simply by hooking up 3 to 4
oxen in a line around a central post and spreading the stalks for them to walk
on, this is quite efficient to loosen the more stubborn grains. If we were to
use parboiled rice (semi-boiled in the husk) it would be much easier to hull.
This process is not offerable to the Deity (according to Gaudiya-vaisnava
tradition) and in our particular locality, not used, although most other parts
of Bengal usually parboil the paddy before husking.
Thank you for enclosing those
addresses in Bangladesh. I have visited them some years ago, the last two are
engaged in promoting 'modern' agriculture practices and promoting hybrid
monoculture varieties of rice with innumerable varying qualities and tastes,
thanks to these "Research Institutes," almost all of them are lost
forever. Almost 95% of the people under the ages of 25 / 30 have never eaten a
traditional variety. The old rice varieties had such wonderful and descriptive
names, "Gopat Bhoga," "Kalo Jeera," etc., now the names are
"IRRI 32," "BRRI II," and the like. The "Intermediate
Technology" organizations along with all the "NGOS" are actively
engaged in destroying any remaining traditional or sustainable practices and
methods of agriculture. Whether they do this knowingly or willingly or just out
of ignorance is irrelevant. They are all funded by western governments to
'modernize' local agriculture practices, and the scientists engaged are only
doing their jobs. Again, thank you so much for the letter, and I am anxiously
awaiting to see what other nectar is in your next newsletter. Hare Krsna.
Nistula das
Chittagong Bangladesh
PS. I went to post this letter and
discovered that your Fall 95 newsletter in the post box. Thank you very much for
anticipating and sending two of them. Anita & Co., as well as all the
devotees were very enlivened to see the wonderful 2 page spread. It gave them
great encouragement. It is not always the easiest thing to convince the devotees
to work backwards (against the current of "modern development'). This
article will be a really great incentive to them to not only continue with
enthusiasm with the paper, but also in other areas. Again, thank you so much. My
only regret is the quality of the photos I took. Anyway your presentation was
first class.
Thanks
also for enclosing that beautiful calendar. How many calendars do you print each
year? If we were geographically closer, we would like to donate specialty made
paper for next year. Hare Krishna.
Back
to index of this issue

Sponsor
a Teamster Campaign August 95 - August 96
Chart shows pledged amount and how much
has been given by March 96.
|
Donor |
Pledged
|
Given
|

|
|
Anonymous |
$6000.00 |
$3580.00 |
|
Mary R.Goerke |
|
$3625.00 |
|
Anuttama d.& Rama Tulsi dd (The
Morrison
Family) |
$3000.00 |
$1200.00 |
|
Vanamali Pandit d (The Mody Family) |
$3000.00 |
$2000.00 |
|
Anuttama d & Rukmini dd (The Walker
Family) |
|
$1500.00 |
|
Dan Duer |
$1500.00 |
$733.00 |
|
Gour Govinda d. & Sita dd (The
Davidson Family) |
$1500.00 |
$1500.00 |
|
Henry Schoellkoff |
$1500.00 |
$1500.00 |
|
Dennis & Caroline Constantine |
$1200.00 |
$707.00 |
|
Maha Mantra d (David Fuller) |
$1000.00 |
$701.00 |
|
Sravananda d |
$450.00 |
$450.00 |
|
Hemalata dd (Teresa Warren) |
|
$300.00 |
|
Shastra d (Scott From) |
$250.00 |
$250.00 |
|
Rajarshi d. (Jaya Raja) |
|
$200.00 |
|
Suriyam R. & Sushila S. Joshi |
|
$200.00 |
|
Advaita Chandra d & Radha Sundari dd
(The Taylor Family) |
|
$108.00 |
|
Babhru d & Satyaki dd (The Reed
Family) |
$108.00 |
$27.00 |
|
Barbara Withee |
|
$108.00 |
|
Bhadranga d & Hladini Sakti
dd. (The
Sherman Family) |
|
$108.00 |
|
Bill Turner |
$108.00 |
$108.00 |
|
Chris & Paula Baymiller |
$108.00 |
$36.00 |
|
David Theissen |
|
$108.00 |
|
Daruka d (David S. Corcoran) |
|
$108.00 |
|
Dharma d. & Nama Priya dd.(The
Schmeiding Family) |
|
$108.00 |
|
Doug Carlton |
|
$108.00 |
|
Dr. David & Nirmala dd (The Eldredge
Family) |
$108.00 |
$108.00 |
|
Gadagraj d. (The Baum Family) |
|
$108.00 |
|
Gayle Janzen |
|
$108.00 |
|
Haribolananda d & Garudi dd (The
Hargreaves Family) |
$108.00 |
$36.00 |
|
Haridas d & Nandapatni dd.(The
Stempel Family) |
|
$108.00 |
|
H.H. Dhanurdhara Swami |
$108.00 |
$108.00 |
|
Isabelle Haas |
$108.00 |
$36.00 |
|
Jagaddhatri dd (jean Prem) |
$108.00 |
$27.00 |
|
Janesa d (George Willmon) |
|
$108.00 |
|
Jaya Govinda d & Rati dd |
$108.00 |
$54.00 |
|
Jitari d & Rangavati dd.(The Heintz
Family) |
$108.00 |
$108.00 |
|
Kimberly Smith |
|
$108.00 |
|
Kamsahanta d |
$108.00 |
$108.00 |
|
Keith Eickhorst |
|
$108.00 |
|
Lilavati dd (Lila Trombetta) |
$108.00 |
$9.00 |
|
Madhukanta d & Ann (The Searight
Family) |
|
$108.00 |
|
Malati dd |
|
$108.00 |
|
Parampadam d (Kenn Perry) |
|
$108.00 |
|
Pavamana d & Sampada dd.(The McCloud
Family) |
|
$108.00 |
|
Pranaballava d (The Webster Family) |
$108.00 |
$108.00 |
|
Pusti dd (Connie Humphrey) |
$108.00 |
$78.00 |
|
Rajarshi d & Brajarani dd (The Rathje
Family) |
$108.00 |
$108.00 |
|
Ram & Aruna Singhania |
$108.00 |
$54.00 |
|
Rory Alden |
$108.00 |
$108.00 |
|
Rsavedeva d (The Richard Family) |
$108.00 |
$27.00 |
|
Stacy Charlton |
$108.00 |
$108.00 |
|
Stephen Sorra |
$108.00 |
$108.00 |
|
Vidyananda
d & Kirtida Kanyaka dd (The Halvorson Family) |
|
$108.00 |
|
Amala
Bhakta d |
|
$101.00 |
|
Aroon
& Lilly Chaddha |
|
$42.00 |
|
Helen
Wells |
|
$25.00 |
|
Samika
Rai d & Anartha dd (The Mahajan Family) |
|
$25.00 |
|
Brian
Striffler |
|
$21.00 |
|
Dulal
& Sabita Bhattacharjee |
|
$21.00 |
|
Jaya
Krsna d (Joe Gennaro) |
|
$21.00 |
|
Kirk
Cornwell |
|
$21.00 |
|
Avadhuta
d (Audrius Palubinskas) |
|
$20.00 |
|
B.G.
Gokhale |
|
$20.00 |
|
Dominic
Mecurio |
|
$20.00 |
|
Jyotimaya
d (Joe Terrones) |
|
$20.00 |
|
Winthrop
Dahl |
|
$20.00 |
|
Madan
Mohan d & Vrindabaneshvari dd (The Birenbaum Family) |
|
$11.00 |
|
Christine
Onge |
|
$10.00 |
|
James
Philip |
|
$10.00 |
|
Mahasaumya
d & Kim Hill |
|
$10.00 |
|
Srimate
Radharani |
|
$10.00 |

|
|
Total
Pledged |
|
$25928.50 |
|
Total
sent by March |
|
$21714.00 |

|
|
Original
goal of $30000 equals |
21
oxen &12
teamsters |
|
Pledged
$25928.50 equals |
18
oxen & 9
teamsters |

|
|
We
have now, half way through the campaign |
9
oxen & 4
teamsters |

|
The above listing shows
the ISCOWP members who have pledged donations for the Sponsor a Teamster
Campaign. It also shows the amount of donations that have come in for this
campaign as of the end of February.
As you can see we are
$4071.50 short of our goal of $30, 000. which translates into a few less
teamsters and oxen to be trained. With the $25928.50 pledged we can train 18
oxen and 9 teamsters.
At this point, about half
way through the campaign, we are training 9 oxen and 4 teamsters.

For
many years at New Vrndavana there have been no trained, working oxen. However,
many of the long term residents remember working with oxen and horses in the
past to till the rolling hillsides of New Vrndavana. You might say we are
helping to revive the past animal power history of New Vrndavana by training New
Vrndavana's residents and oxen.
Tripada das who has the team Bhima and Bhumi (pictured on this page) is a long
term resident who is planning on staying and digging his roots deep in New
Vrndavana. Tripada has recently purchased a 7.9 acre parcel where he and his
family will live with their team. So now, Bhima and Bhumi will have a secure
home. Right now Bhima is learning to pull logs and they are both learning to
work together which means learning to wear a yoke.
Digging one's roots in deep is beneficial to protecting cows. A cow or ox can
live to 25 years. We often tell prospective teamsters or cow protectors that
having an ox or cow is like having a child. The responsibility is long term
.
Therefore being securely situated is very important to successfull