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THE ISCOWP NEWS Volume 6 Issue 1 Spring Training
After an extremely harsh winter, spring has arrived very wet and cool. Throughout America rainy conditions are preventing planting or destroying fields already planted. Opportunities to plow with the oxen have not been abundant due to the wet weather conditions. But as you can see ( top picture) we have managed to begin cultivating some of the fields between the rainy spells. Training teamsters and oxen has progressed despite the weather conditions. We now have 7 young oxen staying with us in different stages of training. In addition, 10 month old Indra (bottom picture) is staying at the nearby Swan Lake and already knows the voice commands Getup and Whoa. A complete update for this program can be found on page 6.
As activities at Madhuvana are progressing, expansion of ISCOWP facilities at a nearby location is in the near future. Negotiations for the ISCOWP purchase of a 57 acre parcel of rolling pasture, numerous springs, and woodland, has been completed. A brief description of the property is contained on page 5 and more will follow in the next issue.
Ox-Power update from New Talavan Proposed ISCOWP Ox-Training Center Sponsor a teamster Campaign Update India’s Cow protection Threatened Cuban Plow Works in West Virginia’s Rocky Soil Back to Back Issues Page
Letters
Being a working advocate, I had to face wonderful problems in freeing cows from butchers. India is India and our constitution is also flexible that 151 butchers had filed 151 writ petitions in the Supreme Court of India to say that our constitution allows freedom of profession to all its citizens. As we are citizens and our state is secular the
government can not deny freedom of our profession. And professionally we are butchers; more so, we slaughter cows and bulls and bring maximum foreign exchange to help the nation in purchasing petrol and diesel, without which our government can not run, etc., etc.
The learned Judges are always learned, so they used their learning in finding a way to please the butchers, traders and also the government and pronounced a judgment that cows and bullocks when they become totally uneconomic, ie. cows after the age of 14 years, bullocks after the age 15, and buffalo after 16 years of age be slaughtered as they neither give milk, nor procreate, nor are they able to plough fields and run carts, so they can be slaughtered.
The judges kept a condition that the animals can be slaughtered after getting a certificate of age from a veterinarian surgeon that the animals crossed 14, 15, or 16 years of age. In India such a certificate can be purchased in Rs. 2.1 - per animal (about 35 Rs to a dollar). So the vets give certificates even to young calves that they have passed 15 years and the butchering is going on in the same spirit and number because it is the most profitable business in India.
Certain provinces have passed laws to ban slaughtering cow progeny but the executors, ie. Police, are very corrupt that after getting bribes they help the butchers and the abattoir rather than the persons who are religiously trying to save cows. The modernization in society and our madness in making multistories is another difficulty in keeping cows. Lands have become so dear that it is difficult to purchase new land for keeping cows. The old Goshallas are run by modem men who do not keep cows as they are uneconomic according to their experience.
I am sure we will maintain them better but it will take some more time.
Referring to the status of the video you sent I am glad to be able to inform you that we succeeded to put it into the correct format and view it. It was a wonderful experience to see and hear both of you and these clever, obedient, and nice calves trained and ready to serve Lord Krishna until the end of their lives. I am very sorry that I am not able to understand the real meaning of this act, but I could only see how this sentence on your calendar for 1996, "To Train a Bull Calf, is an Act of Love," came to life. I have many wonderful news to tell you. First, we have a new baby calf born on April 16, a boy. His name is Madhu. We went to visit him, Nandi and Shyamala. We are sending you some photos enclosed. It was very nice to see them, but for the first time I saw they were not happy there. This troubles me and pushes me to think on some other solution, to seek after our farm more intensely where they can be happy. Shyamala is in very bad condition. She is nothing but skin and bones. After she gave birth to Madhu she had a revision and now she takes antibiotics. Otherwise she is healthy and she will recover quickly, as the farmer assures us. Nandi must always be bound since he is full of energy and restless. When we came, the farmer untied him in the stall, so that he could come in the outside area of it to greet his visitors. He came out and displayed his anger, his uncontrolled nature, I thought that he would fly over the fence. I am so sorry because of him.
Whenever I see your pictures of trained calves my heart hurts, it really does, for my Nandi. I would so much like to be able to enable him a proper training, and see him so tranquil as your Vraja and Gita are, to see him working for the devotees one day. I don't know what to do. Please be so kind and tell me whether you have any suggestions how could he be trained. I am afraid that later on it will not be possible. Do you maybe know someone from Europe, from an ISKCON farm who could be invited to us to train Nandi.
After a few months we would also have to train Madhu. I mill admit to you that in this moment I feel completely helpless in front of this huge material energy. I only can pray to my Guru Maharaja and Lord Jagannatha to help us and these three wonderful animals whose lives depend only on his mercy.
As you have seen by your transcendental vision the devotees in Yugoslavia have obtained the extraordinary mercy of H. H. Harikesa Swami and H. G. Rohini Suta Prabhu, the Co. GBCs for Yugoslavia. Great changes happened in Yu-yatra. Madanaradya prabhu is not any more the temple president. There will be four temples on the territory of Serbia. We will have a temple also in our town. Isn't it wonderful? The devotees started to speak very positively about the farm in Yugoslavia, gurukula, a varnasrama village. There is no more real obstacle in realization of our goal to establish a self-sufficient farm. It is only the question of time and surrendered devotional service of all of us to Guru and Krishna.
Before it all happened I referred to my Guru Maharaja to hear whether It would satisfy him if we expand our activities, since we were invited by one society for healthy diet and protection of environment to present our society GOPALA one public meeting, and what would my status be in connection to ISKCON. If you don't mind I would write you his short answer for your information; "As far as what you should do in regard to your expansion of activities, I think that your progress of Adopt a Cow collection, only as much as required for your cow and bull, is the way to go. You should not expand any more cows, you should not impregnate your cow, and you should only take care of this cow and bull in whatever way is required. I thank you also for so much mercy from my Guru Maharaja, since without you I would not be able to see the way out from the difficult situation I was in. In connection with presenting our society, I feel that I am neither qualified nor prepared for preaching in public. This is for me a very serious and responsible task, and I would like to prepare myself well. Please be so kind and send us some material of you or Balabhadra Prabhu's preaching or lectures. Suggest us some literature and tell us your opinion about this kind if preaching. Maybe it would attract more people if we could define our presentation as COW PROTECTION - OX POWER - ECOLOGY, or do you have any other, better suggestion since you have already went through it. I would also like to ask you to send us, if possible, a short information about establishing of
ISCOWP for that purpose, and a picture of you two with your oxen.
I am sending you enclosed the translation of our letters for our friends. Please do not misunderstand us. I have done it not to praise ourselves, but to share with you the joy of our first steps. We would like to ask you also to tell us your comments and corrections, not your praise, because we would like to advance more, learn more and do things better than today.
Ox-Power Update from New
Talavan
Gaura and Nitai are now 16 months old. They weigh about 1000 pounds each.
Here at New Talavan we grow and make syrup out of sugar cane. This year we fixed up an old horse drawn sugar cane press and hooked my boys (Gaura and Nitai) up to it. First we demonstrated how to squeeze cane with the oxen at our annual Festival of the Cows. Then we were hoping to squeeze all the cane to be cooked into syrup with the oxen, but we thought it would be too much for them so we did it by tractor this year. We are hoping by next year that the boys will be big enough to squeeze all the sugar cane. We also have a gristmill which we hope to use with the oxen.
Last summer I went to New Vrndavana to visit Balabhadra Prabhu for a week. When I was there I learned many important things about training and working oxen. I was also very inspired by what Balabhadra Prabhu was doing there. While I was there we plowed and disced a field for planting with Vraja and Gita (ISCOWP's
team). Besides demonstrating the use of oxen in the fields, Balabhadra Prabhu was training new teams, oxen from New Vrndavana's herd, and new team - Mother Ananga Manjari, train her team and I learned a great deal. Going to New Vrndavana was the biggest help in training my boys. When I was there I learned how to train oxen and I saw the practical use of the oxen. After I came back I obtained a yoke and started yoking up my boys and pulling things around. Since then we have hauled manure, got logs for firewood, squeezed sugar cane, and disced a field. One day I am hoping to use the oxen to do all the farming here at New Talavana.
Bhakta Scott, the devotee who takes care of the cows here, has just picked out two oxen to train up as his team. They are 5 and 4 months old. He hasn't started training them because he is too busy right now and they are still with their mothers. He is hoping to start in a month or two. he and I are hoping to go to New Vrndavana this summer to learn more about training and working oxen from Balabhadra Prabhu. For now we will do what we can by Krsna's grace.
ISCOWP
Barn Sold!
Building the ISCOWP pole barn at the Sandy Ridge, North Carolina land project was a major accomplishment for our staff and members during the winter of 1995. The construction started around September of 1995 and lasted to approximately February of 1996. As you our members donated to its construction, the pole barn progressed to completion.
As many of our members will remember, the Sandy Ridge land project site was a pioneering project without housing, electricity, septic or water system. Therefore the pole barn was extremely important to house equipment, tools, hay, and oxen. You, our members donated $8000 to its construction.
Rsi Kumar, protector of 3 Devon oxen and one Devon bull, and the Sandy Ridge community has purchased the barn for $7000. It will be used by Rsi Kumar as shelter for his oxen, hay, tools, and ox-drawn equipment. Actually Rsi Kumar was one of the major volunteer helpers in constructing the barn and is quite happy now to be able to provide a secure facility for his animals.
One of ISCOWP's major goals has been to expand the practice of ox-power as a necessary aspect of cow protection. By training teamsters and oxen, giving seminars, and distributing educational literature and information world-wide this goal is achieved. By providing facilities for cow protection the goal is also achieved. Our desire was that the land project at Sandy Ridge would continue and the facilities established by ISCOWP would be used for the purpose they were built for, i.e. self-sufficiency based on cow protection. We are very happy that Rsi Kumar is acquiring the facility at Sandy Ridge to better facilitate his ox protection program. It is also his intention to develop the land there along self-sufficient goals based on cow protection, specifically ox-power.
Some of our members may feel that since the barn was constructed at a cost of $8000 and sold at a cost of $7000 there has been a loss. Upon moving to West Virginia in July we thought that we would move the barn to West Virginia to facilitate our program since at that time there was no major interest in the Sandy Ridge facility. That move would have cost us $3000. Considering the cost of moving and the increase in ox-power facility for Rsi Kumar, we feel that actually a gain has been made. We have not been able in the past to help cow and ox protectors in this way, and we are glad that we are able to at this time. The $7000 given for the purchase of ISCOWP's pole barn in North Carolina will be used to renovate two existing pole barns. These pole barns are located on a 57 acre parcel which is the proposed sight of an ISCOWP owned ox- power training center. Please read the following article for more details.
Rsi Kumar was one of the early residents at New Vrndavana, West Virginia where he teamed to work oxen. He has been protecting his 3 Devon oxen and 1 Devon bull for 8 years. He chose this breed because they are heat tolerant, fast, and have high endurance. Also, the Devon cows can produce milk in rough conditions because they are good foragers and hearty. The way Rsi sees it, when the economy collapses his animals won't be difficult to care for.
At present Rsi is working as a carpenter (he is also an expert stone mason) to pay for his recent purchase. But his long term plans are to finish the barn by putting in a cement floor among other items and to work his oxen to develop the community land by the barn. He and Mitrasena prabhu have planted rice, sweet potatoes, and white potatoes with the use of a tractor on the community land, the land that Balabhadra had used to display ox-power farming. We wish Rsi the best in developing his long term plans and look forward to hearing from him in the future.
ISCOWP has recently completed negotiations to purchase a 57 acre parcel from the approximate 3000 acres owned by the New Vrndavana community. In the beginning of New Vrndavana's history, the devotees expanded their original land holdings by purchasing surrounding small farms. Hence ISCOWP's 57 acre parcel is part of what was a small family farm of 208 acres. The part that ISCOWP is purchasing contains the original farm house with 2 wells (one well is the original hand dug well which is located on the north side of the house, and the second well is a drilled well on the west side of the house), 2 pole barns, a functional silo, and a milk house.
The farm house, dating back to about 100 years, is in disrepair and must be taken down. However, it contains much usable wood materials for erecting a new building. The stone foundation is usable, needing only some repair. The idea is to build a new home on the old foundation using much of the materials from the old farm house.
The pole barns are in much better condition than the farm house. The $7000 obtained from the sale of the ISCOWP bam in North Carolina, built with funds donated by ISCOWP members, will be sufficient to refurbish both barns and restore their water system. The larger barn, which can be used for housing oxen, is approximately 60 ft. by 80 ft. and the other barn, which can be used as a feeding station, is 25 ft. by 76 ft.
The larger barn could contain 30 to 40 oxen. However we have been advised that in this West Virginia climate a cement floor would be needed in the barn to facilitate the barn's full capacity. At this point we do not have the funds necessary for the cement, and therefore we could house approximately 20 oxen.
The silo is in good condition and if we did consider feeding corn silage the silo would be operable. The milk house needs refurbishing. One of the cinder block walls has been damaged and most of it needs to be replaced.
With the help of one of the previous owners, Davey Rominick, we have located the drilled well and the waterline which runs from the house to the barn. As soon as we formalize the purchase, the first project which we will undertake will be restoring the water system to its functional capacity for the house and barn.
There is a small stream which runs through a very enchanting grove consisting of oak, poplar, and hickory trees. There are also about a dozen springs, two of which produce little waterfalls. All are capable of being tapped and used as water sources. The previous name of the farm prior to ISKCON's purchase was Spring Hill Farm. There are approximately 20 acres of tillable land and 20 acres of hay meadows. The remaining acreage to the 57 acre parcel is in wood land.
This location was named Nandagram by the devotees when they bought the property. Nandagram is the name of Lord Krsna's childhood village where he lived as a cowherd boy. So, we are thinking the location most auspicious for our plans to establish an ox-power training
center owned and operated by ISCOWP.
We think this proposed training center will be a positive compliment to our on-going cooperative work with the New Vrndavana community to establish Madhuvana, which is owned by New Vrndavana and is a highly visible facility for displaying ox-power farming.
Sponsor a Teamster Campaign Update
Oxen in Training:
Most of the teams in training were born at New Vrndavana since we moved here in July 1995. Since most of them are young they are not yet capable of serious work in the fields. Therefore logging is their most progressive activity. However, to learn how to pull a plow, disc, or any ox-powered equipment, practicing logging is the first step. The concept is the same; the oxen learn the art of hooking up to a heavy object and pulling it with enthusiasm.
We need to train three more oxen to meet our goal of 19 oxen trained. Since there are no more bull calves in the New Vrndavana herd, we will train 3 grown-up oxen. Brikasanga das has made friends with one older ox Nrsringadeva (Dave is his working name). Brikasanga wants to begin training his ox, but is finding it difficult to find the time in his busy schedule. Actually this is a common problem amongst the teamsters; they are busy holding jobs to pay their bills and support their families and must fit their ox and teamster training into their busy schedules. Progress is being made on different levels according to everyone's schedule. In the month of April, Balabhadra went to Gita Nagari for one week to continue the training of Bhima and Manu. If you remember, this team was saved from the slaughterhouse by members of the Prabhupada Village community ( where they were trained by Balabhadra das) and donated to Gita Nagari. Also, Ekavira das, who Balabhadra trained in March 1995, continued his training during this visit. Ekavira das has an important role in the Gita Nagari agricultural department.
Another new team and teamster are Deva das and his team Agni and Shyam. Deva das is very dedicated to the concept of self-sufficiency and is purchasing property at New Vrndavana to homestead and provide security for his team.
Narayana Brown, whose story is on page 3, started training in 1995 through letters and our video. In the Fall of 1995 he came to New Vrndavana to receive personal instruction and will be coming in September for a full month to complete his training. He is a resident of New Talavan in Mississippi. By training Narayana and Ekavira das (from Gita Nagari) we hope to establish and encourage ox-power on other ISKCON farms.
Another new team and teamster are Radhe and Shyam and their teamster Lakshmi (our daughter). Lakshmi is familiar with ox training but has never been fully trained as a teamster. Virendhra, who was recently saved from the slaughterhouse, will be trained to be a replacement for Shyam whose legs and lungs are weak.
There are 9 oxen residing with us; 7 of them are in training. We have truly expanded ISCOWP!
India's Cow Protection Threatened
In protest, Laxmi Narain Modi has written over 600 letters appearing in India's newspapers and magazines, appeared on India's TV and radio, participated in demonstrations against the opening and operation of Kentucky Fried Chicken and McDonald's within India, and submitted letters and articles to India's government officials especially the Ministry of Agriculture. His recent article "Slaughtering Animals by Murdering Constitution" is creating ripples in Ministry of Agriculture. Soon he is to file a writ in High Court in protest to India's original constitution being changed to allow cow slaughter.
Laxmi Narain Modi is not alone in his contempt for the former Prime Minister Rao's government and their recent economic reforms which attempted to dissolve India's ancient values of animal protection and vegetarianism. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad pledged on March 28 to make an Indian general election issue of cow slaughter in response to the global "mad cow disease" scare. And, throughout India there are many who realize that the Vedic values of India have been threatened.
But not everyone realizes the value of preserving Vedic values. An example in point is a recent article in Newsweek (May 20, 1996) which lauded the economic reforms of India's recently toppled Congress party. The reporter felt the economic reforms of the Congress Party such as Kentucky Fried Chicken and McDonald’s franchises "finally promised to lift living standards in India's dusty villages and fetid slums." But the western mind does not understand how opulent life was in India and can be if the Vedic principles are followed.
“When we consider the past condition of the agriculturalist in the village, we can see how opulent he was, simply because of agricultural produce and protection of cows. At present, however, agriculture having been neglected and cow protection given up, the agriculturalist is suffering pitiably and is dressed in niggardly torn cloth. This is the distinction between the India of history and the India of the present day. By the atrocious activities of ugra-karma (evil activities) how we are killing the opportunity of human civilization!" S.B. 10:5:8
Laxmi Narain Modi has enclosed to us a letter from Justice Guman Mal Lodha M.P. to the chairman of the APEDA. He refers to a Dr. Jurgen Lensch, a German scientist, who has written a book Why The Cow is Sacred in India after staying 3 months in village conditions and another 3 months otherwise. A reading from his book will also explain the short-sightedness of applying the western value system to the question of cow protection in India.
"In 1959 the Ford Foundation, at the request of the Indian Government, produced the Report on India's Food Crisis and Steps to Meet It, an extensive document which reflected the prevailing opinions of the leading agricultural and veterinary experts, Indian as well as foreign. Problem solving under the pressure of the then impending population explosion and the increasing demand for food and maintenance of the slaughter taboo for a cattle population of approximately 180 million, more than a third of which were regarded as non-productive, must have appeared to drive the country to a disaster. The Ford Foundation therefore recommended to abolish or relax the slaughter taboo in order to save the Indian population from imminent famine. "
In 1974, during another stay in India of several month's duration, the author acquired insights which forced him to reappraise his position. Despite the retention of the slaughter ban and the already evident population explosion, the food situation had not only not got worse, indeed, it showed signs of stability.
Therefore, the question arose whether the special position of the so called "sacred cows" can be adequately assessed at all by the conventional purely technical approach, or whether an interaction with other disciplines was essential for a meaningful inquiry. In the course of the study hitherto neglected aspects of a social nature come to light, namely, the subsistence benefits for the poorest of the poor, and of a socio-economic nature, namely, the procurement of draught; bullocks for the indispensable cart transportation system."
Laxmi Narain Modi has taken a strong position on the importance of the bullock in the economic structure of India's village life and in the protection of the bovine population in general. It has been on this platform that ISCOWP and the Bharatiya Cattle Resource Foundation has developed a strong relationship.
In his correspondence with Indian government officials, Laxmi Narain Modi often quotes ISCOWP as an organization spearheading draught (ox- power) in the West. He hopes this will be impressive to them; an American organization showing the usefulness of the bull by training and working with him and thus presenting an alternative to the bull's slaughter.
In his Livestock Policy Perspective 2020 written for the Dept. of Animal Husbandry and Dairying which organized a 3 day program to consider Livestock Policy for 2020, Laxmi Narain Modi gave the following facts.
"Work animals also pull (in India) more than 14.3 million bullock carts (in 1987 as against 13.6 million in 1982) who transport more than what is done by road transport.
'In this jet age, people refer to bullock carts as symbols of the past. However, in India, animals provide more power than all our power houses, whose installed capacity is 22,000MW. Replacing them would entail a further investment of 25-40 billion dollars in electricity alone, over and above the loss of the farm economy of manure and cheap fuel."
Not only is it inappropriate to analyze India's cow protection through the knowledge of the western value system, it is also inappropriate to apply economic reforms based on the western value system with no regard for the Vedic value system. The negative results of such a plan of action are many. Actually, the western value system and its economic activities also has negative results for the western culture.
In the next issue we will utilize the extensive research Laxmi Narain Modi has gathered (to substantiate the viability of cow protection in India) to describe the negative effects of western economic reforms on the Vedic culture in India.
Cuban Plow Works in West Virginia's Rocky Soil
In our last issue we mentioned the donation of 3 new plows designed in Cuba and given to us by Jitarati Prabhu. These plows cut the root system of the plants underground leaving the roots to decompose as fresh organic matter for plant food without the loss of nitrogen from the soil. The soil is loosened up at root level allowing aeration and water penetration. As the grasses and weeds die back after the roots have been cut, they become mulch on top of the soil and help in holding soil moisture for the soon to emerge crops. When we began plowing with this plow, we were working in a field of rye which had been planted last fall. We experienced difficulty getting the plow to achieve any depth other than an inch or two. So we got the mold board plow and turned the field over. The questioned remained as to how we were going to penetrate the sod. We found that if we plowed first with the mold board plow which broke up the sod and then used the Cuban plow, we could achieve a depth of 8 and 12 inches.
When Jitarati came he helped us ascertain the initial problems and the steps necessary to correct them. Together we attempted to solve the depth problem by adjusting the chain length and the depth wheel. The forecart idea was the final answer. He also appreciated the strength of Vraja and Gita who appeared to have no difficulty pulling the plow through the rocky soil. Actually the new plows were easier for them to pull, and we are very happy with the plow and the way it was breaking up the limestone (this area is called Limestone Ridge). |
This site was last updated 10/23/07
