ECO-Vrindaban Board Meeting Minutes 04/30/2017
ECO-Vrindaban Board Meeting Minutes 04/30/2017
Mission Statement: ECO-Vrindaban promotes simple living, cow protection, engaging oxen, local agriculture, and above all, loving Krishna, as envisioned by Srila Prabhupada, the Founder-Acharya of ISKCON New Vrindaban.
Participating Directors: Chaitanya Mangala, Ranaka, Sri Tulasi Manjari (chair) and Vraja.
Participating Managers: Nitaicandra
Recording Secretary: Jamuna Jivani
1. Ranaka’s Monthly Report
- 6 cows are being milked at the Temple Barn; now with a significant increase in milk production (25 gallons per day) due to the cows being on fresh green grass.
- Three heifers are still residing at the Temple Barn. Vamsaka the calf is being weaned.
- Manjari the cow had been moved to the Temple Barn from the Valley Barn last month. She has been diagnosed by the veterinarian as having a stillborn calf inside of her. He said that due to her condition she is likely to have another stillborn if bred again, so she is being retired from the milking herd.
- Anjali the cow is scheduled to be moved from Nandagram to Valley Barn for breeding by Dharma the Bull. Shreya is residing with the young bull Madu at Nandagram.
- Jatendra, the volunteer, has returned to Pittsburgh. Ananda Vidya expressed appreciation for his service. There are other volunteers from the temple who help on occasion.
- Ray has been working on getting the farm equipment ready for the season.
- All of the potato seeds have been cut and are ready to plant. The field has been disked twice, but due to a very wet spring, Ray has not been able to do the final field preparation that would allow us to plant the potatoes.
- Ranaka and Nitaicandra have been discussing vegetable planting strategies for the year and the necessary equipment.
- Gandhari the cow’s eye cancer has become very aggressive and she appears to be totally blind now. Brikasanga prepared a separate area for her. The best that can be done now is to keep the eye clean and apply a face mask to keep the flies off.
- Due to ECO-V’s stellar accident-free work record, our Workers Compensation rate has dropped from $5.09 to $3.08 per hundred dollars of gross pay. This will save ECO-V a few thousand dollars per year.
- Fil and Sukhayanti’s 13 cows arrived from Canada last Monday and are happily grazing in the Bahulaban pasture. The couple is scheduled to arrive in New Vrindaban this coming week.
2. Nitaicandra’s Monthly Report
- In the flower gardens, the beds have been composted and mulched, the fences have been repaired and starters are being transplanted.
- In the vegetable gardens, the starters are sprouting, the beds have been composted, and vegetable-based biodegradable plastic sheet mulch will be used, which will allow for the labor energy to be spent on increased planting and production instead of mulching and weeding.
- Ray spread manure at Nandagram in preparation for planting corn and winter squash.
- Caitanya Bhagavat has been working on fencing at Bahulaban and Nandagram.
3. 2017 Farm Conference Update
Sri Tulasi Manjari reported on recent updates for the upcoming Farm Conference:
- The promotional flyer is finished
- The website is nearly completed
- There is a meeting with ECO-V, Gita Nagari and Kalakantha scheduled for May
- A meeting with the Farm Conference Committee is also scheduled for May
- The presenters are still being finalized
- There are plans for Ananta Vrndavan to make a promotional video during the Festival of Inspiration
4. Spring 2017 Onsite Weekend Review
Some of the weekend highlights included:
- Announcement of a New Vrindaban Community Center proposal
- A tour of ongoing upgrades to Srila Prabhupada’s kitchen at his Palace, the new Yoga Shala and renovations to Gopal’s Garden schoolhouse
- The Service Appreciation Ceremony honoring Kelly Howard Carter, Tejomaya and Kelly, and Advaitacarya and Madri
- Meeting with Fil, as well as the three Board Advisory candidates
Overall, the Board Members felt the weekend was productive and went well.
5. ECO-V Board Advisors (Olivia, Makara & Venkata)
WHEREAS: The ECO-V Board wishes to maintain a team of advisors.
RESOLVED: The Board invites Olivia Snyder, Makara dasi, & Venkatachalapati das to participate as Advisors from May 2017 to the January 2018 Annual Meeting.
6. New Vrindaban Community Center
Ananga Manjari, an INV Board Member, proposed the idea of INV and ECO-V contributing a portion of the funds they receive from the Rover Pipeline to build a Community Center. Both Boards and the Village Council generally appreciated the idea. The concept was publicly announced at the Community Dialog during the March weekend meetings. As requested, ECO-V will appoint two of its members to participate in the Center’s planning committee.
