New Vrindaban Brijabasi Spirit

ECO-Vrindaban Board Meeting Minutes 12/03/2017

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: Anuttama, Chaitanya Mangala (chair), Kripamaya, Ranaka, and Vraja.

Participating Advisors: Bhima, Jamuna Jivani (secretary), Jaya Krsna, Kalakantha (partial attendance), and Makara.

1. Ranaka’s Monthly Report

• Five cows are being milked by Ananda Vidya & Lalita Gopi at the Temple Barn: Jamuna, Surabhi, Parvati, Laxmi, and Sita. Milk production is approximately 17 gallons per day.
• Asha has been retired from the milk herd and is now residing at the Valley Barn.
• Malati returned to the Temple Barn and is due very soon.
• Sriya and Anjali are both due in February. Subhadra has been confirmed pregnant and is due at the end of May.
• There are two heifers residing at the Temple Barn: three-month old Lalita, and 11-month-old Vamsika.
• Jaya Radhe has been moved to Nandagram for breeding with Madhu. Also, Usha is currently residing with Madhu.
• Ananda Vidya continues to process approximately 15 lbs. of butter, 15 gallons of yogurt, and a half gallon of ghee on a weekly basis, and delivers them to the temple kitchen.
• The Temple Barn had many guests over Thanksgiving, including Anuradha’s friends who volunteered during an evening milking. Also, Lilasuka and her extended family came for an evening milking.
• Bhaktin Andrea has been coming every night to help with milking, as has Bhakta Kyle on occasion.
• Ray completed the work on Dharma the bull’s outside pen expansion project at the Valley Barn. Dharma is content in his new outside space.
• Ray replaced all of the old fluorescent bulbs and fixtures in the new vegetable processing room with LED lighting which is low-maintenance and energy efficient. In addition, he ran conduit and installed two electrical outlets, one of which services the new freezer.
• Ray, with Robert’s help, replaced the old deck on the front entrance of Gopal’s Garden. With the help of Brikasanga, he is replacing the siding around the front entrance to the school building.
• Ray will be handling repairs at the greenhouses at Vidya’s and at Nandagram this month.
• Caitanya Bhagavat has settled into a winter program of working with Hari Chand in the ox program for one hour each morning, and caring for the Nandagram herd.
• Suchandra cleaned out all the beds at the Teaching Garden and prepared them for winter by working them up and covering them with compost. Also, she finished planting 400 lily bulbs there. She will finish clearing the beds and digging out the dahlia bulbs at Vidya’s this month.
• Robert cleared the beds at the Community Garden and readied them for next year.
• In discussions with Robert, he shared that does not want to take on the responsibility of overseeing the vegetable gardens for 2018. That means ECO-V is still searching for a garden manager for the upcoming season.
• 2017 Total Garden Yields

Produce delivered to the Temple Kitchen (does not include Freezer Stock):

• Green beans – 336 lbs.
• Cucumbers – 20 lbs.
• Bitter melon – 30 lbs.
• Summer and patty pan squash – 166 lbs.
• Zucchini squash – 117 lbs.
• Winter squash – 15 lbs.
• Swiss chard – 78 lbs.
• Basil – 7.5 lbs.
• Kale – 23 lbs.
• Lettuce – 8 lbs.
• Carrots – 36 lbs.
• Heirloom tomatoes – 122 lbs.
• Roma tomatoes – 80 lbs.
• Cherry tomatoes – 42 lbs.
• Apples – 81 lbs.
• Plums – 25 lbs.
• Strawberries – 50 lbs.
• Blackberries – 5 lbs.
• Potatoes – 600 lbs.

Freezer Stock:

• Green Beans – 54 gallons
• Tomatoes – 33 gallons

Flowers:

• Big marigolds – 27,000
• Small marigolds – 25,000
• Lilies – 525
• Dahlias – 760
• Zinnias – 1,500
• Sunflowers – 575
• Gladiolus – 75

2. Restructuring ECO-V

The Board explored ways we can encourage more people to get involved with ECO-V. Suggested strategies include:

• Improve outreach to the local community
• Connect with people from the WVU College of Agriculture
• Build relationships with people from Grow Ohio Valley
• Review wages offered
• Continue to search within the broader community of devotees while making internal improvements within ECO-V and New Vrindaban in general
• Attract WWOOFers – Start by offering room and board, then work to eventually be able to offer paid positions and offer training. Look for interpersonal skills within the existing staff to run such a program.
• Look at possible interfaith connections
• Reassess past experiences, consider how to highlight the uniqueness of the opportunities ECO-V and New Vrindaban have offer, and revise our methods of recruitment until we find the right people

3. Village Governance vs. Non-Profit Management

Chaitanya Mangala spoke about the need to identify the differences between village governance and non-profit management, and also to adopt language that helps differentiate between the two, so New Vrindaban residents & well-wishers can continue to develop a proper “self-governing village.”

4. Board & Advisor Application

The Board discussed the possibility of adopting an application recently developed by INV for director and advisor positions and also to explore other ways of increasing involvement with ECO-V. Chaitanya Mangala will share the INV application so it can be considered at the next meeting.

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