ECO-Vrindaban Board Meeting Minutes 05/20/2018
Mission Statement: ECO-Vrindaban promotes cow protection, local agriculture, and above all, loving Krishna, as envisioned by Srila Prabhupada, ISKCON New Vrindaban’s Founder-Acharya.
Participating Directors: Anuttama (partial attendance), Chaitanya Mangala (chair), Jamuna Jivani (board secretary), Ranaka, and Vraja.
Participating Advisors: Jaya Krsna, Kalakantha and Kripamaya.
1. Ranaka reported on the previous month’s activities:
– Ananda Vidya and Lalita Gopi are currently milking seven cows: Jamuna, Surabhi, Laxmi, Sita, Anjali, Sriya, and Malati – approximately 34 gal. of milk per day
– Malati, who suffered a rather serious illness this winter, has been able to regain her health and nurse her four-months-old calf, Gopi Katyayani, as well as give milk.
– Ananda Vidya continues to transform the extra milk into 15 lbs. of butter, 15 gal. of yogurt, and ½ gal. of ghee on a weekly basis, as well as two (8” diameter x 3.5 inch high) wheels of Colby cheese.
– Lalita Gopi and Ananda Vidya rented a machine to rough up the surface of the cement in the calf pen which was slick and therefore dangerous to the calves.
– Usha is pregnant and due in late August.
– Ray is working on a cattle crossing to replace the entrance gate to the Garden House at Nandagram. The form has been built and cement was poured in it. The pipe frame still needs to be constructed. Once the frame is complete, Ray will take the backhoe to dig a pit to set it in.
– Ray has spent much time this month working on the bullpen and fencing at Nandagram. Madhu the bull is now free to graze in his area.
– Vidya’s greenhouse repairs have been finished.
– Ray replaced the drive belt on cub cadet lawn mower
– The hay equipment is ready for the beginning of this season’s harvest at the end of the month as the weather permits
– Caitanya Bhagavat continues the usual daily activities on the farm, such as general cow care; ensuring the cows are healthy, fed and have water; counting them twice a day; checking the fences; mowing and weed whacking; and general maintenance of the barns.
– Caitanya Bhagavat has brought the bullpen to a functional state. It still needs a little more work, but Madhu is now able to be outside on pasture. Jaya Radhe is still residing with him.
– Dr. Moors visited. He check Jaya Radhe and Usha for pregnancy, and drained the abscesses on Priya’s hoof. Priya got an antibiotic shot the next day.
– A considerable amount of fence repair has been happening at Bahulaban and Nandagram over the past two months. This is due to a number of trees that have fallen from storms, and also in order to separate the oxen from the cows, who will go to Bahulaban for summer pasturing. This project should be completed soon.
– There was maha barn clean up where lots of cow dung was moved out of the barn to be used as fertilizer.
– Suchandra reported planting 200 hundred big marigolds, 100 tomato plants, bitter melon, peas, green beans, lettuce (some of which was eaten), and green peppers at Vidya’s garden, which completes the planting there. Monique, Radhanatha, and Govinda helped with this and have been picking the asparagus. Four bunches have been delivered to the Deity kitchen.
– Ryan and Suchandra tilled, covered, and weeded the Teaching Garden, and started transplanting vegetables for the Community Garden into bigger six-packs. Also, Suchandra planted most of the bulbs at the Teaching Garden – dahlias, lilies, and gladiolas. She delivered some of the ground cover rolls to the gardens. Currently, they are planting flowers at the Teaching Garden.
– At the Nandagram garden, Mukunda and Lila have removed the ground cover and replaced it with hay mulch.
– Mukunda and Lila transplanted the following plants: 144 marigolds, 128 roma tomato, 12 grape tomato, 40 rutgers tomato, 12 bell pepper, and 12 hot pepper. Also, they seeded kale, bitter melon, cucumbers, green beans, zucchini, and summer squash.
– Ranaka researched, inspected, and purchased a 2006 F-150 Ford pickup with 73,392 miles in very good condition for $8,495. The vehicle is being used by the garden and farm departments.
– Ray and Ranaka planted 1,900 lbs. of potato seed this month in two different areas: 1,300 lbs. at the Valley Barn, and 600 lbs. at the Community Garden.
– Ranaka has been developing plans with Tejo to upgrade the water systems for the Field and Garden houses at Nandagram.
2. ECO-V Mission Statement Update
WHEREAS: The ECOV board wishes to continue condensing and refining its mission statement for clarity and brevity.
RESOLVED: The ECO-V board adopts the following as our updated mission statement:
“ECO-Vrindaban promotes cow protection, local agriculture, and above all, loving Krishna, as envisioned by Srila Prabhupada, ISKCON New Vrindaban’s Founder-Acharya.”
Point of clarification: Our mission statement comes directly via a 1973 quote from Srila Prabhupada: “Agriculture and protecting the cow, this is the main business of the residents of Vrindaban, and above all simply loving Krishna.”
3. INV Funding Request for NV50 Events
WHEREAS: 2018 marks the 50th anniversary of New Vrindaban (1968 – 2018), an important milestone in the village’s gradual development, and the ECO-V Board wishes to support the NV50 celebrations planned throughout the year.
RESOLVED: The ECO-V Board approves a budget of up to $45K towards the NV50 celebrations throughout 2018.
4. INV Funding Request for Truth & Reconciliation Facilitation
WHEREAS: The ECOV board wishes to support ongoing open communication and conflict resolution within the Village of New Vrindaban.
RESOLVED: The ECO-V board approves a matching grant of up to $5K toward the costs of three sessions of Truth and Reconciliation facilitation.
5. Update on the IMCPA Meetings
Kalakantha and Jamuna Jivani reported on the plans for the upcoming ISKCON Ministry of Cow Protection and Agriculture meetings June 25-26 in DeLand, FL. The Board was asked for ideas regarding its future goals. Some of the objectives shared included building a greenhouse for year-round growing, involving more devotees in cow protection and gardening, celebrating the 50th anniversary of cow protection in ISKCON in 2019, as well as networking with – and learning from – other groups with similar interests.
Here’s a link to the ECO-Vrindaban website.
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By Paramadayala Nityananda Dasa 
By Acarya Dasa
By Gadadhar Das
