Self-Sufficient Community?

[ethos 0]

Prabhupada propagated and left instructions for ISKCON farming communities to be self-sufficient examples to the world.

 

Have any farms accomplished this? Or do they all use tractors and so on?

 

If they can't do it, why not? Do potential laborers see no future in it?

[stonehearted 0]

I have a tape of a lecture Srila Prabhupada gave at our farm here on the Big Island in 1975. He talked at length about the glories of transcendental village life and strongly admonished against using machines. I'll try to transcribe some portions of the lecture when I have some time. I've already promised Muralidhar a transcript of a section of another tape, and my students keep giving me papers to grade, so it may not come immediately.

[Gauracandra 1]

To be honest, I think most devotees are too city (I put myself in this category). No one really wants to do hard labor farming. We instead have an idealized idea of getting up, walking with the cows, and doing as we please with the day. But simple living is actually a lot of hard work. This is why I really do admire the Amish, who if nothing else have stood their ground and tried to live as simple as possible. If we ever did establish such farms, they could only succeed if city devotees bought their produce from these farms (at higher prices). Perhaps only a class of devotees could do this. A few would live on the farms and grow food, and the vast majority would live in the city and purchase to support these few devotee farmers.

[Guest guest]

 

 

India would be ideal.

 

the many problems of the street dwellers in the major

cities could be solved easily by an industrious

attitude with a plan for vedic cities.

 

Take these people and buy some land ,set them up at what they are inclined and go from there.

There are so many people available living in such

poverty they would be more then willing to participate.

 

This would take the contributions of wealthy patrons

and dedicated co-ordinators.

 

With help from the government a lot could be done

and a major problem solved, these people could be raising crops, taking care of cows, constucting dwellings,temples,art,music, etc.

 

All it takes is the cooperation of like minded souls,

and an attitude of service to India and it's people,

and surely God will arrange it all to work successfully.

 

 

[Guest guest]

It's pretty rare that communal living or communism works well for long in an unenlightened society. I have seen it work well in some Indian Monasteries.

 

Many of the early USA settlements failed-they were communal.Only a few worked and they starved to death. Some historic accounts say that Captain John Smith said everyone could keep the fruits of his own labor. The settlement survived.

 

The Amish have a quite a timber industry going and do engage in commerce-it's not all hand to mouth.

Dharma

[Guest guest]

http://hkrl.com/

[Sephiroth 0]

India was a self-Sufficient community, up to 500 years ago, and so was Japan about 200 years ago.

 

Your suggestions are correct and workable, but there is one problem. People who lives in this society must not wish for too much materialistic things. They should concentrate in having what they need and not what they want.

 

Like Mahatma Gandhi said - "The World can support our needs, but not our Greed".

 

A self-sufficient Community is where people produce food for the community, there also people who protect the community (police men), people who does manual labors and finally, a few gifted individuals who does research and development in field of science and technology because without Science, disease may appear, knowledge will be lost and people will become ignorant of Truth.

 

In the end, it all boils down to the Vedas.

[maadhav 0]

In india most farmers rely heavily on nature/rain.

this is had labor and no insurance for prosperity.

some rely on coopertive socities of farmers.

this is better, because, they control the price of their products, else only the vilalge bania makes the money.

 

in US gov. conrols what to grow and how much.

it pays farmers to not grow something.

now, how does that fit with the republican philosophy of US?

 

also, farmers rely on machineray, and machinery is expensive for them just as all medical supplies are expensive for doctors. US farmers rely very less, almost nothing on rain.

 

iskcon's farm commuities could develop dairy business and organic foods business which will produce very good income.

if iskcon cannot do it, then some other vedic socities will/should do it.

 

US/west give importance to industries that produce top class weapons. vedic culure on the other hand prefers to produce abundent food supply first.