Can we get back into this discussion

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Dear Prabhus,

 

PAMHO. AGTSP.

 

I think our discussion last ended with Rohita Prabhu suggesting that a village

concept for housing and land would be best. Like the village concept in India.

This meaning that the housing would be together in one area, shared well

facilities and sewage etc. Some land would be communal but each farmer would

have his land. I believe in one description by Dr. MOdy in our ISCOWP

Newsletter it was described that grazing land was communal, each farmer had his

own plots, housing was together with shared facilities.

 

The question is, is this really possible in our Western world? Americans

especially are very independent minded. The country was founded by independent

pioneering types with a lot of land to tame. There is also the problem in India

now that there is not enough land for each farming family because they keep

dividing it up amongst their descendants and since they didn't have a lot to

begin with they have not enough now.

 

I think that which way we all decide to go: village vs individual will

determine the rest of the discussion and enable us to finer tune #4.

 

So what does everyone think? Village housing or housing on separate plots of

land? Agricultural land seperate from the house or with the house? Or should we

be thinking of two seperate concepts: one for the west and one for the east?

 

The following is the broad scope outline of what we have. I figure we take a

point at a time to finer tune it. Like, next we could discuss free rent or

payment with produce, then how much? But first lets stick with village vs

independent .

 

Free land rent for cow protectors.

 

1. Maintaining goshala oxen.Assuming somebody wants to work land with oxen

from an existing goshala, then they should get the neccessary land to

maintain the oxen without any rent. The land needed can be assessed by the

carrying capacity of the land in each area. Any further land use would require

some

token rental arrangement.

 

2. The devotee who would be eligible for this must provide evidence of

adequate training and experience.

 

3.The first and second year use of the rest of the land (besides what is used

to maintain the oxen) will have no rent required to get started.

 

4. Farming equipment could be rented from the goshala at a reasonable rate,

thus taking away the burden of high start up costs for the prospective

oxpowered farmer.

 

5.In some scenarious it may be better to have housing dealt with seperately

from land. Land use is bound by agricultural pracice. Housing is bound by

ownership and/or rental policy. As a village develops some of the residents

will not be strict HK's, thus the village space should be clearly not part

of the visitor areas. It is a private space. A space the larger communities

should allocate for especially those who are contributing to the

agricultural and cow protection areas.

 

6. If ISKCON can give a livlihood base and a house for its members then it

is more likely to succed in getting land based industries off the ground.

This can be acheived by very liberal housing policies and practically give

away land rent.

 

7. As the agricultural sector becomes successful then the rent can be

adjusted to a win win scenario in consultation with the land holders and the

ministery of Agriculture and Cow Protection. Right now ISKCON should be

super generous and supportive of the land based devotees.

 

 

8. There needs to be some type of periodic review board for the first couple

years, so that the community can make sure that this is actually someone they

want in this position. Much easier to take care of things through a regular,

pre-announced process than when a community decides they don't like someone,

and then they have to devise weird social or political reasons to get him out.

Best to have a regular, above-board review system. After say 3 years, perhaps

the

farmer can be granted some kind of tenure so that he is confident that he has a

fairly permanent land base.

 

your servant,

Chayadevi

 

 

 

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