Gita-nagari's Ox-Power Unit - 1987 - pdf

[Guest guest]

My son Ashto did type up the copy from the Gita-nagari Ox Power Unit. I

have formatted it and translated it into an Adobe .pdf file.

 

I need to make just a couple corrections and it will be ready. I plan to

show it to Fernando Funes, the secretary for the Cuban Organic Farming

Association when he comes in February as part of the Brunswick-Trinidad

[Trinidad, Cuba, that is] Sister Cities Association.

 

As most of you know, by the late 1980's Cuba had the most highly

industrialized agriculture in Latin America, but with the collapse of the

Soviet Union in 1989, all that stopped practically overnight. Just to

survive, Cuba had to train several hundred thousand oxen for agricultural

production.

 

Anyway, I've seen the Food First video by Jaime Kibben, "The Greening of

Cuba" which describes Cuba's transition from Chemical/Industrial Agriculture

to Sustainable Organic Agriculture, and it's fairly impressive to think of a

whole country making such a quick turn around like that. Sad to say, I

believe that millions in the U.S. would have to starve to death before we

made a turnaround like that -- if we ever ran out of petroleum.

 

But, on the other hand, I believe that ox power equipment, ox power

technology, and ox power working and training techniques could all be

developed further in Cuba. We have something to learn from them -- but also

we could have something to offer them, too.

 

I also want to post it on Christian Schlekert's Animal Traction Network.

 

The way I picture it is that ideally, they could try to learn some things

from devotee farmers -- and ultimately this would open the way for Krsna

consciousness to expand in Cuba. That was the one thing missing in the

film -- the Higher Taste. They are trying to promote the glories of hard

working farmers and simple living -- but without high thinking, without

Krsna kirtana -- it misses its mark, it's tasteless.

 

But, anyway, I do see some possibilities for exchange. And back to the

topic at hand: I should have the Ox Power Unit booklet available soon --

I'm just hoping to get a better photo from Paramananda.

 

your servant,

 

Hare Krsna dasi

 

 

-

"Noma T. Petroff" <npetroff (AT) bowdoin (DOT) edu>

"New Talavan" <talavan (AT) fnbop (DOT) com>; "Cow (Protection and related issues)"

<Cow (AT) pamho (DOT) net>

Thursday, March 29, 2001 9:43 AM

Gita-nagari's Ox-Power Unit - 1987

 

 

> New Talavan wrote:

>

> > -

> > Syamasundara (das) (Bhaktivedanta Manor - UK)

<Syamasundara (AT) pamho (DOT) net>

> > mark chatburn <markjon11 >; New Talavan

<talavan (AT) fnbop (DOT) com>;

> > Cow (Protection and related issues) <Cow (AT) pamho (DOT) net>

> > Tuesday, March 27, 2001 3:34 PM

> > Protection Farms - modeling a better system than the slaughter

of

> > billions of animals.

> >

> > Comment:

> > Do you have plans that you could send of an ox-powered grain mill or

contact

> > with someone that does?

> >

> > Taraka Prabhu does someone in Gita Nagari still have the plans for the

> > ox-powered sawmill?

>

> Rohita Prabhu, under Paramananda's supervision in 1987, I put together a

25

> page booklet on Gita-nagari's ox-powered saw mill, complete with 20 pen

and ink

> drawings by Sarva-Siddhi Ratha. I still have a few copies.

>

> Most unfortunately, that was all back in typewriter days -- so I can't

download

> it to this conference. Maybe that could be a project for me -- to re-type

it

> to

> disk, and to scan the drawings. Come to think of it -- maybe I could get

my

> son Ashto to do it for a "community service" project which he needs to

complete

> before he can graduate from high school.

>

> Possibly we could post it on the ISCOWP website in the Resource section.

Chaya

> and Balabhadra Prabhus -- do you think that would be a possibility?

>

> Another note on this whole topic is that in the early 1990's, Lagudi and

Acarya

> (?) prabhus put together their own version for Australia's New Govardhan

Farm.

> I believe they had it set up for irrigation. In the historical American

> versions of an ox-power or horse-power sweep unit, one person stands in

the

> center and prompts the draft animals with a stick or lash, since they are

all

> trained by voice command. This was the plan used at Gita-nagari, since

they

> were

> modeling their unit after an Amish horse power unit in Kentucky.

> Unfortunately

> for the Australian version, Lagudi's animals were not trained with voice

> command, they just had nose rings. Therefore, in addition to pulling the

> sweep,

> the oxen also had to pull a little cart with the ox driver in it, so he

could

> guide them by pulling the reins to their noses. In the photos, it looked

> somewhat awkward.

>

> I heard that people thought that Gita-nagari's gearing system could have

been

> improved -- but at least if we could put the plans on the ISCOWP website,

> animal

> traction technicians could begin to suggest improvements. Probably we

could

> get

> a lot of feedback from the members of Christian Schlekert's Animal

Traction

> Network.

>

> your servant,

>

> Hare Krsna dasi

>

>

> >

> >

> > Does anyone have plans for a gear system that could operate a water

well?

> >

> > One devotee here tells me that in rural Brazil they have ox-powered

baler

> > and hayforks for the big round bales of hay (15,000 pound).

>

> --

> Noma Petroff

> Academic Department Coordinator

> BOWDOIN COLLEGE

> Department of Theater & Dance

> 9100 College Station

> Brunswick ME 04011-8491

>

> Phone: (207) 725-3663

> FAX: (207) 725-3372

> e-mail: npetroff (AT) bowdoin (DOT) edu

>

>

>