Kunstler: The Long Emergency - the crash after Peak Oil Production

[Guest guest]

>

> Until we establish and demonstrate livelihoods that are based on protected

> ox dependency we still do not have a living alternative. Srila Prabhupada

> wants us to have a system of Cow protection that is not utopian but is

> practical.

>

> Cow Protection and its farming with oxen require the dynamics of vaisya

> drive to enable ox herdsmen to make a living from working oxen.

>

> Where are the business plans that demonstrate how a working man can

> maintain his family from working a team or teams of working oxen. These

> plans would be important contributions to the change of utopian cow

> protection ideals to practical cow protection.

>

 

Living out here right by the rice fields in Mayapur, I get to watch one Muslim

fellow which, in a way, I admire very much.

His name is Tahir.

This man literally is dependent on his pair of oxen.

 

Tahir has several plots of land, which he works with his oxen. On one large

portion of the Land he grows rice. All the way up to harvest time, he stays in

a little pump house and guards the patty. His son brings him his breakfast and

Lunch in a tiffin.

When it is time to harvest, he has some helpers. He does not pay them with

money, but gives them rice instead. the oxen will howl every thing (rice and

rice straw) home with their bullock cart. Some of he rice he sells and the rest

he keeps for the whole year to feed his family. The rice straw he keeps for his

oxen, It will last him all year.

On the other Land he grows wheat, jute, chickpeas, vegetables etc. Every thing

according to the season. Again, from the jute he will sell the fibre and the

sticks he keeps for roofing and making walls for his ox shed. The rest of the

sticks his wife will use for cooking. She packs them with the dung of the oxen.

Which, after they dry, will make an excellent fuel.

The wheat he also uses for making flour and sells only if he has excess. The

bran again will go for feeding his oxen.

 

Now, Tahir does not have any milk cows.

Once I asked him what he will do when his oxen get too old to work. He said

that he will take care of them, because they took care of him all their lives.

Than I asked what he will do when he gets too old to work in the fields. Will

his son take over the work? "No" was his reply, " he is going to school and

getting an education. My son will not have to work this kind of hard work."

"And what will happen to your Land?" I asked again.

" We will probably sell it to ISKCON. At that time it will be worth a lot of

money."

 

Now my question is, are we ready to this kind of work? Are we ready to work the

oxen as Tahir does? Tahir does not know how to read or write, but he can tell

you all about crops and oxen. He trained my Balarama.

The time we spend in front of the computer every day, we could be plowing a

field (or two).

If you want to do agriculture and cow protection, you need to get out there and

work and not be afraid of getting some cow dung stains on your dhoti (or sari).

 

Anyway, just some meditation I wanted to share with you all.

 

Hoping this will meet you in the very best of health by the grace of Krishna.

 

Your humble servant,

Hrimati dasi

 

Mayapur, India

Tel: +91-(3472)245714

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