Outlines of a business model for Protection Farms

[Guest guest]

Pancaratna das wrote:

 

> A business model for this would have to start with:

>

> Mortgage free land placed in a trust in which the

> cows are the beneficiaries

> and with trustees who are not proprietors of the

> business.

 

The main thing here for me is that the cows are in a

charitable trust. Therefore, if the business fails and

goes into bankruptcy the cows are covered for life.

Wether or not the land is mortgage free is only

relevant to the cost structure. I envisage a model

where present day farmers could be certified by VEDA -

the Vegetarian Environmental Development Association

(or a similar secular certifiying body) - and the land

would be already owned by the farmer. The land could

also be bought or rented, which would add to the

overall costs. A charity, like VEDA, could subsidies

this as a 0% mortagage. Of course, the more money in

the system the more support that can be offered.

 

The trust would

> contract with the business to manage the farm on

> certain principles and take

> the profit, less 25% which would go back into the

> trust. The trust would

> keep this fund in an endowment to guarantee the

> protection of the cows by

> hiring cow herds in the future if the business

> fails.

 

Totally, yet the quantity that goes into the trust

needs to be worked out based on real calculations not

just a nominal amount. But the idea is full on.

 

> In no case, should the protection of the cows be at

> risk in the business

> model.

 

100%

 

> The main thing here is market research. Mark is

> postulating a niche market

> for "Happy COw" milk and milk products. I happen to

> agree that there could

> be a good market here.

 

Thank you prabhu, perhaps now we can get into the

details of this model. I will be putting forward my

ideas, but only when I have a modicum of support from

the conference members. I have been working on this

for 6 years, as an economic model, as well as on-farm

experience.

 

However, I don't believe

> there is enough profit in

> this to bring the returns on investment that venture

> capitalists look for,

> especially when the initial investment in the cow

> trust is irrecoverable.

 

For me the back bone is the cow's milk and the oxen's

crops, unfortunately at the moment in that order. If

the quality standards are met, this should prove to

work. Profitability is relevant to the difference

between costs and prices obtained. The venture

capitalist I am talking to are more interested in the

off-shoots from the backbone - hotels, B&B, tourism,

art & crafts centres, theme parks.

 

There investment is not in the cow trust, but in

market research, marketing, land, capital investments.

 

The secret is, for me, to arrange via private,

charitable and public means for a quality standard

system to bring into the system enough money,

expertise, ideas and enthusiasm.

 

If devotees get behind this, and as I see it this is

varnasrama, and implement a merchantile system for us

more karmically minded people, I believe the idea is

so novel that much advertising will come free from the

media. If demand is stimulated and supply is behind

then the price gets pushed up. What needs to be

ensured is that the quality standards are high and

implemented. There are so many ways to cheat in this,

from using other milk, to paying someone to shoot the

animals and claim sabotage. We have to be aware. I

come across as the devil's advocate in this so that we

can realise that all sorts of materially-based

activities will happen, to be aware of them is to

pre-empt them.

 

> Therefore, I can't see it working as a regular

> commercial model. There has

> to be some initial donation to form the trust and

> secure the land and future

> of the cows. That is the ksatriyas role as I see it.

> Then the vaisyas can

> try to generate surplus milk and make profits.

 

Yes, but I think land security is second to cow

security, and the latter can occur without the other.

There is a serious amount of money out there in the

hands of philanthropic people, the Hinduja's, the

McCartney's, etc., we need to work with them. But

first we need a basic business structure. It does not

have to be fully costed yet as seed funding could go

into the initial research and business plan formation.

I propose VEDA as a secular charitable alternative to

ISKCON and ISCOWP, who should fully concentrate on the

highest standards and form self sufficient vasisnava

communities. VEDA would be in charge of administrating

(ksyatria) supply and stimulating demand in the

charitable shpere. I propose Protection Farms as a

marketable business name to administer the business,

wherein the business men (vaisyas) work the system and

pull a profit. Other names I thought up are Happy

Farms, with Happy Cows and Happy Cow Milk; PAL Farms

(Protecting Animals for Life), Cows 'R' Us.

 

Thank you Pancaratna das for standing up for what I am

saying, I hope others will see what I am doing in its

light and stop the personality attacks against me.

 

 

 

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