the Eco Village!!

I wish all of you could come to this place...it's amazing!!!  It's located about 2 hrs. outside Mumbai, amidst a picturesque Indian jungle setting.  So far, the farm owns 70 acres and they are living the dream of unity with nature.  Check out these pictures:

view from our room (papaya tree) 

additional view from our room w/banana grove

amazing goshala--the cows are really in focus here--they are SO loved and cared for in such a personal manner, as simply part of the family  

the cows are also very lovable

we got to brush the calves and they LOVE it!!  actually, it's recommended for the bramacharis (monks) to spend at least 1 hr. per day brushing the cows...indeed, it is a wonderful experience!  such a beautiful, loving exchange!  there's no way someone could continue eating cows after having an experience like this.

they just love you right back...licks and nuzzles and happy energy

they really like getting rubbled on the underside of their soft necks...

view from the temple room 

temple room facing Srila Prabhupada

merciful Gaura-Nitai deities

all the walls have been made from elements of the surrounding earth--paintings in the alter space

view of temple room facing the Deities

amazing prasadam (food that's been blessed)--first class all the way!  this is the family we came out here with--Astasaki mataji is a Prabhupada disciple from the Manor, her son Baladeva and his wife Joyce

more beautiful art in the alter space

rice fields (they practice sustainable agriculture)

products that they grow, harvest and use/sell (rice, i think mung dal, peanuts, another type of rice)
they grow a specific type of rice that is used in sweet rice and it is oh so good!!!

doesn't look so pretty, but is where they mix all their own organic fertilizers...

one of the agricultural fields--they employ some of the local villagers to help--there's a lot of work to be done!!

another field, most of the plants here are done and they are letting them go to seed in order to save the seeds for the next crop.  they also use raised beds...

There used to be a boys orphanage in the current location of the temple in Mumbai.  The devotees moved the orphanage to another spot, then out to the Eco Village where they've turned it into an amazing gurukula (school).

This is the boy's exercise arena--totally set up for your typical boy!  It has all kinds of fun ways to play/exercise using simple equipment and games. 

This is the official wrestling arena!  The ground is made up of all kinds of good antiseptic things--spices, clay, cow dung, etc...there is a rope swing that nitai immediately ran to...that's him getting ready to swing from the wall...

here's part of the school/classrooms

there are also girls in the school, just they live at home 

sweet kids

they gave us these gorgeous bouquets when we arrived at the school--nitai is holding up tumeric flowers--break the green part a bit and you smell the tumeric!

these lovely smelling bouquets are what we were given

notice the detailed designs over the classroom door--there is so much attention paid to every details in the farm, Gopal's Fun School, Hospital and Radha-Gopinatha mandir--it's incredible! 

Cow dung is collected in these large containers, then the gas that it gives off is filtered through these pipes which lead directly to the kitchen--all the stoves are fueled in this way! 

This is a beautiful shot of their nursery--it's huge!  It's gotten so successful that they are able to sell many of their plants to outside buyers.

They also process their own sewage using this ingenious filtration system designed by one of the Radha-Gopinatha devotees.   The water is piped into the top, which is covered with plants.  It travels through the roots and eventually out a rock base.  The clean water is then used to irrigate the agriculture fields.

The top of the sewage treatment space.  It hardly smelled!

This is a room the devotees are building for HH Radhanatha Swami.

A spacious and beautiful open-air patio where we would take our delicious meals.

All the buildings are made from a cob-like structure using surrounding material.  All the bricks are mixed and hand-pressed on site.  The building on the right is where we stayed.

Everyone should visit the Eco Village!!