Such a program could be an excellent tool for outreach into the local and world community, and a valuable opportunity for education, employment, or eco-vacation.

Devotee farm communities - Models for teaching and reaching out to the community

I would like to invite input from devotees on the topic of farm communities in ISKCON and outside ISKCON. What is the current status of your farms? How are they thriving? Have they been downsized or upgraded over the years? What is the size of your land, what percentage is actually used for food production, what percentage for pasture? How many devotees are living there and actually working on the farm? How many cows do you have, and how many of them are actually lactating? How much milk is produced, and is it profitable? What kinds of food crops are grown? Do you grow your own animal feed? How long is the growing season? What is your policy on use of modern machinery and technology? Do you sell your produce in the local markets, or is it grown only to sustain the farm community? What is your vision for fitting into the neighboring community, do you play an active role in your local farm co-op?

Srila Prabhupada gave many instructions for developing farm communities that would serve as ideal models of simple living and high thinking — honest toil to provide the basic necessities of life with the ultimate aim being pursuit of spiritual self realization. The community ideally would be comprised of four divisions of occupation, everyone working cooperatively. Thus Srila Prabhupada wanted to establish the principles of varnashram-dharma — by planting the seed first in his own fertile field of disciples, with the idea that the rest of the world – neighboring farms, local communities, even the whole nation or people from other countries – might see and learn and gradually recognize the importance and practical relevance of Krishna consciousness in their day-to-day lives.

Anyway, today I happened across a website that may be of interest to ISKCON farms and other devotee farm communities, especially those that are doing organic farming, and also might be useful for devotees who want to learn about organic farming.

World-wide Opportunities on Organic Farms is a liaison between organic farms and persons who want to volunteer to work on them. It's basically a directory service. Farms can sign up with WOOF as hosts, and individuals who want to volunteer sign up as members and are then given access to the directory (in print as well as online) to contact the listed farms.

The international website is: World-wide Opportunities on Organic Farms - http://www.wwoof.org/

North America & Central America: http://www.wwoof.org/americas.asp

South America: http://www.wwoof.org/southamerica.asp

Europe-Middle East: http://www.wwoof.org/europe.asp

Africa: http://www.wwoof.org/africa.asp

Asia-Pacific: http://www.wwoof.org/asia-pacific.asp

From the website:

• WOOF volunteers do not pay for their stay
• WOOF hosts do not pay volunteers for their help
• WOOF organizations usually charge a small fee to hosts and volunteers

WOOF hosts
◊ grow organically, are in conversion, or use ecologically sound methods on their land.

◊ provide hands-on experience of organic growing and other learning opportunities where possible.

◊ provide clean dry accommodation and adequate food for their volunteers.

WOOF members (volunteers)
◊ need a genuine interest in learning about organic growing, country living or ecologically sound lifestyles.

◊ help their hosts with daily tasks for an agreed number of hours.

From the North America WOOF website:

World-Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms, USA (WWOOF-USA, http://www.wwoofusa.org/) is part of a world-wide effort to link volunteers with organic farmers, promote an educational exchange, and build a global community conscious of ecological farming practices.

WWOOF-USA publishes a printed and online directory of more than 1000 farms that host volunteers in exchange for meals and accommodations. It is an opportunity to learn practical farming skills, explore the US, connect with where food comes from, be part of the real food movement, and have a fun, inexpensive eco-vacation.

How WWOOF Works
The Basics

WWOOF-USA is an organization that facilitates volunteering on organic farms. The program is available to anyone 18 years of age or older. It doesn’t matter whether you’re an urbanite, professional, student, family, farmers, gardener, or someone who has never touched soil; you’re all welcome. WWOOF-USA publishes a directory of farms engaged in sustainable agriculture practices (hosts) that would like to welcome volunteers (WWOOFers) to participate in an educational and cultural exchange.

WWOOF farms offer a variety of educational opportunities, including growing vegetables, keeping bees, building straw bale houses, working with animals, and making wine. With hundreds of farms in all 50 states, as well as the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, there is something for everyone. It is an authentic way to immerse yourself in a new experience and come together with people from varied backgrounds and cultures- with no money exchanged between host and WWOOFer.

Once you become a member of WWOOF, you will receive a printed directory and access to the directory online. It is then the member’s job to contact hosts and see if he or she and the farm are a good match. Volunteers generally work for a half-day, participating in farm work and projects as needed. In exchange, farmers provide volunteers with meals, accommodations, and education. The length of stay on a farm is determined by the host and can vary from a few days to an entire season. Be sure to have lots of clear communication with your potential hosts, and listen to their hopes and expectations and express yours. This will guide you all into an agreeable situation.

Preview the Aquarius Ranch in California for a sampling of what a host farm might offer. Preview other WOOF host farms.

Alternatively, ISKCON farms and independent devotee farms could make their own host programs modeled after those that are offered by farms that are signed up WOOF and advertise them around the world. Such a program could be an excellent tool for outreach into the local and world community, and a valuable opportunity for education, employment, or eco-vacation. Farms also can sign up as hosts in student exchange programs. In this way devotees can engage with the community/world at large and offer people a real, tangible experience of a lifetime, and open their eyes to not only a different way of farming, but a whole new vista on life.