Gopaswami Prabhu and devotees engaged in eco-house construction 

New Mayapur in Central France is working to implement Srila Prabhupada’s vision for rural farm communities where devotees can live in harmony with nature, while addressing the climate crisis. The aim is to build a Vedic village as outlined by Srila Prabhupada, where earth and her natural resources are protected, which is in perfect harmony with the modern day need for sustainability. Implementing his ideas for community living, based on Vedic wisdom, gives a lasting solution to withstand the ill-effects of soaring temperatures. 

The village aims to achieve food self-sufficiency by cultivating its own food, as advocated by Srila Prabhupada. “This helps achieve food security in the face of natural disasters induced by climate change and reduces the carbon footprint of food occurring in transport, distribution and packaging,” said Locanananda Das, President, New Mayapur. Cows and bulls are protected as per his advice, which enhances food sovereignty, preserves biodiversity and their responsible grazing practices enhance soil quality. The vegetarian diet prescribed in scriptures reduces the community’s role in global deforestation to grow feed for the hundreds of millions of animals slaughtered annually.

Following advice of Srila Prabhupada to abstain from using harmful pesticides, the farms in the village do not use substances that are harmful to living creatures in the environment. “Here we use cow dung and compost. This has the added advantage of reducing emissions caused by pesticides and also replenishing soil, making it resilient to extreme climatic events caused by climate change,” explained Gandharvika Rai Devi Dasi, Vice President, New Mayapur. “As Srila Prabhupada encouraged the use of men and animals over machines, we use goats to clear bushes in the forest instead of using machines or chemicals,” she added. This reduces carbon emissions. He further emphasized the cultivation of gardens, protection of trees and animals and stressed on full cooperation between man and nature. Hence, the village maintains several gardens and a forest, while protecting its wildlife. These measures result in deep and long-term carbon capture, while maintaining a healthy  ecosystem. 

Measures are taken to ensure the environment is not unnecessarily harmed as per Srila Prabhupada’s instructions to care for natural resources and not exploit or degrade earth. Old buildings are preserved to reduce the environmental impact caused by destruction and construction of new ones. Eco-houses using natural materials such as mud, clay, stone and straw are being built, to enable simple living and high thinking for devotees. “Ninety percent of the materials for these homes are sourced on-site and built by devotees. These homes use solar energy and have rainwater harvesting systems,” said Dr Gopaswami Prabhu, retired doctor and a Srila Prabhupada disciple who built an ecohouse. The first eco-house was built 20 years ago and it still remains strong and beautiful.

A centralized heating system using solar power and local renewable resources is being installed for self-reliant heating and to provide hot water to the village. Restoring a lake on the property, recycling wastewater and rainwater harvesting are being planned for effective water management. Residents do their part by sharing and reusing clothes and recycling deity outfits to make beautiful accessories. Waste audits, on-site waste education and composting are the first steps adopted in building a zero-waste village. Sustainable transportation is encouraged by providing free bicycles for traveling throughout the property. The village imparts knowledge of these sustainable practices and devotional service to young volunteers, to fulfill Srila Prabhupada’s dream of imparting knowledge of farming and bringing people to Krishna, while motivating them to follow practices that are beneficial to the environment.    

Srila Prabhupada’s ideas helps position New Mayapur as a perfect example of a community-led grassroot level initiative, encouraged by sustainable land planners and climate scientists worldwide to combat global warming. The community’s leaders, inspired by Janananda Goswami, a disciple of Srila Prabhupada, thereby aim to establish an ideal Vedic society, while simultaneously addressing climate change in a holistic, comprehensive way. 

A video on the various ecological initiatives of New Mayapur was produced. You can view it here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpNbxl6EycM 

To learn more about these projects, to support with a monthly or yearly donation, to volunteer, or become a part of this community, visit www.newmayapur.com

For enquiries, please write in to contact@newmayapur.com