Iskcon Alachua’s Eco Teaching Farm Update
Chiki Hut Built on Eco Farm.
Mukhya devi dasi: We are moving along at the Eco Teaching Farm to create a great learning place for alternative living ideas, as Srila Prabhupada wanted. One of the newest additions is the Chikki hut sponsored by Akuti devi dasi. It will be used for gatherings, bhajans, classes, yoga, prasadam distribution, and more. Akuti prabhu remembered how at the old Miami temple there were two Chikkis made by the Seminole Indians, and they were exempt from permits. Due to this exemption, and the costs of building another type of structure, the Chikki was a good fit for the Eco Farm. The Seminoles still have the business, and they provide service here in Alachua too. They completed the project in 2 days with more than 3,000 sabal palms, cypress poles, and pressure treated uprights.
Akuti prabhu plans to make an India-style outdoor kitchen here, along with a cob oven off the back side. It will be a great place for picnics. At the encouragement of Sakshi Gopal das, she will make a traditional raised cow dung earth floor. You may also want to check out the newly installed (almost hooked up) bio-gas digester in the barn kitchen that can convert all kinds of organic materials, even left over prasadam, into fuel for a stove! This project was encouraged and assisted by two UF professors with whom Akuti prabhu has made friends.