Today the swamis are milling a massive desk for the Media Studio. It is being milled a full five inches thick, but what is truly special is that it is the mango tree that was felled (regrettably) last month. So the tree will have a new destiny inside the building that it shaded for 54 years.
The wood is extraordinary, with a dramatic black and brown vein of heartwood surrounded by pink and beige tones, which have a curly texture throughout. When finished this will be a gem. 

The Monastery has bought a used backhoe from our neighbor, who is moving and sold it at a very good price. The Siddhidata Kulam performed a short puja for it, blessing it for its many long years of use. Being such a large machine, this backhoe is a huge boon.

Recently the concrete footings for the solar panel array were formed up and made ready to be poured. Here the SK works hard to get all the concrete poured and finished. The forms are later removed and the footings made ready for the panel mounting hardware. It is estimated that the Solar array will produce up to 80% of the monasteries day time power and about 40% of its total power. This will help to fulfill, in part, the monasteries attempts to be sustainable and self-sufficient.

Monks Master the Art of Making Tempeh

Sadhaka Rajanatha's has mastered the making of a popular fermented food. The fungi pre-digests the soy beans setting free the valuable protein amino acids and making the beans much more easily digested.

he Siddhidata Kulam officially began the construction side of the monastery solar array. Using the John Deer tractor, several shovels and a few strong monks, 56 holes were drilled. Those holes will become small concrete foundations that photovoltaic solar panels will mount to. Solar electricity brings the monastery one step closer to self sufficiency. Jai Gurudeva Jai Bodhinatha !!!