Some images of our monastery hydroponic greenhouse. Everyday the Siddhidatta Kulam brings in greens and vegetables to be used for cooking. Here was are able to grow many things that we can't grow outside due to too much rain or insects. Things like tomatoes, cucumbers and softer lettuce varieties such as butter lettuce now grow in abundance. Aum Namah Sivaya

The most recent goings-on of the Siddhidata monks are in:

One of Natyam Dayanatha's day jobs is to perform engine repair. Here he is working on one of our generators. Thank you Natyam.

Finish up those emails, shut down the computer, clean up the desktop and off to the weekend! Two days a week we monks get to see the sun rise, go out and about and stop to smell the honey. A few shots were taken this past retreat, let's see what they're up to...

The mighty Siddhidata Kulam are rounding up granite stones and moving them in place for the next batch of silpis who arrive in just a few weeks. The foundation of Iraivan is getting cleared for work, and that means moving some serious crate collections that have built up over the years. Luckily our monastic staff has forklifts, big-wheel trucks and gas-powered pressure washers to get the work done swiftly. Here's a small slideshow of their recent effort.

The Siddhidata Kulam has been working overtime to get strawberries, cucumbers and a variety of kales and chards growing and into the kitchen as soon as possible. Here are some photos of their journey into finishing the greenhouse addition.

What was just an empty field April 27th last year is today a fully finished and equipped processing facility for noni from our certified organic orchard located across the river from the monastery on land leased from the State. The orchard's eight acres has proved to be a successful "cash crop" which ultimately will support all the agricultural activity on the 312 acre parcel. This 24 foot by 56 foot building is one of the few we've built "from scratch" at the monastery and was a bit of a challenge to manage. But it is now finished and exactly what we needed to clean, ferment and press what becomes "Wailua River Noni Juice." Since its inception, the monastery has always maintain agricultural activities. Earlier it was honey production on a commercial scale; now, with the acquisition of the large parcel of former sugar cane land it is noni, nursery trees and hardwood trees. One benefit of this agricultural activity is to keep the monastery closely tied to the local community of our rural island. Our thanks to architect Thamby Kumaran who did the building plans as a donation, to Easvan Param who installed all the electrical wiring and to all the others who helped.


You can buy our noni on eBay, visit us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram @wailua_river_noni.

The Minimela is blessed to have a full team of hardworking sevaks take the inventory and price checking by storm. This devoted group spent hours chipping at the endless supply of new Minimela items and getting their tags and prices in order.

A new once-a-month cleaning routine has been activated for Iraivan Temple, and the first of the ongoing cleanings has been performed by Nirvani Tejadevanatha and Natyam Dayanatha using the new Genie Boom Lift Operator. A closeup of the control panel inside the lift cabin. Natyam Dayanatha is today's operator, while Nirvani Tejadevanatha operates the pressure washing wand—carefully cleaning the temple stone. The two monks run through a list of pre-cleaning protocols, checking safety measures and operator awareness. Here we go!   Up up and way, the two use the boom's powerful arm to get hoisted into the air and right up close to the stone. Amazing!   The cleaning begins. The temple is in much need of regular upkeep and input of energy. The soon-to-be arrival of stone carvers and this new cleaning routine is really feeling good and the Iraivan area is starting to feel that activity buzz once again. Jai! Thank you to all the donors who help support this giant project.        

After several months of trial and error, the monks have learned a system to successfully grow Shitake mushrooms. Shitake mushrooms have many great health benefits as well as being quite tasty!