Today at Kauai Aadheenam

Our monastic greenhouses where created by, and have long been cared for by, the monks of the Siddhidatta Kulam. After many years of Kauai’s weather, the shades are now in need of some deep cleaning and repairs. Due the the strong UV sunlight we have here, the shades had started to deteriorate. This is bad for many reasons, one of the main ones being that the plants are no longer as protected from the sun. These shades automatically go up and down based on the sunlight and heat. If it’s too bright, they lower to protect the fragile plants from the light and if it’s cloudy out, they raise up to offer as much light as possible. The SK Team decided to replace the torn shades with new ones, but in the process discovered that the greenhouse needed to be thoroughly washed. Today they spent the morning pressure washing the greenhouse to make it look like new.

Jai Ganesha!

One of the stories being assembled for the next issue of Hinduism Today, January 2025, is the traveling outdoor art exhibition called the Great Elephant Migration.
It is created by Elephant Family USA, a charity that works to protect Asian wildlife. One hundred life-size elephant sculptures are traveling across the USA over a one year, one month period to raise awareness and funds for conservation projects. The elephants are made of Lantana camara, the second most invasive species in the world which is toxic to humans and elephants. This fast-growing shrub has taken over 40% of forests in India, thus diminishing food sources for animals and forcing them to seek sustenance in urban areas. Stay tuned for the full story.

As everyone knows, the monks here loves papayas, but did you know that we grow them by ourselves? The trees are taken care of by our monks of the Siddhidatta Kulam, who have been wonderfully managing them for many years. But just like all things, these trees must eventually conclude their time on this beautiful Earth. So recently, the SK team decided to plant some new papaya trees, replacing the older ones that have been producing delicious fruits for many years.

As you can see in these pictures, Sadhaka Shankaranatha is working hard to plant the new trees. First they have to dig a hole around the old trees, going deep for their roots. Once the old tree has been removed, they plant the new papaya tree. Once placed in the ground, new soil and mulch is added. As you can see, it requires quite a lot of work to upkeep our many papaya trees and ensure that our monks have an everlasting supply of these healthy, tasty fruits!

Jai Ganesha!