National Philippine vegetable program expands. Working in partnership with the charity organization Gawad Kalinga, the Philippine Department of Agriculture is seeking to expand a national vegetable growing program to help ensure sufficient food and to improve the lives of less fortunate families. A special project is being initiated with 300 Gawad Kalinga housing sites that will receive Department of Agriculture seeds, greenhouses, technology, and assistance with selling their crops in the markets. Our accolades for your noble collaboration, Philippine Department of Agriculture and Gawad Kalinga, to increase food self-sufficiency in your nation. As more and more people adopt the loving plant-based diet, may all citizens of the world flourish in food abundance and vitality.
In a videoconference with our Association members in Australia in August 2008, Supreme Master Ching Hai had given practical advice on planting vegetable gardens at home.
Supreme Master Ching Hai : In any case, the food shortage is already here. So maybe you could start planting your vegetables in your garden. It's very easy to plant. You just learn it from the gardener somewhere, on internet, from your brother and sister who knows how to plant with very minimum water and maximum harvest. And no fertilizer and just pure organic even. And if you don’t have the garden, then plant together with the neighbors or who doesn’t want to plant, you plant in their land. Right now there are many citizens, they’re planting vegetables on government plots, like the roadside or some plot that nobody uses. And if you even don’t have a garden, you have a balcony, you can plant vegetables in the pot. Small here, there, like that. It’s also very fresh and then you have some vegetables for yourself.
Amazing solar-powered fridge invented by British student helps poverty-stricken AfricansSolar-powered refrigerator helps the less fortunate. Prior to attending university, Ms. Emily Cummins of the United Kingdom created a simple solar-powered refrigerator in her grandfather’s potting shed, using the concept of evaporative cooling along with everyday materials. She then spent five months in Namibia testing out her device and showing locals how to use it, earning her the fond nickname of “the Fridge Lady.” Ms. Cummins is now studying at the University of Leeds where she is developing a more advanced solar-powered fridge design that can maintain temperature control while transporting medicines through developing countries. Thank you and Heaven smiles upon your accomplishment and thoughtful intention, Ms. Emily Cummins! We look forward to your eco-innovations continuing to bring joy and enrichment to many lives.
Sacramento Farm Powered By Walnut ShellsNutshells provide power for California farm. Certified organic walnut producer Dixon Ridge Farms near Sacramento, California, USA, now receives 18 percent of its energy from a 50 Megawatt generator that transforms walnut shells into fuel. A second machine of twice this capacity is being planned as part of the farm’s efforts to be entirely energy self-sufficient by 2012. Way to go, Dixon Ridge Farms! Your successful Earth-friendly operations are an inspiration to us all.
Qatari fund for conservation of birds to meetQatari conservation fund creates plan of action. The Hima Fund, founded with a US$1 million donation by Her Excellency Sheikha Jawahar bint Hamad bin Suhaim al-Thani, wife of the Heir Apparent of Qatar, has been established to offer protection for birds and the rich biodiversity of their habitat in facing conditions of climate change. A meeting of Hima Fund members this weekend is focusing on a 2009 action plan to implement specific measures for sustainable management of natural woodland, grassland and wetland areas throughout the region. Your Excellency and the Hima Fund, blessed be your noble work to ensure a safe environment for our precious avian friends. Surely with such noble generosity as yours, they will grace our world in flourishing numbers once more.