Bhumi Farms is adjacent to and an integral part of Saranagati Village, an 1800-acre devotee community nestled in the beautiful mountains of British Columbia. BFO operates not just for the sake of a business opportunity, but much more importantly as a tool and platform for preaching Lord Caitanya's divine message of Love of God. BFO envisions growing devotees as its most important crop.
We currently have 15 agricultural acres of farm land in the north, and another 20 acres in the south. Once the pipeline is installed in the Valley, it will open up another 200 to 300 acres of land owned by Saranagati Valley Holdings. Bala wants to develop Bhumi Farms into a corporate farm, Certified Organic. He wants to put all his agricultural land into full production, and lease the SVH land, to be put into production. He can lease this land for almost nothing. He'd put the whole lot into production, and hire devotees to farm it. The entire Valley will benefit, because no non-organic product will have to be purchased by the devotees or on-site businesses.
It will take significant investment to capitalize Bhumi Farms, and the ROI will come more slowly than it might with other projects. For example, it takes several years to get the land prepared, planted, and to harvest. With many perennial crops, it takes 3 years from seed to production. Budget will be needed for additional equipment, labor and irrigation, plus operating expenses.
We want to build a commercial kitchen, and make various value-add products on the farm, in addition to trucking produce into Vancouver, and elsewhere throughout the upper mainland.
We could also lease prime Native land about 15 minutes away, in the Thompson River Valley. This could be a strategic partnering project with the Natives, and their might be government money available to subsidize it. This land is 2,000' lower in elevation, and beautiful for growing fruits and vegetables. It's currently fallow. This partnership could be dovetailed with educational programs, like apprenticeships and internships with the Natives. Again, there's money available for training their youth.
