By Nandini Devi Dasi
As most ISKCON readers know, Saranagati Village was evacuated on the evening of July 17th, 2024. During our three-week absence, some devotees lost their homes, and others lost their wood sheds, outbuildings, storage structures, and equipment like chainsaws, the community plow, and sander.
We are not able to get insurance as we are an off-grid community, and so we have to cover the costs of cleanup and rebuilding. The government helped with our basic needs while we were eva
The community of Saranagati Village, located in Venables Valley, was featured in a recent report by CBC Vancouver, which explored the stories of those impacted by the Shetland Creek wildfire. The four-decade-old community is located four hours northeast of Vancouver and consists of 30+ individual off-grid homesteads, a K-12 school, a cow sanctuary, and several organic farming initiatives.
Journalist Shelley Joyce traveled to the Venables Valley to meet a Saranagati family “sifting through the a
August 2, 2024 UPDATE:
In our latest report from Partha Dasa, ISKCON News was told that residents were allowed back into the Valley for a few hours on Saturday to assess the damage. The fire has left a devastating impact, destroying three family homes and four smaller cabins belonging to single men. Tool sheds, fencing, outbuildings, cellars, and machinery were also lost. The community is in dire need of support to rebuild and recover from this tragedy.
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Today, the Saranagati Ve
JULY 26, 2024 UPDATE:
In the latest community update from Partha Das, we learned that the Saranagati Village residents will be permitted to return to the area on Saturday, July 27th, for a four-hour window. During this time, they can assess the damage better, check on the status of their homes, water their gardens, etc.
The latest damage assessment is that six homes and 12 structures were lost to the fire. Some of those structures may have been small cabins (i.e., houses). The temple, goshala,
July 18, 2024 – The Saranagati Village, a Vedic Eco Community located 4.5 hours northeast of Vancouver in British Columbia’s southern interior, was given an immediate fire evacuation notice last night. The expansive property, threatened by these latest local wildfires, is home to about 30 families. It includes a K-12 school, a goshala, and a temple. Everyone was safely evacuated to the local village and government resources provided hotels and food allowances. A generous neighbor from the vill
