Robber fly - Nature photographer Thomas Shahan specializes in amazing portraits of tiny insects. It isn't easy. Shahan says that this Robber Fly (Holcocephala fusca), for instance, is "skittish" and doesn't like its picture taken.

Nature by Numbers (Video)

"The Greater Akashic System" – July 15, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) (Subjects: Lightworkers, Intent, To meet God, Past lives, Universe/Galaxy, Earth, Pleiadians, Souls Reincarnate, Invention: Measure Quantum state in 3D, Recalibrates, Multi-Dimensional/Divine, Akashic System to change to new system, Before religion changed the system, DNA, Old system react to Karma, New system react to intent now for next life, Animals (around humans) reincarnate again, This Animal want to come back to the same human, Akashic Inheritance, Reincarnate as Family, Other Planets, Global Unity … etc.)

Question: Dear Kryon: I live in Spain. I am sorry if I will ask you a question you might have already answered, but the translations of your books are very slow and I might not have gathered all information you have already given. I am quite concerned about abandoned animals. It seems that many people buy animals for their children and as soon as they grow, they set them out somewhere. Recently I had the occasion to see a small kitten in the middle of the street. I did not immediately react, since I could have stopped and taken it, without getting out of the car. So, I went on and at the first occasion I could turn, I went back to see if I could take the kitten, but it was to late, somebody had already killed it. This happened some month ago, but I still feel very sorry for that kitten. I just would like to know, what kind of entity are these animals and how does this fit in our world. Are these entities which choose this kind of life, like we do choose our kind of Human life? I see so many abandoned animals and every time I see one, my heart aches... I would like to know more about them.

Answer: Dear one, indeed the answer has been given, but let us give it again so you all understand. Animals are here on earth for three (3) reasons.

(1) The balance of biological life. . . the circle of energy that is needed for you to exist in what you call "nature."

(2) To be harvested. Yes, it's true. Many exist for your sustenance, and this is appropriate. It is a harmony between Human and animal, and always has. Remember the buffalo that willingly came into the indigenous tribes to be sacrificed when called? These are stories that you should examine again. The inappropriateness of today's culture is how these precious creatures are treated. Did you know that if there was an honoring ceremony at their death, they would nourish you better? Did you know that there is ceremony that could benefit all of humanity in this way. Perhaps it's time you saw it.

(3) To be loved and to love. For many cultures, animals serve as surrogate children, loved and taken care of. It gives Humans a chance to show compassion when they need it, and to have unconditional love when they need it. This is extremely important to many, and provides balance and centering for many.

Do animals know all this? At a basic level, they do. Not in the way you "know," but in a cellular awareness they understand that they are here in service to planet earth. If you honor them in all three instances, then balance will be the result. Your feelings about their treatment is important. Temper your reactions with the spiritual logic of their appropriateness and their service to humanity. Honor them in all three cases.

Dian Fossey's birthday celebrated with a Google doodle

Dian Fossey's birthday celebrated with a Google doodle
American zoologist played by Sigourney Weaver in the film Gorillas in the Mist would have been 82 on Thursday (16 January 2014)

Friday, April 13, 2007

Clove farmers under pressure to perform

Jongker Rumteh, The Jakarta Post, Tondan

More than 150,000 clove farmers in the Minahasa region of North Sulawesi are under pressure from Indonesia's largest cigarette company and the government to increase production despite a lagging market and low returns.

The area is recognized as the best land in the world for clove production, however, many farmers in Tondano, the capital of Minahasa, have let their clove plants go because they simply cannot make ends meet.

Farmers were let down by the Tommy Soeharto-led Clove Marketing and Buffer Stock Agency (now defunct) because it controlled the market, but Wenny Talumewo, head of the Minahasa Forestry and Plantation Office, says changing times and efforts to revive the industry could see farmers come back to cloves.

The plantation office is working hand in hand with cigarette company PT HM Sampoerna to preserve and grow the industry, but North Sulawesi Clove Farmers Association chairman, Franklin Sinjal, says the current asking price of up to Rp 35,000 a kilogram is still too low.

"Production costs can range between Rp 24,000 and Rp 26,500 per kilogram and an ideal price is when the (profit margin) is around Rp 10,000," said Sinjal.

"So the proper price should be between Rp 35,000 and Rp 40,000 per kilogram."

PT HM Sampoerna managing director, Angky Camaro, says his company provided in March 100,000 clove seedlings to farmers in Tondano "as part of the company's quality and productivity enhancement program".

"We hope through this assistance program clove farmers in eastern Indonesia, especially in Minahasa, will be motivated to return to cultivating cloves because the area has long been known as a producer of (a) high quality product," he said.

Cloves are one of the main ingredients in kretek cigarettes and the seedlings Camaro's company delivered to farmers last month are called Zanzibar -- a strong and adaptable variety.

"We are working together with the Minahasa Forestry and Plantation Office to teach farmers effective ways to maintain their plants," Camaro said.

The seedlings will be used to replace old trees which are no longer capable of bearing fruit, Wenny said.

"Farmers have not been eager to maintain their plants because of plummeting prices but now (the market) has improved, farmers are more enthusiastic," he said.

But production costs remain farmers' biggest bugbear.

General costs include the making of bamboo ladders to pick cloves; mats or tarpaulin to dry out cloves; pickers' wages, which could reach Rp 15,000 per person per liter of cloves; meal allowances and transportation.

And because farmers will not always be able to pick all the ripe cloves during a harvest, they work together with farm hands on a 50:50 profit sharing basis to ensure costs are covered.

Even then, if farmers are unable to harvest their cloves, they let them flower, leaving the plants suitable only to seed.

"Goodwill from the government and cigarette companies in Indonesia is needed to establish an ideal clove management system," Singal said.

"Because if they only set prices as they please, clove farmers will not lead a better life and the poverty rate will continue to grow."

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