Cowdung for disinfection

The burning of cowdung for disinfection is nothing new, because this procedure is a common custom in the Middle East still today. Even in some countries of Southern Europe the disinfection of rooms by burning cowdung was well known in hospitals. cowdung contains a substance similiar to penicillin which has a disinfecting effect and reduces pathogenic bacteria. All ancient cultures have been using cowdung in order to fight various illnesses, for example the Indians living in Northern and Southern America, people living in Scandinavia, Southern Europe, Asia, Africa – everywhere where today`s medicine has not yet edged out the ancient traditions. In many books about European folk medicine references to cowdung as a means of healing can be found.

Cowdung against Radioactivity

Vedic sciptures note a further, very interesting quality of cowdung:

The reduction of radioactive radiation!

After the disaster of Tschernobyl a group of scientists in Jugoslavia experimented on the Vedic fire techniqueAgnihotra. They were able to confirm that after burning the required components in the copper pyramid radioactivity is reduced in the immediate vicinity.

How to receive dry Cowdung?

To practice the Vedic fire ceremonies cowdung from cows which have already calved should be used because such cowdung's specific composition is obtained through the ferments and enzymes in the stomach of a „dairy cow“.
There are several possibilities of getting dry cowdung:
:

Gathering dry cowdung

The easiest method is to look up countrysides with dairy farming during summertime. On abandoned cow pastures you can collect cowdung already dried by the weather. This is fairly easy on alpine pastures because there the grass is low and an almost continual wind makes quick drying sure. A complete drying can be recognized when the cowdung either has no scent at all or if there is a fragrance of fresh herbs, and when the pieces of cowdung are easy to break. Rid the collected dung of small stones and other impurities. To use it for the fire ceremonies cut or break the cowdung into suitable pieces.

Drying fresh cowdung

Another possibility consists in drying cowdung oneself.

Therefore you collect fresh cowdung from cow pastures or fetch it from a cowshed using a bucket. Over the years we worked out the following method of drying:

A plastic foil is put on a solid padding. With a trowel or spatula spread the fresh cowdung on the plastic wrap – 5 to 10 mm thick. Then use the edge of the spatula to carve lines into the moist dung to indicate the desired size of the pieces. Exposed to the sun during a period of fine weather the upper layer of the cowdung will be dried after one day. Then turn over the plastic foil together with the cowdung, remove the foil and smooth out the (back)side of the cowdung. By means of the spatula you also notch the backside to ease the breaking when the cowdung is dry. Another day or two will be necessary for complete drying.

The cowdung can also be spread on a fine-meshed wire netting, streched on a wooden frame. On the wire-netting the cowdung is ventilated sufficiently on both sides and needs not to be turned.

As already mentioned it should be easy to break the completely dry cowdung into suitable pieces and it should have an agreeable scent. It can be kept for years in a dry place. 

At the Homa-Hof volunteers are busy drying cowdung in large quantities from about May to September. You are welcome to watch or to help and thereby experience and get to know more interesting facts.

The cowdung dried at the Homa-Hof is not for our own use only but we also offer it for sale. It can either be purchased from our online-shop or is available directly at the Homa-Hof.
The net profits serve to 100% to pay the mortgages of the Homa-Hof and to maintain the premises.

Pictures of the drying station for cowdung at the Homa-Farm in Heiligenberg, Germany