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| Prof.Kurakar & Kochattan in Kurisumala Ashram |
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| V.Panicker, John Kurakar, Varghese John, T.S Joy |
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| V.J.VP,TSJ |
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| Panicker& Kurakar |
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| KPCTA |
Tel: 0091-4822-289277,289477,e-mail kurisumala1958@gmail.com
Website: kurisumala Ashram
"Leave your country,your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you"( Gen: 12:1} The proximate reason for the establishment of Kurisumala Ashram was John Mahien's (later Francis Acharya) response to this divine call. Though a Belgian by birth, the seeds of his vocation, which culminated in the oblation of his life at Kurisumala as a true Indian were sown by none other than the father of the nation,Mahatma Ganhi. This took place during the days of the round table conference in London where was a student at that time. After making profession at the cistercian (Trappist) monastery in scourmont, Belgium, he followed a persistent call to India and set foot in this"cradle of monasticism" in 1955. After an extensive stay and study' at major Indian Ashrams, he had a short stay with the founders of saccidananda Ashram(Shantivanam) in Tiruchirappali. Eventually, he accepted the invitation of Zacharias Mar Athanasios, the then Bishop of the syro -Malankara diocese of Tiruvalla, and officially established Kurisumala Ashram near Vagamon on March 21,1958, in the company of Fr Bede Griffiths,an English Benedictine monk, and a couple of aspiorants. Fr Francis who wrote " the scenic beauty of Kurisumala's surroundings.
"This joyous site of rocks and hills,
the sparking jewels of the highlands of Kerala,
a land of grassy slopes with flowers of many hues,
with glades where fair trees dance in the wind"
These pioneers of Kurisumala Ashram bent their backs and shed the sweat of their brows and soon turned this beautiful but infertile tract of land in to a veritable paradise of green pastures flower garden's and vegetable beds. Stone barriers were raised to protect crops and conserve soil, trees were planted traces built, dam constructed the face of the earth was renewed. In course of time, simple stone buildings were erected for the church,living quarters and guest houses and soon a dairy farm was operational, and it served the dual purpose of providing a livelihood for the community and supporting the poor families near by . With in ten years, this agricultural development and the establishment of a cattle-breeding center gave it an image of the promised land for many, a land flowing with milk and honey
The Kurisumala Ashram is not a clerical community. The principal activity of the community of Kurisumala is living the monastic charism, as already explained.Its temporal needs are met by the dairy farm which makes it self supporting. Many families have settled near the Ashram, some of them in land donated by the community. Almost a hundred local families are supported by the Ashram by accepting milk from them and good price, supplying medicines to under-privileged and offering guidance. The farm is a source of jobs and financial help for many others. A medium sized vegetable garden and a small bakery managed by the brothers provide. vegetables and bread for the community's consumption
Prof.JohnKurakar
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