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Profile: Fairfield, Iowa, and its economic success
by Greg Allen

National Public Radio: Morning Edition    Translate This Article
31 August 2004

On 31 August 2004 National Public Radio: Morning Edition reported: Business in Maharishi Vedic City and Fairfield community is demonstrating higher economic growth than other cities in the area. National Public Radio's 'Morning Edition' has approximately 13 million listeners and draws one of America's largest and most educated audiences.

It is a joy for Global Good News service to feature this news, which indicates the success of the life-supporting programmes Maharishi has designed to bring fulfilment to the field of business.

One of the most respected news magazines in the world, Morning Edition airs on more than 600 NPR stations across the United States, and around the globe on NPR's international services.

The programme began by pointing out that Fairfield, Iowa is not a typical rural town in the Midwest. While many small towns are just attempting to survive, Fairfield flourishes with an economy that is not based on agriculture or manufacturing.

In appearance, Fairfield is like many small Iowa towns, with its town square and gazebo in the centre; but there is something very different here. For one thing, all storefronts, as well as upstairs offices, are fully occupied. 'The town has day spas, art galleries, two herbal apothecaries and more restaurants per capita than any US city except San Francisco.'

Commentator Greg Allen calls Fairfield, 'a college town with a New Age persona'. It's the home of Maharishi University of Management, a school set up 30 years ago on the former campus of Parsons College.

Allen tells us of the hundreds of TM practitioners who have moved to this small town, mostly from the East and West coasts. He describes them as 'upper middle class, highly-educated newcomers who have quietly reshaped the community'. He says that in the 90's, Fairfield saw an average of $10 million in new construction each year. Currently, a new $6 million civic center is being built right off the square. As well, 'Two local internet companies installed a fibre-optic backbone throughout the business district; all not bad for a town of just 10,000 people'.

Some bigger changes are now happening outside of Fairfield, where three years ago, residents incorporated Iowa's first new town in two decades, Maharishi Vedic City.

Allen says that after 30 years, Iowans are comfortable with Fairfield's TM community. Fairfield has had visits and commendations from Iowa's Governor; and last year the town was nationally awarded for its entrepreneurship.

Also, the area has become a tourist attraction, partly because of the distinctive architecture. All buildings in Maharishi Vedic City are designed and built according to the principles of Maharishi Stapathya Ved. This means, among other things, all houses and office buildings face east.

Along with the buildings, everything about the town is designed for health. The education is consciousness-based, and the school cafeteria serves all organic food. There is an ordinance in the town that any food sold must be organic.

Allen continues, 'Maharishi Vedic City is probably the only town in America with its own 52,000 square foot greenhouse for growing organic produce. Ultimately, the town plans to have 60 acres under glass.

There are lots of big plans here and they all centre around the university. Maharishi University of Management recently began an expansion, and hopes soon to be able to bring thousands of TM practitioners from around the world to campus. On the university campus there are two huge golden domes, one for men, one for women, where twice a day thousands of meditators gather.

They say that if enough people meditate together, violence will be lessened and world peace will be the result.

Every day Global Good News documents the rise of a better quality of life dawning in the world and highlights the need for introducing Natural Law based—Total Knowledge based—programmes to bring the support of Nature to every individual, raise the quality of life of every society, and create a lasting state of world peace.



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