Auksuciai Agricultural Project
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Map of Surrounding Area
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Map of Project Farm
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The Auksuciai
Project is a joint U.S.-Lithuanian agricultural project begun by Vytautas
Sliupas, a retired engineer living in Burlingame, California. The
project is located on the former Sliupas family farm near the town of Auksuciai
in the Siauliai region of northwestern Lithuania. Mr. Sliupas established
the project recently as part of his non-profit Auksuciai Foundation for
Lithuanian Agricultural and Forestry Development. His father, Dr. Jonas
Sliupas, was a prominent leader of the Lithuanian nationalist movement,
which sought to win independence for Lithuania from Tsarist Russia at the
turn of the century.
Because of his nationalist activities, Dr. Sliupas was exiled by the
Russian government in 1884. He came to the United States, where he continued
to publish nationalist literature and helped organize a Lithuanian-American
campaign to gain U.S. political and economic support for Lithuanian independence.
This movement eventually culminated in official U.S. recognition of Lithuania
in 1922. The elder Sliupas returned to the newly independent Lithuania
shortly after World War I, where he taught at the high school and university
levels and served in key positions within several different branches of
the Lithuanian government. He received an unprecedented three honorary
doctorates from the University of Kaunas and came to be regarded as one
of the "founding fathers" of the modern Lithuanian republic.
When the Soviet Union annexed Lithuania during World War II, the Sliupas
family farm was confiscated and nationalized. It would remain under the
control of the Soviet-backed Lithuanian government for the next 50 years.
Following the recent collapse of the Soviet Union and the re-establishment
of an independent Lithuania, the younger Sliupas was able to reclaim the
family’s 134-acre estate. He is now working with the Siauliai County government,
several Lithuanian agricultural institutes and schools, and with agricultural
experts from the University of California at Davis to develop a research
center which will be used to share information and teach Lithuanian farmers
the latest in American agricultural techniques. In addition to improving
crop production, the project will focus on teaching new forestry development
techniques in an effort to correct the deteriorating ecological situation
resulting from the mismanagement of forests in the region.
Although the program is still in its early stages, Mr. Sliupas envisions
a facility that will allow participants from academia, business, and government
to share information regarding land management and agricultural production,
to pursue commercial development, and to nurture political goodwill between
the United States and Lithuania. The Siauliai County government already
has begun improving drainage systems on and around the farm and is upgrading
access roads and electrical facilities to the site. Several volunteers
from the United States and Lithuania will be working again this summer
at the farm taking soil samples, surveying, and preparing building locations.
At this point, Mr. Sliupas is working to recruit additional funding
and prospective participants. The project is designated under U.S. tax
laws as a non-profit, charitable organization, so, all contributions are
fully tax-deductible. More importantly, your contributions will allow participants
to help develop and implement new agricultural and land management policies
suitable for Lithuania as it works toward rebuilding its economy following
decades of Soviet rule.
The Auksuciai Farm Project has been endorsed by prominent people both
in Lithuania and the United States, including Mrs. Alma Adamkus, First
Lady of Lithuania, Dr. Vytautas Landsbergis, Chairman of the Lithuanian
Parliament, Dr. Edvardas Makelis, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry,
Dr. Vytautas Knasys, former Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Dr. Leonas
Kadziulis, President of the Science Council of Lithuania and Chairman of
the Lithuanian Institute of Agriculture, United States Senator Richard
Durbin of Illinois, and Dr. Calvin Qualset, Director of the Genetic Resources
Conservation Program at the University of California, Davis.
The Auksuciai Farm Project is in dire need of additional funding in
order to make the program fully operational. In addition to funding, the
project is graciously accepting donations of farm equipment, agricultural
implements, books for the project library, and volunteer workers. We welcome
any and all contributions, comments, and inquiries. For further information,
please contact Mr. Vytautas Sliupas at one of the following addresses:
Email: sliupasvyt@earthlink.net
Horne address: Mr. Vytautas J. Sliupas, P.E. 2907 Frontera Way
Burlingame, CA 94010 U.S.A.
If you would like further information concerning
the Auksuciai Agricultural Project,
Please email Vytautas Sliupas at sliupasvyt@earthlink.net
