auroville brochure
TRANSCRIPT
AU
RO
VIL
LE: U
NIV
ER
SA
L C
ITY
FO
R H
UM
AN
UN
ITY
1
Auroville
An Emerging Universal Township for Human Unity
L’Avenir d’Auroville
AU
RO
VIL
LE: U
NIV
ER
SA
L C
ITY
FO
R H
UM
AN
UN
ITY
2
AU
RO
VIL
LE: U
NIV
ER
SA
L C
ITY
FO
R H
UM
AN
UN
ITY
3 AUROVILLE
An Emerging Universal Township for Human Unity
• INTRODUCTION
• BRIEFDESCRIPTIONOFACTIVITIESINAUROVILLE
• AUROVILLEOUTREACHING
• INTERNATIONALEVENTS&NETWORKING
• AUROVILLEINTERNATIONALCENTRES
• AWARDS
• INTERNATIONALSTATEMENTSOFSUPPORT
• STATEMENTSOFSUPPORTFROMTHEINDIANGOVERNMENT
• LISTOFFUNDINGAGENCIES
• COLLABORATINGRESEARCHINSTITUTIONSANDPARTNERS
• CITYNETWORKING
• THEAUROVILLEFOUNDATION
L’Avenir d’AurovilleTown HallAuroville - 605 101TamilNaduIndiaPhone:+914132622170Fax:+914132622055E-mail:[email protected]:http://www.auroville.org
April 2009
AU
RO
VIL
LE: U
NIV
ER
SA
L C
ITY
FOR
HU
MA
N U
NIT
Y
4 Auroville Charter
1. Auroville belongs to nobody in particular. Auroville belongs to humanity as a whole. But to live in Auroville, one must be the willing servitor of the Divine Consciousness. 2. Auroville will be the place of an unending education, of con-stant progress, and a youth that never ages.
3. Auroville wants to be the bridge between the past and the future. Taking advantage of all discoveries from without and from within, Auroville will boldly spring towards future realisations.
4. Auroville will be a site of material and spiritual researches for a living embodiment of an ac-tual Human Unity.
yesterday
today
tomorrow
AU
RO
VIL
LE: U
NIV
ER
SA
L C
ITY
FOR
HU
MA
N U
NIT
Y
On Indian soil
AU
RO
VIL
LE: U
NIV
ER
SA
L C
ITY
FO
R H
UM
AN
UN
ITY
5
“Auroville wants to bea universal town where men and women of allcountriesareabletolivein peace and progres-sive harmony, above allcreeds,allpoliticsandallnationalities.Thepurposeof Auroville is to realize humanunity.”
- The Mother, founder of Auroville
Thiswas thefirst publicmessage onAuroville sent out to theworldin1965.Threeyearslater,atthefoundationceremonyofAurovilleon28thFebruary1968,youthrepresenting124nationsandallIndia’sstatesplacedahandfulofearthfromtheirhomelandinalotus-shapedurninagesturesymbolicofhumanunity,andafirstinternationally-endorseduniversaltownshipdedicatedtopeace,humanunityandplanetarytrans-formationwasfounded.
AU
RO
VIL
LE: U
NIV
ER
SA
L C
ITY
FO
R H
UM
AN
UN
ITY
6 MajoractivitiesSinceitsinception,Aurovillehasbeenengagedinawiderangeofac-tivities, inmanyofwhich it hasmade impressive achievements.ThemajoractivitiesofAurovilleinclude:
• Arts&Culture• EcologicalAgriculture• EducationalResearch• EnvironmentalRegeneration• Handicrafts&Small-ScaleIndustries• HealthCare• InnovativeBuildingTechnologies• IntegratedUrbanPlanning• RenewableEnergy• RuralDevelopment
AuniqueexperimentUniversal township
Envisagedasauniversaltownshipforupto50,000peoplefromaroundtheworld,Auroville todayhas apopulationofover2,000volunteersfrom India and some 40+ other countries. Its residents represent anamazingmixoflanguagesandcultures,andcomefromawidespectrumofeducationalandsocio-economicbackgrounds.Livingharmoniouslytogether inamulti-culturalsocietyandworkingclosely togetherwiththelocalpopulationinaruralenvironmentposesmajorchallenges.Atthesametime,itprovidesauniquetestinggroundfortherealisationofanactualhumanunitythatrespectsandupholdsdiversity.
Integrated rural & urban development
LocatedinanimpoverishedruralareaofTamilNadu,SouthIndia,theAurovilletownshipissurroundedby13villageswithapopulationofap-proximately40,000people,ofwhicharound5,000areemployedinAu-roville.Theurbandevelopmentofthecity,asenvisionedinAuroville’sGovernmentofIndia-approvedMasterPlan,takesintoaccountthewell-beingofitsruralneighbours.Assuch,Aurovilleisnotonlyachalleng-ingmeetingpointbetweendifferentculturesandnationsfromtheEastandWest,butisalsoasingularexperimentinintegrateddevelopment,bringingtogetherthetechnologyandresourcesoftheindustrialNorthandtheagrarianSouth.
Living laboratory for the world
Thanks to its location,characterandwayof functioning,Auroville islike amicrocosm of theworld, incorporating all themajor problemsfacinghumanitytodayandneedingtobeworkedon.Populationexplo-
AU
RO
VIL
LE: U
NIV
ER
SA
L C
ITY
FO
R H
UM
AN
UN
ITY
7 sion,environmentaldegradation,economicdisparity,waterscarcity,air,soundand trafficpollutionplus lossof culturalvaluesare just a fewexamplesoftheproblems,which,combined,havenowcreatedaglobalcrisiswhich threatens theverysurvivalof thehumanspecies. In thiscontext,Aurovilleisalivinglaboratorywhere,onmanyfronts,repli-cablemodelsandsolutionsarebeingworkedoutforthebenefitofthesurroundingarea,ofIndiaandofthewholeworld.
Voluntary dedication
Auroville’svision isbasedon future-orientedecological, social, eco-nomicandspiritualvalues.Itsresidentsfreelyjointhisexperimentasvoluntaryworkers,whodedicatetheirworkandlifetotheidealsAu-rovillestandsfor.Allimmovableassets,suchasland,residences,farms,forests,businesses,etc,arenotownedbytheresidentsbutareheldintrustfor“humanityasawhole”.
InthewordsofthelateenvironmentalistDavidR.Brower:“Aurovillestandsasoneofthemostcourageousandhope–givingmodelsofwhatispossiblewhenthehumanwillandspirituniteincommonaction.”
International support
AurovillereceivedtheunanimousendorsementoftheGeneralAssem-blyofUNESCOin1966,1968,1970and1983,andhasmorerecentlyreceiveda furtherUNESCOendorsement in late2007 in recognitionofits40thanniversary.Governmentalandnon-governmentalorganiza-tionsinIndiaandabroadhavefundedvariousprogrammes.DonationshavebeengivenbyfundingagenciesinEuropeandtheUnitedStates,byAuroville InternationalCentres, andbyprivatewell-wishers fromall over theworld.And theAuroville residents themselveshave alsomademajorcontributionsoftheirfinancialresourcesandenergytotheproject.
Legal status
In 1988, the Government of India passed theAuroville FoundationActtosafeguardthefuturedevelopmentoftheAurovilleInternationalTownshipaccordingtoitsCharter.UnderthisAct,anautonomousinsti-tution,theAurovilleFoundation,hasbeenestablished,withaGovern-ingBoard,InternationalAdvisoryCouncilandResidentsAssembly.
In his presentation of theAct before India’s Parliament,Mr. P. ShivShanker, the then IndianMinisterofHumanResourceDevelopment,remarked:“Aurovilleistobelookeduponasavisionwhichhasagreatpotential-ityandthiscanbeoftremendousservicetoourcountryandtheworldatlarge.”
AU
RO
VIL
LE: U
NIV
ER
SA
L C
ITY
FO
R H
UM
AN
UN
ITY
8 BRIEFDESCRIPTIONOFACTIVITIES
Appropriate building technology
Aurovillehashands-onexperienceinresearchingandapplyingappro-priateandcost-effectivebuildingtechnologies.ThereareoveradozendifferentbuildingtechniquesinuseinAurovillethatarelocallydissemi-natedbyresidentarchitects.
Aurovillehasgainedconsiderableexpertiseandreceivednationalrec-ognition,especially in thefieldofearthconstructionand ferrocementtechnology.TheAurovilleBuildingCentre,afocalpointforcompressedearth-blockandferrocement technology, ispartofanationalnetworkofmorethan500buildingcentresalloverIndia,initiatedbytheHous-ingandUrbanDevelopmentCorporationofIndia(HUDCO).Thecen-treprovidesregulartrainingprogrammesformasons,sitesupervisors,contractors,engineers,andarchitects.Italsooffersconsultancy,designsbuildingsandsupervisesconstructionsitesusingtheseappropriate,cost-effectivebuildingtechnologies,bothinIndiaandabroad.
Arts and culture
Thediversityofcultures,thephysicalbeautyoftheplace,andthein-spiringsocialenvironmentdrawartistsfromallovertheworldtoAu-roville.
TherearemorethansixtyresidentartistsinAuroville,manyofwhomofferclassestoadultsandchildren.Liveperformancesofwesternandeasternclassicalmusic,aswellasofjazz,popularmusicandblendsofIndianandwesternmusicoccurfrequently.Also,anadults’choirper-formsfairlyregularly.Musiceducationisgivenforavarietyofwesternandeasterninstruments,andclassesareofferedinimprovisation,mod-erndance,Indianclassicaldance,etc.Visualartistsandtheatregroupsalsopresenttheirworkonaregularbasis.
Kalabhumi(“LandofArt”)isanartists’settlementinAuroville’sCul-turalZone,whereitisenvisionedthatallartsandartistscanintermingle.It aimsatproviding studios and spaces fordifferent art forms, livingquartersandagallery.Atpresent,Kalabhumioffersstudiosforsculp-ture,metalwork,painting,drawingandmusicpractice,andalsohasanamphitheatrewithseatingarrangementsforabout150people.
Auroville is also an affiliatemember ofRESARTIS, an internation-alnetwork thatpromotes residential exchangeprogrammes forartistsworldwidetostrengtheninternationaltiesandunderstandingofthedi-verseculturalheritagesthatinvigoratehumansociety.
AU
RO
VIL
LE: U
NIV
ER
SA
L C
ITY
FO
R H
UM
AN
UN
ITY
9 Organic agriculture
Thedevelopmentofanecologicallysoundagriculture,whichexcludestheuseofpesticidesanddetrimentalchemicals,isbeingactivelypur-sued.Atpresent,Aurovillehasapproximately400acresunderecologi-calagriculturecomprising15farmscoordinatedbytheAurovilleFarmGroup.Thisgroupalsoorganizesresidential trainingprogrammesforstudentsfromallovertheworld,andofferstrainingprogrammesineco-logicalagriculturetolocalfarmers.
Ancillaryactivitiesthatsupportecologicalagricultureincludeconser-vationoffoodgraindiversityandseeddistribution,processingandmar-ketingoforganicfood,andlaboratoryfacilitiesfortestingsoil,waterandfoodsamples.
Educational research
Therearetwocrèches,twokindergartens,twoprimaryschoolsandonehighschoolinAuroville.Auroville’seducationalresearch,basedonachild-centeredapproach,endeavourstonurturethechild’spotentialtoits highest possible level. Sports and physical education are stronglyemphasizedforabalancedandhealthygrowth.CreativityclassesthatencouragethedevelopmentofartisticfacultiesandsenseofbeautyareanintrinsicpartofAuroville’seducationalsystem.
EducationinAurovilleislargelyadministeredundertheumbrellaoftheSriAurobindoInternationalInstituteforEducationalResearch(SAII-ER),anorganizationestablishedin1984asanodalpointforAuroville’smulti-facetededucationalandculturalactivities.
Inresponsetothehighilliteracylevelintheneighbouringvillages,Au-roville offers awide variety of rural education programmes, rangingfromcrèchetohighschoolleveleducationthatreachesouttothousandsof local children, alongside cultural activities, sports and vocationaltrainingopportunities.
Environmental regeneration
Aurovillehasgainednationalandinternationalacclaimforitsenviron-mentalregenerationwork,whichincludeswastelandreclamation,refor-estation,conservationofbio-diversity,propagationofmedicinalplants,watershedmanagementandrecyclingofwastewater.
Comprehensivesoilandwaterconservationmeasuresandreforestationhavesignificantlyenhancedthelife-supportpotentialofthewholearea.Overthreemillionforesttrees,hedgingtreesandshrubs,fruit,andfuelwood treeshavebeenplanted, thereby transformingmore than2,500acresofnearbarrenandvisiblydyinglandintoalushgreenenviron-ment.Atpresent,Auroville’senvironmentalefforts,carriedoutbysixspecializedorganizations,reachouttoover100villagesinanareaof740sq.kms.Regulartrainingprogrammesandworkshopsinenviron-mentalregenerationareofferedtovillagers,NGOdevelopmentwork-ers,andgovernmentofficials.
AU
RO
VIL
LE: U
NIV
ER
SA
L C
ITY
FO
R H
UM
AN
UN
ITY
10 Handicrafts and small-scale industries
Auroville operates over 140 commercial units under more than 20Trusts.While thesizeof theunitsvaries, theycanallbeclassifiedas“small-scale industries”.Theactivitiesof these industriesareremark-ablydiverse,andincludehandicrafts(suchasready-madegarmentsforadultsandchildren,candleandincenseproducts,embroidery,crochet,quilts,handpaintedsilk,beadwork,jewellery,postcards,leatherwork,pottery, paper lampshades,woodwork, etc.); printing andgraphic de-sign;foodprocessing;electronicsandengineering;computerhardwareandsoftware;windmillmanufacture;andconstructionandarchitecturalservices.
Auroville’sbusinessesaremarkedbyasearchforbeauty,qualityandperfectionintheirproducts,combinedwithasenseofsocialresponsibil-ityandaconcernfortheenvironment.Theyarenotindividuallyowned,butbelongtotheAurovilleTownship.Thoughrelativelysmallintermsofemploymentand investment,andsimple in theirmeansofproduc-tion,someAurovillebusinesseshavebeensuccessful,earningsizeablerevenuethroughexports.
BesidesgeneratingfundstoassistAurovilleinmaintainingitsservicesectorandinfrastructure,theunitsprovideincreasingemploymentandtrainingopportunitiesforthelocalpeople.Atpresent,some4-5,000lo-calvillagersdirectlybenefitfromAuroville’ssmall-scaleindustries.
Health care
TheAurovilleTownshiphasdevelopedinstitutesthatofferbothprimaryhealthcareandawiderangeofnaturalhealingtherapies.
TheAurovilleHealthCentreandits6ruralsub-centresprovideprimaryhealthcaretoatotalpopulationofapproximately35,000localpeoplein 26 villages The centre also offers a range of preventive health care measures,includingtrainingandsupervisingofsome30ruralwomenasVillageHealthWorkersabletoteachbasichealthcaretothevillagers.Inadditionthemaincentre,thereisalsoaseparateclinicforAurovilleresidents.
TheDentalCentrerunstwofullyequippeddentalclinics,oneforthelo-calvillagersandtheotherforAurovilleresidents,togetherwithapros-thesislaboratoryand11ruralsub-centres.Theformerclinicofferspre-ventiveandchild-to-childprogrammes,plustrainingcoursesfornearly20ruraldentalhygienists,whoeducatevillagersindentalcareandpro-videminordentalservices.
TheQuietHealingCentre,whichoffersover25differentnaturalhealingtherapies,isAuroville’sprimaryinstitutionforholisticandnaturalheal-ing therapies. It also organises conferences and retreats and providesguestfacilities.
An umbrella organization,Auroville Health Services, seeks to offermanagerial support to coordinate allAuroville’s diverse activities inhealthandhealing.
AU
RO
VIL
LE: U
NIV
ER
SA
L C
ITY
FO
R H
UM
AN
UN
ITY
11 Integrated urban planning
TheAurovilleTownshipPerspectiveMasterPlan2000–2025envis-agesauniversaltownshipof20km2forupto50,000people,locatedonalow-lyingplateauadjacenttotheCoromandelCoastofIndia,160kmssouthofChennai.
Atthecentreofthetownship,inthePeaceArea,standstheMatrimandir,“thesoulofAuroville”,offeringanon-denominationalspacetopeopleofallfaithsforsilentconcentration.Thefourzonesplannedforthecity–theInternational,Cultural,ResidentialandIndustrialZone–radiateoutfromtheMatrimandirGardensarea.TheGreenBelt,anareaoffor-est,farmlandandplannednaturesanctuaries,willeventuallysurroundtheentirecity.
Aurovilleenvisagesacitythatwilleconomizeonlandneedsbyintroduc-inganoptimummixofdensitieswithappealingurbanformsandameni-ties.Thecitycentre,yettobefullydeveloped,isenvisagedasamodelforsmalltowns,thatincorporatessustainableandeco-friendlywaysoflivingwhilemeetingAuroville’sadministrativeandserviceneeds.EverypartofthecentreiswithinwalkingdistanceforAuroville’sresidents,makingitpossibletoestablishazonefreeofpollutingtraffic.
ThesurroundingGreenBeltwillbeafertilezoneforappliedresearchinthesectorsoffoodproduction,forestry,soilconservation,watershedmanagementandotherpriorities,whichassistsustainabledevelopment.Theresultsofsuchinnovativemethodswouldbeavailableforapplica-tioninbothruralandurbanareasinIndiaandelsewhereintheworld.
There are 13 villages inAuroville’s immediate neighbourhood of 40km2,andmanymore in thebioregional areaof about740km2.TheAurovilleMasterPlan,whichhasbeenendorsedbytheGovernmentofIndia,isdedicatedtothecreationofanenvironment-friendly,sustain-ableurbansettlementthat,atthesametime,integratestheneighbouringruralarea.
Overtheyears,Aurovillehascreatedaround100sub-settlementswithaccommodationfor itsresidents.Municipalservicesforfoodproduc-tion,purchaseanddistribution,electricityandwatersupply,wastedis-posalandrecycling,financialtransactions,telecommunicationsandur-banplanninghavealsobeenestablished.
Whilemuchofthelandstillhastobepurchased,Aurovillepresentlymanagesover80%ofthetotalacreagewithinthefuturecityarea,andabout40%withintheGreenBelt.
Renewable energy
Auroville is one of the largest sites in India for the use and promo-tionofrenewableenergytechnologies.Aurovilleorganizations,suchastheAurovilleCentreforScientificResearch,Aurore,AurovilleEnergyProducts andAureka have demonstrated the feasibility of renewableenergysystems,bysuccessfullyinstallingtheminAurovilleandotherpartsofIndia.
AU
RO
VIL
LE: U
NIV
ER
SA
L C
ITY
FO
R H
UM
AN
UN
ITY
12 ThemajorsourcesofrenewableenergyutilizedinAurovillearesolar,windandbiomass.Atpresent,morethan1,200photovoltaic(PV)panelsareinuseforelectricityandwatersupply.Some30windmillsofvariousdesignsareinoperationforpumpingwater,andspeciallydesignedfer-rocementbiogassystemsprocessanimalandvegetablewastetoproducemethanegasandorganicfertilizers.
TheAurovilleCentreforScientificResearch,aresearchinstitutionap-provedbytheGovernmentofIndiaandafocalpointinthisfield,offersanumberofworkshopsandseminarsonrenewableenergyandsustain-abledevelopmenttoawidevarietyofparticipants.
Rural development
Auroville’sdevelopmentisinextricablylinkedtothevillagesinitsim-mediatevicinityandtothelargerbioregion.Inthiscontext,Aurovillehasbeenseekingtoreversethenormaltrendofurbandevelopment,byrejuvenatingthelife,environmentandcultureoftheneighbouringvil-lages.Unlikemostcities,whichdrawintothemselvesalltherawmateri-alsandenergeticpeoplefromtheruralarea,Aurovilleaimsatdevelop-ingtheentirebioregionintoaprosperousarea.
WhenAurovillebegan,theneighbouringvillageswereinahighlyim-poverishedstateintermsofmaterial,environmentalandhumanresourc-es.Poverty,illiteracy,alcoholism,oppressionofwomenandlow-casteor“dalit”peoplewere,andstillare,majorproblems.Aurovillehasbeenactiveinvariousareas,particularlyineducation,healthcare,environ-mentalregeneration,culturalrejuvenation,vocationaltraining,women’sempowermentandcapacity-buildingtoimprovethesituation.
Today,10specializedAurovilleorganizationsofferintegratedruralde-velopmentprogrammes thatbenefit some40,000people living in thesurrounding area.Environmental regenerationwork, plus commercialand construction undertakings, provide training and employment incrafts, trades, technologies and supervision.Establishment of schoolsforvillagechildrenandprovisionofprimaryhealthcarehavealsobeenongoing initiatives. Capacity building is now the cornerstone ofAu-roville’sruraldevelopmentalwork.SpecializedAurovilleorganisationsoffer participatory development programmes that empower people tohelpthemselves.
AU
RO
VIL
LE: U
NIV
ER
SA
L C
ITY
FO
R H
UM
AN
UN
ITY
13 AUROVILLE OUTREACHING
Over theyears since its inception in1968,Aurovillehasmademajorcontributionsbywayofspecialistinputtoprojectsandinstitutionselse-whereinIndiaandabroad.Thefollowingbriefsummaryisnotacom-prehensivelistofallsuchworkandactivities,butgivessomeideaofthevariety.
Palani Hills tree planting
Aurovilians JeanPouyet andDavidNagelworkedwith the local au-thorities in thePalaniHillsarea someyearsago to reforestextensiveareasoftheHills.
Nadukuppam High School
NadukuppamHighSchoolisaGovernmentSecondarySchoolwhichafewyearsagohadonlythreeroomsinabadstateofrepair,fiveteachersforover570children,ahighdrop-outrate,onlyaround10%passratesinexams,nowater,notoilets,andnogreeneryaroundit–justfourun-fencedacresofdustandwanderingcowswithacoupleoftreesnearby.In 2003 itwas adopted byAuroville”s PitchandikulamBio-ResourceCentre(PBRC)aspartofadevelopmentprojectfortheregion,andsincethenhasbeentransformed.Today,largelythankstotheinputoftheAu-roville team, supported by financial help from abroad and additionalhelpfromtheregionaleducationauthority,plusthecooperationanden-couragementofthelocalPanchayatandrecruitmentofmoreteachers,theschoolhasbecomeamodelforotherschoolsinthearea.
Nowitsexampassrateshaverisentowellover60%,andithasdrinkingwater,shadetrees,fencingtokeepcows&goatsout,toiletswithbafflereactors for treating the waste, a general wastewater treatment plant us-ing aquatic plants to cleanse waste water prior to nurturing a plant nurs-ery,andmanyotherimprovements.Ithasalsobecomeamajorsourceofinspirationforothersinthefieldofeducation.
TodaytheschoolgroundsnotonlycontaintheextraclassroomssobadlyneededandanEnvironmentalEducationCentre,butalsoa treenurs-eryforindigenousseedlings,araised-bedvegetablegarden,amedicinalplantgarden,awaterpurificationplantwithsolarpumpraisingwaterfromtwoundergroundstoragetankstonurtureafreshlyplantedareaoftreesneartheschoolbuildings,avermicompostingunit,andawastere-cyclingset-upwherepaper,plastic,metalandglassareseparatelystoredforlaterresale(theschoolgroundsarekeptcleanandtidybythechil-dren).
AU
RO
VIL
LE: U
NIV
ER
SA
L C
ITY
FO
R H
UM
AN
UN
ITY
14 Onealsofindsaspiritofenthusiasmpervadingtheschool,itschildrenandstaff,thatwasunimaginablebeforetheprojecttookoff.
Heritage Preservation through Asia Urbs
TheproposalofAsiaUrbsProgramme(AUP)wasoriginallytakenupbyItalian-bornlongtimeAurovilianLuigiZanziin1999,andproposedtothe(then)GovernmentofPondicherry.TheconceptbehindtheAUPwastointroducesomeofthebesturbanmanagement practices ofEurope intoAsia bypartneringAsian citieswithtwoEuropeancitiesandbringingaboutalearningprocessthroughurbaninitiatives.
WiththispossibilityinmindtwoAuroviliansvisitedUrbinoinItaly,aUNESCOWorldHeritageCity,inthesummerof2000toseeifUrbino’slocalgovernmentwouldbeinterestedinbeingoneofthepartnersforaheritageprotectioninitiative.Althoughtheyhadagoodresponseatthetime,nopracticalprogresswasmade,but the issuecameupagain in2002throughthedirectiveoftheMinistryofUrbanDevelopment,Gov-ernmentofIndia.Thistimetheprojecttookoff,wassanctionedunderthe title “AchievingUrbanEconomicGoals throughHeritagePreser-vationMeasures”, andwas successfully concluded in July2004.Thehighlights of the programme were restoration of a stretch of Tamil street facades;restorationofsome10listedbuildingsinPondicherrythrougha‘matchinggrant’scheme;improvementoftheentrancesandpavingoftheGrandBazaar;thesettingupofabatterychargingstationforelectrictempotaxis;theinitiationofasolidwastecollectionschemeinpartofthecity;andaprojectforconversionofgreenwasteintovermicompost.AdditionalheritagerestorationworkwasalsocarriedoutinTranque-bar.
Puducherry’s Bharathi Park
India’sNationalTrust forArt andCulturalHeritage,betterknownasINTACH,hasalocalChapterinPuducherryheadedbylongtimeAuro-vilianAjitKoujalgi.ThisChapter,whichworkscloselywiththevari-ousdepartments of theGovernment ofPuducherry and local citizensto achieve its objectives, has carried out a number ofmajor projectsbenefittingtheregion,thelatestofwhichhasbeenamajor3.5crores(approxUS$800,000)projecttorenovateandbeautifyPuducherry’s10-acreBharathiPark.Thisproject,whichwasinitiatedbytheGovernmentofPuducherry’sTourismDepartmentwithINTACHasconsultant,andthePublicWorksDepartment(PWD)astheexecutingagency,drewinanumberofAuroviliansandAurovilleunitsascontributors.
LocatedfacingtheGovernor’sPalaceattheheartofPuducherry’shis-torically important heritage area, the park has had amassive faceliftoverthepastfewyearsundertheabovementionedscheme,whichhastransformed it into a more peaceful, beautiful and enjoyable facilityfor themanyhundredsofpeoplewhovisit itdaily.Goneare the tar-mac roads crossing through the heart of the park,which divided theareainto4mini-parksandallowedvehiculartraffictocrosstheareaorparkthere.Nowthewholeperimeteroftheparkhasbeenfencedwith
AU
RO
VIL
LE: U
NIV
ER
SA
L C
ITY
FO
R H
UM
AN
UN
ITY
15 cast-iron railings tocreateavisually largerpedestrian-onlyareawithfour entrance gates; brighter butmore energy-efficient night lightingdesignedinconsultationwithFrenchandGermanengineershasbeeninstalled,withspecialprominencegiventothecentralAayiMandapammonument;litterbins,gazebos,granitebenches,granitepathwaysandagranitefountainhavebeenadded,withsomeofthestoneitemssuppliedandcraftedbytheAuroville-basedAuryajunit;mostofthe140treesintheparkhavebeenprunedbyaprofessionalAurovilletreesurgeonandhisassistants;hangingwindchimesand“singingstones”havebeeninstalledbyAuroville’sSvaramMusicalInstruments;andnewswathesofmorehardygrasshavebeensownandsomeminorplantingschemesimplemented, allwith sprinkler irrigation forwater economy.Every-thinghasbeendonetoanextremelyhighstandardinatastefulwayincollaborationwiththePWD.
East Coast Road toll gates
FollowingavisittoAuroville’sPitchandikulamBio-ResourceCentrebytheChiefExecutiveof theEastCoastRoad (ECR)DevelopmentCor-poration,AurovilianJossBrooksandhisteamwereaskedtotakeupaneducationalandbeautificationprojectintendedtoincreaseenvironmentalawarenessamongusersoftheECR.TodatethetwoTollGateareasatthenorthandsouthendsoftheroadhavebeentransformedbyuseofpaintedcadappastoneslabsdepictingtheflora&faunaof thearea,andafreehandoutwaspreparedtogivetoallusersoftheECRwhopassedthroughtheTollGates,tellingthemwheretheycouldgotoseeareasoftheTropi-calDryEvergreenForestandsomeofthebirds,reptilesandothercrea-turesdepictedonthepanels.
Chennai’s Adyar Creek project
AmasterplanisnowunfoldingfortherestorationoftheAdyarCreekareaofTamilNadu’sstatecapitalChennai,withmuchoftheenviron-mentalworkbeingdonebyanAurovilleteamoverseenandcoordinatedby Joss Brooks ofAuroville’s Pitchandikulam Bio-Resource Centre.Theoriginalareaproposedwas58acres,butthiswasexpandedtocoverthecreek’sentireareaof358acres,followingconcernsraisedbyen-vironmentalgroupsandcitizensthataneco-parkwithrelativelysmalldelineationwouldnotbesustainableiftheadjoiningecosystemwasnotalsoincorporated.TheTamilNaduStateGovernmentannouncedaRs.100croresbudgetfortheproject,withthebroadaimofcreatingamodelofhowChennaiwantstodealwithitspreciouswaterresources,andhowsuchareascanbecleanedupoverthenextdecade.
Tsunami relief & rehabilitation
Withinanhourofthefirstmassive4-metrehightsunamiwavesmashingintotheTamilNaducoastlineandkillingsome7,000peoplein2004,Aurovillewasdeeplyinvolvedincaringfortheaffectedpeople.Atentsettlementwith food andwater for some 1,500 to 2,000 peoplewasfunctionalwithinhoursofthedisaster,andAurovillemedicalstaffweretouringtheareatendingtothevictims.Soonafter,afinancialmanage-
AU
RO
VIL
LE: U
NIV
ER
SA
L C
ITY
FO
R H
UM
AN
UN
ITY
16 mentteamwasestablishedtohandlethefundswhichbegantopourinfromIndiaandabroadinatransparentway,andanumberofpracticalworkteamswereassembled–aclean-upteamtooperateinninecoastalvillages,atraumacounselingteam,acommunicationteamabletohelpcoordinatetheworkofvariousNGOsoperatinginthearea,asourcinganddistributionteamtoprovidevictimswiththeirimmediaterequire-ments,andanofficeteam.Gradually,overaperiodofseveralmonths,adegreeofnormalityreturnedtotheshatteredvillages,butmeanwhileAurovillewasalsoactiveinrebuildingprogrammes,inprovidingim-proveddrinkingwaterfacilitiesinthevillages,inorganizingself-helpprogrammes,inprovidingemploymentopportunities,etc.
ForAurovilleitwasaverydemandingexperienceforeveryoneinvolved,butitwasalso–onbalance–averypositiveone,becausethetsunamienabledAurovilletoforgecloserlinkswithitsneighbours;tocontributesomethingofvaluetotheirlives;andtodoaworktogetherwiththemandthelocalauthoritieswhich–atleastonanouterlevel-couldbeseenasasmallsteptowardsAuroville’sultimateaim,theachievementofanactualhumanunityindiversity.Truly,wonderfulthingswereachieved,andboththepopulationfromthecoastalvillagesandthelocalIndianauthoritieswereveryappreciative.
Coastal development projects
Followingtheimmediatetsunamireliefwork,AurovilleestablishedanAurovilleCoastalDevelopmentCentre(ACDC),whichbecameactivein37targetvillagesaroundAuroville(21inland,16coastal),workingasfollows:
• CommunityInstitutionBuilding:helpedyouthclubs,women’sclubsandvillageplanninggroupstoformandfunctionthroughavarietyofactivities, including the formation of federations and associations aswellasfacilitatingmicro-projects.
• Shelterand infrastructure: shelter-prototypesandcommunitycen-treswereconstructed,andinfrastructureprovidedintheformoftoilets,watersanitation,drainageandroads.
• Environment:botanicalnurserieswereestablishedandtropicaldryevergreen forest seedlings and other species planted near coastal vil-lages,whileatthesametimeenvironmentalawarenesseducationpro-grammeswereconducted.
• Livelihoodprojects:WELLPAPERpapiermacheitemsandTsuna-mikadollmanufacturingprojectswereestablished,bothusing“waste”material,whileatthesametimeassistancewasprovidedwith:
EnterpriseDevelopmentandMicrofinance. Trainingformanagementskillsandcertainhandskills. Arevolvingfundforloanstoself-helpgroups. Linkagestobanksandgovernmentforfinancialassistance.
AU
RO
VIL
LE: U
NIV
ER
SA
L C
ITY
FO
R H
UM
AN
UN
ITY
17 • KnowledgeCentre:setupworkshopsandseminars tospreadAu-roville’sknowledge in renewable energy, appropriate technology, etc.Alsopublishedanddisseminatedinformationandcreatedaninforma-tiondatabase.
• NGOCoordination:networkedwithotherNGOsinvolvedinbothtsunamireliefandgeneraldevelopment,andorganisedthematicdistrict-levelmeetings.
Aureka
Aurekaisametalworkingunitwellknownforitsdesignandconstruc-tionofthehighlysuccessfulAV55windpump.ApartfrominstallationsinTamilNadu,thesepumpshavealsobeeninstalledinKarnataka,spe-cially inTibetanRefugeeSettlements there, and small numbers havebeeninstalledforvariousNGOsinOrissa,ChattisgarandGujarat. Anumber of pumps have also been sent abroad toTanzania and SaudiArabia. Toamuch largerextentAurekahasalsosentAuramEarthConstruc-tionequipmentallover theworld. InAsia this includes toSriLanka,Iran,Syria,Israel,Uzbekistan,ThePhillipinesandChina;inAfricatoEthiopia,Sudan,Kenya,Tanzania,Uganda,Zambia,Madagascar,SouthAfrica,Gambia,GhanaandCameroon;intheAmericastoCostaRica,MexicoandtheUSA;andinEuropetoSpain,Germany,EnglandandFrance.
TheAuramEarthConstructionEquipmentwasusedextensivelyforre-constructionworkafter theearthquakes inGujarat innorth IndiaandBaminIran,aswellasforreliefworkafterthe2004tsunami.
Auroville Earth Institute
TheAurovilleEarthInstitute(AEI),whichwasfoundedwiththehelpofHUDCO,GovernmentofIndia,in1989,isresearching,developing,promotingandtransferringcost-andenergy-effectiveearth-basedtech-nologiesinIndiaandelsewhere.Thesetechnologiesaredisseminatedinmanycountriesaroundtheworldthroughtrainingcourses,seminarsandworkshops,andbydistributionofmanualsanddocuments.AEIispartofaworldnetwork,andis todaytherepresentativeandresourcecen-treforAsiaoftheUNESCOChair“EarthenArchitecture,ConstructiveCulturesandSustainableDevelopment”.
Inthisframework,SatpremMaïni, thedirectorof theAurovilleEarthInstitute,hasbeeninvitedtomanycountriesaroundtheworldtotrans-ferhisknowledgeinthefieldofearthconstructionandinthemeantimegiveinformationonAurovilletoawidevarietyofpeopleinthosecoun-tries.Altogetherhehasworkedin24countries,includingZaire,Eritrea,Niger,Ethiopia,BurkinaFaso,SouthAfrica,Colombia,Brazil,SaudiArabia,Iran,SriLanka,TibetandFrance,andinadozenstatesofIndia.Meanwhile,since1989hehasconductedtrainingprogrammesinAu-rovilleformorethan4,750people,mostlyIndiannationals,butalsoforover350peoplefrom50othernations.AbriefsummaryoftheoutreachworkofAEIovertheyearssince1989isasfollows:
AU
RO
VIL
LE: U
NIV
ER
SA
L C
ITY
FO
R H
UM
AN
UN
ITY
18 1990-Kinshasa,Zaire:Trainingcourseandconstructionofaruralpri-maryschoolof50m²forUNIDOandCRATerre.
1990-91 - South India: Feasibility studies for various Tibetan settle-ments.
1993 -Kerala:Technical assistance toEdamon social service societyandDESWOSforaprojectof700lowcosthouses.
1991-94-Pondicherry:ConstructionofShaktiViharaSchool(2200m²for700children)for theNGOVolontariat,workingwithpeoplefromverylowincomegroups.
1996–Istanbul,Turkey:Constructionofanearthquake-resistanthouseof9m²forUNCHSHabitatandCRATerre-EAGduringtheCitySummit“HabitatII”.
1999:NewDelhi:Constructionofearthquakeresistanthouseof23m2in66hoursduringtheIndiaInternationalTradeFairforHUDCO,asademonstration.Projectgrantedagoldmedal.
Near Coimbatore: Construction of theDhyanalingamTemple’s 22m-wide570-tondomein9weeksforISHAFoundation.
Eastern Tibet: Evaluation study forATCA, to help completion of aschool.
Colombo,SriLanka:Evaluationstudy forFrenchEmbassy to launchearthconstructioninSriLanka.
2001:Orissa:TrainingcourseandconstructionwithtraineesforHUD-COofadisasterresistanthouseof23m2forrehabilitationinOrissaafterthe1999supercyclone.
2001 and 2002-Gujarat:sixmonthsassistanceforthereconstructionafterthe2001earthquaketovariousagencies.Thisincluded:
Constructionofanearthquakeresistanthouseof23m2in62hoursasademoatKhavda.
TrainingcourseforHUDCOatMundraandconstructionofanearth-quakeresistanthousewithtrainees.
SeveraltrainingcoursesandassistancetotheCatholicReliefServicestobuild2,698houses.
TrainingcourseandassistancetoKutchNavNirmanAbhiyan.
2004:Pondicherry:ConstructionofashowroomfortheNGOVolon-tariat.
Riyadh,SaudiArabia:ConstructionofAlMedyMosquein7weeksforRiyadhDevelopmentAuthority.
AU
RO
VIL
LE: U
NIV
ER
SA
L C
ITY
FO
R H
UM
AN
UN
ITY
19 HimachalPradesh:Heritageconservationona12thcenturyBuddhisttemple.
Bam,Iran:Assessmentofdamagecausedbyearthquaketolocalvaultedstructures.
2005: Killianur,TamilNadu:ConstructionofacommunityCentreforawomen’sselfhelpgroup.
Marakanam, Tamil Nadu: Construction of a school for InterculturalNetworkforDevelopmentandPeace.
Anumandhai,TamilNadu:Constructionofadisaster-resistanthouseforawomen’sselfhelpgroup.
Yalavatti, Karnataka: Consultation for Sri Aurobindo Ashram TrustKarnatakatodevelopthevillage.
Muthur,SriLanka:Consultationforareconstructionprojectafterthetsunami.2006: Pudukkuppam, Tamil Nadu: Construction of Sri KarneshwarNatarajaTemple.
AnnavalliandBommaiyapalayam,TamilNadu:Constructionofcom-munitycentresforUNDPintheframeworkofthereconstructionafterthetsunami.
TelAviv, Israel: Consultation forAnyWay Solution for doing com-pressedstabilisedearthblocks.
2007: Simunye,SouthAfrica:TrainingcourseandconstructionofademonstrationhouseforAnyWaySolution.
AddisAbaba,Ethiopia:TrainingcourseandtechnologytransfertotheEthiopianEarthTechnologyInstitute.
Aurore renewable energy systems
Renewable Energy (RE) systems in India tend to be expensive, notwidelyavailable,andoftenunreliableforlackofadequatemaintenance.Auroville’sAuroreunitunder Indian-bornHemantLambadecided totryandbreakthispatternbybecominganEnergyServiceProviderabletopromoteandnetworkwithlocallybasedREenterprises.Incollabo-rationwithpartnerswhichact as thenodes, it hasnowexecutedREprojectsinawidevarietyofIndianstates. Theprojectsithasbeeninvolvedwithincludetheinstallationofover1,025 solar PV pumping stations in 11 states with network partnersSahjeevanandSELCOandsupplierslikeTata-BPandBHEL;projectcoordinationfordistributionof8,700solarhomesystems;thedistribu-tionof6,000solar lanternsinLadakhforTata-BPSolar;andthehir-ingoutofsolar-poweredlanternstosmalltrades-peopleintheChennaibeacharea.
AU
RO
VIL
LE: U
NIV
ER
SA
L C
ITY
FO
R H
UM
AN
UN
ITY
20 AmajorprojectwhereaninnovativeapproachbroughtthebenefitofREsystemstodisadvantagedcommunitieswasinruralGujarat.There,peo-plelivinginscatteredcommunitieshadtopayuptoRs.150permonthjusttoobtaindrinkingwater,whilethelocalfarmerscouldbarelyekeoutaliving.WorkingwithSahjeevan,AurorehelpedprovidetechnicalandmanagementsupportplusfinancingtoinstallsolarPVstreetlampsandhomelightingkitsandpumps,thelatteratlessthan30%oftheannualcostofrunningdieselpumpsets.Theresultisthatthecommunitynowhasanassuredsupplyofgooddrinkingwater,smallfarminghasbecomeviableagain,andbetterlightinghasresultedinextendedworkinghours,leadingtoaricherculturallifeandincreasedincomeopportunities. EM technology – work of Margarita Correa and Dr. Lucas Dengel
(a) Margarita Correa
MargaritaCorreaisresearchingfairtradeorganicandbiodynamicfarm-ingintheHimalayasaround2,500haoflandgrowingcertifiedorganictea,coffee,ginger,cardamom,orange,blackpepper,lemongrass,walnutandgarlic.Thesocialresponsibilityprogrammethatsheisoverseeingfor20,000peoplecoversreforestation,drinkingwaterneeds,rainwaterharvesting,housing, toilets, roads, schools,health centres, etc.She isalsoconductingaprogrammefor1,000small-scalefarmers.
Furthertotheabove,Margaritaisdoingresearchonenvironmentalreha-bilitation,especiallyinvolvinghazardouschemicals(likepesticidesandindustrialwaste)andheavymetalsforgroundandwatercontaminationin collaborationwith companies like Philips India, TanneriesGroup,ITCandothers.Sheisalsotheprojectleaderofanorganicmalariacon-trolprogrammeworkingwithatargetpopulationof25,000peopleinse-lectedvillagesofWestBengalandAssam,andshehasacommitmenttohelpwithwaterrehabilitationintheAdyarEcoParkprojectinChennaialongsideJossandothermembersofthePitchandikulamBio-ResourceCentre(seeabove).
Lastbutnotleast,Margarita-inawarenessthatIndiahasashortageof18%onenergy,withmoreconsumptionthanproduction-in2005gavealecturetoaBusinessIndiaSummitinHyderabadorganisedbyTataandtheConfederationofIndianIndustries,whereshetoldtheindustri-aliststhatuseofEffectiveMicroorganisms(EM)couldhelpreduceen-ergy consumption through minimization of aeration time in waste water treatmentplants.Resultingfromthatinput,todayPhilipsandDr.Reddyarethetwoindustryleadersinreductionofenergyneeds,thankstotheirputtingEMineffluenttreatmentplantsinIndia.
(b) Dr.Lucas Dengel
Challenged by the public health issues of deficientwastewater treat-ment, deficient management of solid wastes, and indiscriminate useof biocidal inputs, leading to impact on the human environment andhealth,Auroville’sAuroAnnamunithasbeenexperimentingandwork-ingwithEMtechnologysince1999.EMtechnologyinvolvestheuseof
AU
RO
VIL
LE: U
NIV
ER
SA
L C
ITY
FO
R H
UM
AN
UN
ITY
21 so-calledEffectiveMicroorganisms,whichhavebeensuccessfullyusedinagriculture,animalhusbandry,aquaculture,composting,solidwastemanagement,sewageandeffluenttreatment,hygienemanagement,andbioremediationofpollutedsoilsandwaterbodies. AuroAnnam(andsinceApril2007,Eco-Pro)haspromotedEMtech-nology inall thesefields;madeuseof it in2005 in thepost-tsunamitreatmentoffoulingdebrisinsome35coastalvillages(see*below);collaboratedwithgovernmentalandnon-governmentalagenciesinsan-itationprojects;guidedthetreatmentoflandfills;andhasimplementedEMtechnologyinseveralsewageandeffluenttreatmentfarms,inin-stitutions,hospitalsandhotels,andofcourseinhundredsoffarmsandplantations.Eco-ProhasbecomethebiggestreselleroftheEMbasedproductMapleEM.1insouthIndia,andoperatesasthetrainingcentreforEMtechnologyinthecountry.*Threedaysafterthe2004tsunami,TamilNadu’sStatesecretaryforRuralDevelopment,MrsS.S.Nair,whoalreadyknewaboutEMtech-nologyfrompreviouscontact,askedLucastorushdowntoNagapat-tinamwithhertoseewhatcouldbedoneabouttheawfulodours,fliesandhealthrisksgenerated in theaftermathof the tsunami.FollowingLucas’recommendationtouseEM,atotalof27reliefcampsandotherareasweresprayedwithEMliquid,withtheresultthattheodoursandflieswererapidlyreduced,andthenlargelyeliminated.
Auroville Wind Systems
AurovilleWindSystems(AWS)workswithwind-poweredelectricgen-erators.OneofAWS’ssystemsisa50kWmachineimportedfromCan-ada,whichhasbeeninstalledonIndia’sSagarIslandinawind-dieselhybridconfiguration.
AWSalsobuildsitsown5kWmachines,whichareofferedintwomod-els: a battery charger version for energy storage (like in solar powerplants),andawaterpumpingversion. OverthepastfewyearsAWShascompletedprojectsinSikkim(a10kWmachine),Ladhakh(3x5kWmachines),Gujarat(a3.3kWma-chine)andmost recently inChennai (2x5kWmachines).Themainprojectarea,however,isWestBengal,wherealargersystemhasbeeninstalledfortheGovernment.
Palmyra
ThePalmyraCentreofEcologicalLanduse,WaterManagementandRu-ralDevelopmentatAurobrindavanhasasitsaimthepromotionofeco-logicalconceptsoflanduseaswellasRuralDevelopmentProgrammes.IndoingthisworkPalmyraseesitselfparticipatinginanever-growingmovement tosupportautonomousdevelopmentprocessesworldwide,by using local resources and traditional knowledge aswell as newlydiscoveredconceptstoanoptimaldegree,atthesametimeimprovingtheself-esteemandlivelihoodofthelocalpeople.
AU
RO
VIL
LE: U
NIV
ER
SA
L C
ITY
FO
R H
UM
AN
UN
ITY
22 Actual work in the field has included wasteland development pro-grammes around a number of villages involving the reforestation ofthousandsof acresof land and theplantingofmore than1.5milliontrees;thebuildingorrenovationofdozensofcheck-damsforsoilandwaterconservation;theconstructionoflargenumbersofvillagetoiletcomplexes;helpingtoestablishfacilitiesforsportslikecricket,football,kabbadiandvolleyballinmorethan20villages;arrangingfreemedicalcamps in several villages; building a communityhall inAlankuppamvillageandavillage‘park’ inKuilapalayamvillage;andcarryingoutintegratedpestmanagementprogrammesinseveralvillages.
Anothermajorworkcarriedouthasbeen the rehabilitationandman-agementofwater-holding“tanks”(reservoirs)invariouspartsofsouthIndia.
Underthemostrecent5-yearIntegratedWastelandsDevelopmentPro-gramme(IWDP)fundedbytheMinistryofRuralDevelopment,NewDelhi,activitiescarriedouthaveincluded:
• Conductingvillagelevelintroductionmeetingsin21projectvillages.• PuttingonstreetplaysonIWDPin15villages.
• Conductingbaselinesurveysin21villages.
• ErectingsignboardsandwallpaintingsaboutIWDPactivitiesinwatershedareas.
• Obtainingorpreparingappropriatevillageandwatershedmaps.
• AppointingWatershedSecretariesandVolunteersfor9WatershedAssociationsandCommittees,plusregisteringthemundertheSocietyActandopeningappropriatebankaccountsforthem.Formingself-helpgroups(SHGs)undertheIWDP,andreleasingtoeachgroupRs.10,000asaRevolvingFund.
• Conducting33trainingprogrammesfor1,956beneficiariesandor-ganizing9exposurevisits for285beneficiariesof theWatershedDe-velopmentTeam,theWatershedAssociationandCommittee,andUserGroupsandSHGs.
• UnderCommunityMobilizationcomponent,acommercialnurseryhasbeenestablishedbyaSelfHelpGroupinAlankuppamWatershed.IntotalonelakhseedlingswereraisedintwoyearsandsoldforRs.2lakhs.
Auroville Water Harvest
AurovilleWaterHarvest(Harvest)isanAurovilleunitwhichwascre-ated in1996 tocombat seawater intrusion in the freshwateraquifersthatfeedthebio-region,andtopromoteintegratedwatermanagementwithpeople’sactiveparticipation.WithstrongsupportfromUNESCO’sHELP(Hydrology,Environment,LifeandPolicy)BasinProgram,Har-
AU
RO
VIL
LE: U
NIV
ER
SA
L C
ITY
FO
R H
UM
AN
UN
ITY
23 vestispursuingvariousresearchesandanalyses,andimplementingso-lutionswiththecooperationandinclusionofthelocalpopulation.
AlthoughHarvestworksatthewatershedlevel,itshouldbenotedthatacatchmentorwatershedapproachimpliesthatwatermustalsobeman-agedalongsideco-dependentnaturalresources,namelysoil,forests,airandbiota.HenceHarvestworkswithallusersofwaterforallpurposes,whetherconsumption,irrigationorwhatever.InthiscontextHarvesthasseenthatoverthelastfewdecades,duetothechangesinagriculturalpractices,theuseofdeepborewellsforirrigationhasrapidlyledtothedepletionofgroundwaterresources.Henceoneofthemainfocusareasofinterventionistochangethesedestructivepractices.
Harvest’sworkisnotfocusedononlyoneaspect,butlooksattheinter-weavingofhumanactivitieswithwaterandenvironment.HenceHar-vest has a scientific component, a social component, a health relatedcomponent, an agricultural component and a physical component.Avastamountofgroundandsurfacewaterdatahasbeencollectedandanalyzedtoprovidebetterunderstandingofthesituation,andisbeingusedintheactivities,projects,andremedialeffortsinthebioregion.AwarenessgenerationthroughmassmediaandinteractionisalargepartoftheworkatWaterHarvest,consistingofstrivingforsocietalbehav-iouralchangeandevolution.Thehealth-relatedaspectslookmainlyatsanitationinfrastructure,bothatcommunityandhouseholdlevel.
HarvestEcoFarmspromotesorganicfarminginthebioregionwithlocalfarmers,toinfluencetheutilizationofwaterresources.
Thetankrehabilitationactivitiesencompasssocialmobilizationwork,therehabilitationofirrigationtanksandvillageponds,andengineeringsupporttowardsdesigningcheckdamsandotherminordams,artificialrechargestructures,andvariousotheractivities.
Harvesthasalsoparticipatedinandconductsinternationalseminarsandconferences furthering theexchangeofknowledge inorder topursuethemosteffectivemethodsforwaterresourcemanagement.Liasonandnetworkingisalsopartoftheirwork,asitenablestheworkonwatertotobemorewidelyunderstoodandsupported.
Capability landscaping
CapabilityisanAurovilleunitwhichoverthepast15+yearshasunder-takenthedesignanddetailedimplementationofawiderangeofland-scaping jobs around India,mostly in cities likeMumbai,Hyderabad,ChennaiandBangalore.
Sound Consultancy
Auroville’sSoundWizardunitunderDidier&Ceciliaisactingasapro-fessionalsoundconsultancy tostudios inMumbai,Chennaiandelse-where.Majorcontractscompletedinclude:
AU
RO
VIL
LE: U
NIV
ER
SA
L C
ITY
FO
R H
UM
AN
UN
ITY
24 • A.M.Studios,Chennai–formusicrecording&mixingplusfilmmixing.
• Clementine,Chennai–conversionofahouseintoanexcellentprofessionalmusicfacilitywithoutexcessivecost.
• Mahati,Chennai–ahigh-endstudioformusicrecording&mixing.
• AshokAcharya,Puducherry–amultipurposecontrolroomforrecording,editing&mixinginthesamespace.
• FourFramesStudio,Chennai.
• 7thChannelStudios,Chennai.
• AcoustriksMusicStudios,Mumbai.
• BombayBrothersMixedStage,Mumbai.
Environmental Consultancy
PaulBlanchflower,whocoordinatesdevelopmentofAuroville’s50-acreBotanicalGardenandEnvironmentalEducationCentre,hasbeencon-tracted toactasenvironmentalconsultant foranewcityprojectnearPune.
Centre for Scientific Research (CSR)
CSR is anAurovilleunit specializing in thedesign,manufacture andsupplyofarangeofhighqualityferrocementproducts.Theiroutreachworkhasincluded:
• formorethan15years,supplyingprefabricatedferrocementbiogasplantstotheAndamanandNicobarIslands.
• supplyingprefabricatedferrocementproductstoallsouthernstatesofIndia.
• supplyingprefabricatedferrocementDewatunits(wastewatertreat-mentplants)tonineprojectsalongtheTamilNaducoast.
• implementationoftotalsanitationandeffluenttreatmentforanewresidentialsettlementof225housesinNagapattinamarea.
CSRhavealsoactedasconsultantsforimplementationofwastewatertreatmentfor:
• atabaccofactoryandhousingcolonyinNepal.
• a“KnowledgeCity”(newuniversity)inPune.
• theIndianInstituteofManagement,Ahmedabad.
• HunnarShaala,Bhuj,Kutch(Gujarat).
Additionally,CSRhavebeenorganisingsustainabletechnologytrainingsessions/workshopsfornearly20years.
AU
RO
VIL
LE: U
NIV
ER
SA
L C
ITY
FO
R H
UM
AN
UN
ITY
25 Upasana
UpasanaDesignhassuccessfullyimplementedandcontinuestomain-taintheTsunamikadollproject,andmostrecentlyaclothbagproject,providingemploymentopportunitiesforhundredsofwomenfromthecoastalvillagesaffectedbythe2004tsunami.
AurovilleRadio and AurovilleTV
AurovilleRadio is a community service, started in 2005,which aimstoestablishbettercommunicationinsideAurovillewhilealsobuildingabridgebetweenAuroville, its localsurroundingsandtherestof theworld.Itaimstoprovideinformationon,communicateandarchivethevarious aspects of the collective development efforts inAuroville. Ithasgrownconsiderably,andnowattractssome300,000visitsayeartothewebsites.Itrecords,producesandbroadcastsprogrammesoncur-rentaffairs,interviewswithworkinggroups,projects,VIPS,liveevents(concerts,discussions,talks)andspecialmagazinesbesidesdailycom-munitynewsandupdates.CDsandDVDsof recordings and specialprogrammesarealsoprovidedonrequest.TheserviceisrunbysomehalfdozenAurovillanswiththehelpofanother10-15volunteers.
In2008AurovilleTVwasalsolaunchedsuccessfully,withalivebroad-castoftheUNESCOeventinParis(followedbyaDVD),andhopestoevolvefurther.
AU
RO
VIL
LE: U
NIV
ER
SA
L C
ITY
FO
R H
UM
AN
UN
ITY
26 INTERNATIONALEVENTS&NETWORKING Auroville’s representation at national and international events
AconsiderablenumberofAuroviliansrepresentingmanydifferentfieldsofexpertisegoouttomakepresentationsonAuroville,ortoattendcon-ferences,seminarsandothereventsasrepresentativesofAuroville,bothwithinIndiaandabroad.Inasimilarvein,therehavealsobeenanumberof important conferences and seminarswithinAuroville itself,whichhaveprovidedopportunities forAuroville to sharewhat ishappeninginthetownshipwithpeoplefromaroundtheworld.Whatfollowsisabriefsummaryofsomeoftheseopportunitiesforinterchangethathaveoccurred.
• 1984:UNESCOsponsoredthroughtheIndianMinistryofEducationandCultureaweek-longseminarinAurovilleon“InternationalUnder-standingandHumanUnity”,attendedbysome30youngpeoplefromaroundIndiaplusrepresentativesfromAfrica,NepalandMauritius.
• 1985:UNESCOsponsored,aspartoftheInternationalYouthYearcelebrations,aseminarinAurovilletitled“Youth&HumanUnity”at-tended by 250 young people frommore than 50 countries andmanyIndianStates.
• 1988:WithsponsorshipfromtheUS-basedEarthstewardsNetwork,Auroville hosted the first Peace Trees Programme bringing togetheryouthfromIndia,USAandRussiainthecoldwarera.
• 1990:AurovillerepresentativesmountedanexhibitionattheGlobalForumonEnvironmentandDevelopmentinMoscow.
• 1992:AurovillerepresentativesmountedanexhibitionintheNGOHallattheEarthSummitinRio.
• 1993:UNESCOsponsoredtheinternationallyattended“HumanityattheCrossroads”conferenceinAuroville,coincidingwithAuroville’s25thyear.
• 1995:Auroville representatives gave a presentation onAuroville’sachievementsandchallengesinpromotingsustainablelifestylesattheinternational“SustainableCommunitiesConference”inFindhorn,U.K.
• 1996: The Club of Budapest invitedAuroville representatives tospeakata‘PlanetaryForum’conferenceinBudapest,duringwhichAu-rovillewasadoptedas“Humanity’sfirstuniversalcity,thesharedtrea-sureofallnationsandpeople(…)dedicatedtotheevolutionofhumanconsciousnesstowardplanetaryunity.”
AU
RO
VIL
LE: U
NIV
ER
SA
L C
ITY
FO
R H
UM
AN
UN
ITY
27 • 1996:Undercontractwith theUnitedNationsCentre forHumanSettlements,theAurovilleBuildingCentrecompletedaone-monthcon-sultancyandtrainingcourseattheHabitat-2ConferenceinIstanbul.
• 1997: ‘Building the Future’, a citizen’s participation programmecumseminar/exhibition,washeldinAuroville.
• 1999:PowerpointpresentationmadeonAurovilleatI.N.T.A.WorldCongressofCities,Lyon,France.
• 1999:SpeechmadeonAurovilleatthe52ndUnitedNationsDPI/NGOConference“ChallengesofaGlobalizedWorld:FindingNewDi-rections”,atUnitedNationsHeadquartersinNewYork.
• 2001:PresentationonAurovilleinKobe(Japan)toAPN-AsiaPacif-icNetwork,anorganisationdoingscientificworkonclimatechange.
• 2001:PresentationonAurovilleattheEC-AsiaUrbs‘Citiesofto-morrow’conferenceinNewDelhi,India.
• 2001:ExecutiveofAuroville’sCentre forScientificResearchat-tendedAsia Urbs conference sponsored by EuropeanAid in Hanoi,Vietnam, on “Cities, Poverty andEnvironment”,where he presentedapaper titled“DecentralisedWastewaterTreatmentSystems, theAu-rovilleexperience”,andchairedtheworkshopsessiononWaterMan-agement.Avisitwasalsomade toHoChiMinhCityasguestofanenvironmentalengineeringNGO,whereaslideshowpresentationonsustainabletechnologiesinAurovillewasgivenforheadsofuniversi-ties,engineeringschoolsandthecity’stownplanningauthorities.
• 2001:PresentationonAurovilleinBangkokattheCitynetconfer-enceinvolvingrepresentativesofAsian&Europeancities.
• 2002:SpeechgivenrelatingtoAurovilleon‘CitytoCityCoopera-tion’atUN-HabitatconferenceinBrussels,Belgium.
• 2002:PowerpointpresentationmadeonAurovilleatEC-AsiaUrbsconferenceon‘SustainableDevelopment’,inMalmo,Sweden.
• 2002: Funded by theEuropeanCommission under itsAsiaUrbsProgramme,AurovillesetupacitynetworkingresourcecentreinAu-rovilletolinkEuropeanandAsiancities.Aurovillewasalsothevenueforaninternationalconference“CityNetworkingforaSustainableFu-tureandHumanUnity”.
• 2002:PressconferenceheldonAurovilleinTrevisoontheoccasionofinaugurationofAsiaUrbsexhibitiononCityNetworking,followedbypressconferenceandpublicpresentation toaround100people inVenice,followedbyParis,onopeningofthesameexhibition.
• 2002:PowerpointpresentationonAurovilleinsymposiumdevotedto‘HumanEcologyandCapacityBuildingforEco-Culture’atthe5thInternational‘ecocity’conferencehostedbytheShenzhenGovernment
AU
RO
VIL
LE: U
NIV
ER
SA
L C
ITY
FO
R H
UM
AN
UN
ITY
28 inChina, attendedby some500 invitees.On return trip, contactwasalsomadewith theSeniorPlannerofHongKong’sPlanningDepart-ment,andwiththeActingHead–Conservation,UrbanRedevelopmentAuthorityinSingapore.
• 2002:PresentationmadeinMumbai,India,ontheoccasionofCityNetworkingexhibitionatJJCollegeofArchitecture,titled‘Indian-Eu-ropeanCities:BestPracticesinUrbanManagement’.
• 2002:PresentationinNewDelhitoapprox100peopleontheocca-sionoftheWorldHabitatDay,organisedbyHUDCO(Housing&UrbanDevelopmentCorporation)attheIndianHabitatCentre.
• 2003:FourAuroviliansmadepresentationsonAurovilleduringa5-dayeventatUNESCOheadquartersinParis,markingthe35thanni-versaryoftheAurovilletownship.Aprestigiousexhibition“Auroville–AnEmergingUniversalTownship”waspartoftheoverallevent,whichwasinauguratedbyMr.KoïchiroMatsuura,DirectorGeneralofUNES-CO.
• 2003:PresentationontheCityNetworkingproject, involvingAu-roville,attheStakeholdersmeetinginBrussels(organiseroftheEuro-peanCommission-AsiaAidDivision).
• 2003:At invitation of various centres and groups, anAurovilianmadepresentationsatBrasiliaUniversity,UNIPAZUniversityforPeaceinSaoPaolo,BeloHorizonte,Curitiba andPortoVelho (Amazonia);alsotomanyschoolsandtownadministrativegroups(atotalof24be-tweenMayandSeptember,approxoneperweek).Thevisit includedtwoappearancesonTVprogrammes,andoneonradiofora20-30min-utediscussion/interview.
• 2003:Representativeof‘Auroville’sFuture’visitedCairoandDubaitoattendconferenceon‘Planninginamoreglobalisedandcompetitiveworld’.
• 2003:TwoAurovilianswere instrumental inmounting an exhibi-tiononAurovilleinBilbao,Spain,alsoattendedbyarepresentativeof‘Auroville’sFuture’,whospokeon‘Auroville:acityofthefuture’be-fore going on to attend theUNESCOWorldPhilosophyCongress inIstanbul,Turkey,andaGovt.ofIndia-sponsoredconferenceinDelhion‘DialogueamongCivilizations’.
• 2003:Speechmadeon‘Evolutionofhumanconsciousnesswithinso-ciety:Auroville,anexampleofculturaldiversity’atUNESCOinParis.
• SpeechdeliveredonAurovilleatInformationSeminaronEuropeanUnioninChennai,India.
• 2004:SpeechonAurovilleat“ResurgentIndia”seminarorganizedbySACAR,Pondicherry.
AU
RO
VIL
LE: U
NIV
ER
SA
L C
ITY
FO
R H
UM
AN
UN
ITY
29 • 2004(February):twoAuroviliansmadeapresentationontheirex-periencesinAurovilleataninternationalmeeting/conferenceorganisedby“WomenAgainstWar”inBari,Italy.Thethemewas“MakingpeacewiththeEarth”.
• 2004:FromFebruary,a regularexchangeprogrammeoffourstu-dent-residentshasbeenhappeningfor6monthsofworkshops/trainingbetweenAurovilleandArcosantiinUSA.
• 2004(April):ExecutiveofAuroville’sBotanicalGardenrepresent-edtheGardenattheWorldCongressofBotanicalGardensinBarcelona.Theworkof theGardenswaspresented,andaframeworkwasestab-lished for future worldwide cooperation in implementing the GlobalStrategyforPlantConservation, towhichAuroville’sBotanical Gar-denisasignatory.TheGardenisalsopartof therecentlyestablishedIndianNetworkofBotanicalGardens,basedattheNationalBotanicalResearchInstitute(NBRI)inLucknow,whichissupportedbyBotanicalGardensConservationInternational.
• 2004(June):2Aurovilianssetupastallduringa2-dayexhibitionat Gandhinidal in Pondicherry, by invitation of the Pondicherry Pol-lutionControlCommittee.Amonth later they attended a seminar on“EnvironmentalEthics”atMailamEngineeringCollege,TamilNadu,alongsidesome60others.Bothmadespeeches,mentioningtheirworkinAuroville.
• 2005:SpeechdeliveredonAurovilleatconferenceatUniversityofWashington,USA.
• 2005:PaperonAurovilleacceptedforinternationalconferenceon“SuccessfulcasesofsustainabledevelopmentintheTropics”atXalapa,Mexico.
• 2005:PresentationsinUSAonAurovilleatArcosanti,Arizona;at‘UrbanEco-Village’conferenceinLosAngeles;andatGreenCenturyInstitute,SanFrancisco.
• 2005:Aurovilianinvitedasguestspeakerin2internationalconfer-ences,thefirstatUniversityofWashington,Seattle,USA,thesecondatUniversityofXalapainMexico.Othertalksweregiveninbothcoun-triesatavarietyofuniversityandsimilarinstitutions.
• 2005: Exhibition and presentations/workshops given at UNEP’sWorldEnvironmentDayeventatSanFrancisco.
• 2005(March)AurovilianattendedNationalSeminarfor300peopleonthe“Relevanceofcommoneffluenttreatmentplantsforenvironmen-talprotection”atuniversityinHyderabadandmadeapresentationon“ManagementofwasteandeffluentsusingEMtechnology”.
• 2005 (May)Aurovilian invited tospeakonbuildingwithearth inAuroville at a 300-person (architects and construction professionals)conferenceon“EcoHabitat”inTrivandrum,India.
AU
RO
VIL
LE: U
NIV
ER
SA
L C
ITY
FO
R H
UM
AN
UN
ITY
30 • 2005 (August)Aurovilian invited to speak on “Earthquake resis-tancewith CSEB” at international conference on “DisasterManage-ment”inChennaiattendedbysome500architects,constructionprofes-sionalsandNGOsworkingforrehabilitation, includingfromUKand5-6S.Asiancountries.
• 2005(October)Aurovilianinvitedtospeakon“EarthenarchitectureinAurovilleandarches,vaultsanddomes”atconferenceinBangaloreon“Recentdevelopmentsindesignandconstructiontechnologies”at-tendedby400people.
• 2006 (January)AurovilianattendedNationalHomoeopathicCon-ferenceforseveralhundredpeopleon“Homoeopathyfor themodernera”inHyderabad,andmadepresentationtitled“Homeopathyandim-plicationsbeyondcurativemedicine”.
• 2006(March)AurovilianattendedAurovilleInternationalMeetingandConferenceinCapeTown.SouthAfricaalongsideapprox150otherpeoplefromaroundtheworld,andmadeapresentation:“Conceptsandtechnologiesofanecologicalapproachtothetreatmentofsolid,liquidandhumanwaste,andtopublichygiene”.
• 2006(March)AurovilianattendedconferenceatPondicherryUni-versityon“Ecohabitat”for150architectsandconstructionprofession-als, and spokeon ‘Earthenarchitecture for sustainablehabitat inAu-roville”.
• 2006(May)Invitedspeakeron“EarthquakeresistancewithhollowCSEB”.at internationalconference inChennaiattendedby200archi-tects,constructionprofessionalsandNGOsworkingforrehabilitation.
• 2007 (February) Aurovilian attended symposium on “BiologicalmethodsofwastetreatmentandmanagementinSouthIndia”organizedbyUnitedStatesEducationalFoundationinIndiaandbyTheNewCol-lege,ChennaiatChennai.Some200peopleattendedhispresentationon“AchievementsandunexploredscopeofEffectiveMicroorganismstechnologyinIndia.”
• 2007 (April) Auroville representative made presentation onAu-rovilleatmeetingofsteeringcommitteeoftheInternationalFederationofGreenRegionsAssociation(IFGRA)inLausanne,Switzerland,setuptoapproveconstitutionofIFGRAasproposedbyVthSymposiumof Swiss Environmental Solutions for EmergingCountries (SESEC).Themeetingwas attended by representatives of 10 nations, andAu-rovillerepresentativewas invited toserveontheSteeringCommitteeinhiscapacityasTechnicalCoordinatorfor‘Auroville’sFuture’(nowL’Avenird’Auroville).FinaloutcomewasthatAurovillewasnominatedasafoundermemberofIFGRAinJune2007.
• 2007(Oct/Nov)AurovillerepresentativemadepresentationonAu-rovilleatVIthsymposiumorganizedbySwissEnvironmentalSolutionsforEmergingCountries(SESEC)inLausanne,Switzerland,attendedby150peoplefrom5continents.ThemewasInternationalNetworkingfor PromotingSustainableDevelopmentattheLocalLevel
AU
RO
VIL
LE: U
NIV
ER
SA
L C
ITY
FO
R H
UM
AN
UN
ITY
31 • 2008 (October), Umamade a presentation onVaranasiWeavers,whichherAurovilleunit,Upasana,hasbeencloselyinvolvedwith,ataneventatUNESCOHeadquartersinParisattendedbysome80peoplefromaroundtheworld,andshealsoparticipatedinthe“EthicalFashionShow”attheCarrouselduLouvre.
Auroville in the Media (2008)
ArgentinaLa critica de la ArgentinaLaAnarquiapossible-March2008
CanadaThe Walrus India,TerrorandHumanUnity-December2008
France UlyssesAuroville,citedesutopies-February2008La CroixAurovilleexpérimentetoujoursl’utopiebohème-February2008LibérationBalladeenUtopie-March2008LibérationAuroville-March2008PsychologiesAuroville,40ans-April2008Nouvel ObservateurMai68-May2008Nouveau consommateur Aquadyn-June2008CyberpresseNadaka,l’Aurovilien-August2008Le Monde des religionsLacitédel’Aurore-September2009L’ecologiste Voyage à Auroville - Autumn 2008UnescoAuroville’s40thanniversarycelebratedatUNESCOinParisNational Geographic(FrenchEdition)Auroville,unlabotatoired’utopiesenIndeOctober2008Ouest-FranceLes60 ansd’Auroville, en Inde.Laville de toutes lesutopies-December2008
India JetwingsCityofDawn-September2008
ItalyYoga Journal Utopia realizzata - January 2008OggiAbbiamocostruitolacittadell’armonia-March2008LibertariaUtopiaimperfettaJanuary-Juneedition2008 Spain La opinion de MurciaElExperimentoespiritualdeAurovillecumple40anos-December2008
United States WallPaperMotherland-April2008PlymouthSenseandSustainibility-Spring2008DeparturesGoldenRules-September2008Washington PostIndiaTourismforces”UniversalTownship”toponderCrowdControl,Nov2008
United StatesWallPaper Motherland - April 2008Plymouth Sense and Sustainibility - Spring 2008Departures Golden Rules - September 2008Washington Post India Tourism forces”Universal Township” to ponder CrowdControl, Nov 2008
AU
RO
VIL
LE: U
NIV
ER
SA
L C
ITY
FO
R H
UM
AN
UN
ITY
32 Student exchange programmes, internships and volunteering
Auroville has never seen itself as isolated from theworld around it,andhasfromitsinceptionalwaysinteractedinawidevarietyofposi-tiveandconstructivewayswithindividualsandinstitutionsaroundtheworld.
WhilethisinteractionhasbeenofmajorhelptoAurovilleitself,ithasalsobenefitedthosewithwhomAurovillehasmaintainedcontact,andisabsolutelyappropriateforatownshipthat,byitsCharter,“belongstohumanityasawhole”.Therefollowsomeexamplesofthiscontinuinginteraction.
1. Groups and learning communities
Overthepastfewyears,AurovillehashostedvariousgroupsvisitingfromwithinIndiaandaroundtheworld,suchasthefollowingforedu-cationalprogrammes.
• Twiceannually,USundergraduatestudentshavecomefora“se-mesterabroadprogram”coordinatedbyLiving Routes.
• The Indian Council of Architectshasbeenbringingstudentgroupstwiceayearforcoursesinsustainability.
• Each winter quarter,University of Washington, Seattle, studentscometostudylinkagesinvolvingnature,spirit,andpoliticaltheory,aswellassustainabledevelopment,resourceconservationandcommunitybuilding.
• The American University of Paris ran itsfirst graduate course inSustainableDevelopmentinthewinterof2008-2009.PreparingforaMasterofArtsdegreeinGlobalCommunications,14studentsputtheirskills at the serviceof severalAurovilleunits,producingflyers,bro-churesandvideos.
• The Breuninger FoundationbasedinGermanyhascreatedapro-gramme,recognisedbyUNESCO,whichprovidesexperientialtrainingopportunitiesforyoungergenerationpeopleaged18–30whowanttocreatesignificantprojectsforchange.Auroville,asademonstrationsiteforprinciplesandapplications,hostedanInternationalYouthConfer-encein2005supportiveoftheseaims.
• Aurovilleisincreasinglyreceivingexpressionsofinterestfromoth-erinstitutionsanduniversitiesabroadthatrecognisethetownshipasa“livinglearningcentre”andwouldliketohostprogrammesonthemescompatiblewiththeidealsofAuroville.Forexample,in2005theCali-forniaInstituteofIntegralStudies(CIIS)beganafirstpilotprogrammewith 2 student groups and a tourwith alumni and friends, which isscheduledtocontinue.TheUniversityofCalifornia,SantaCruz’san-thropology department also began a pilot 5-week programmewith astudentgroupin2004.
AU
RO
VIL
LE: U
NIV
ER
SA
L C
ITY
FO
R H
UM
AN
UN
ITY
33 2. Auroville Volunteering, Internships & Studies programme
Auroville Volunteering, Internships & Studies programme (AVIS) wasfoundedin2000inresponsetorequestsfrombothindependentstu-dentsandvolunteersaswellasinstitutionsinIndiaandabroadinterest-edinundertakingeducationalprogrammesinthetownship.Auroville,asaplaceforunendingeducation,invitesandwelcomestheparticipa-tionofstudentsandvolunteersinfieldssuchasarchitecture,teaching,townplanning,design,I.T.,healthcare,villagedevelopment,socialre-search,farmingandforestry,projectwritingandadministration.Typi-cally,peoplecometooffertheirskillswhilegainingworkexperience;tocontributeinspecialistfieldsforatime;togainpracticalexperienceinachosenfield;orasuniversitygraduatesandresearcherswantingtomakeanaspectoflifeinAurovilleathemeoftheirresearch.
3. Centre for International Research in Human Unity
TheCentreforInternationalResearchinHumanUnity(CIRHU)isaneducational research institution inauniqueposition toprovidean in-tegratedfieldforexperientialstudyandresearch.Unlikeothercompa-rableinstitutes,CIRHU–beinglocatedwithinthe“livinglaboratory”ofAuroville-isacentrespecificallydedicatedtoexperiential,transfor-mationallearning,aplacethatoffersthepossibilityfordesigningflex-iblestudyprogrammesthatcombineandsynthesisedifferentfieldsofknowledgewith a spiritual foundation, and an integral approach thathonoursmultipleapproachestolearningandknowledge.
CIRHUactivelyseekscollaborationwithcentres,institutesandfounda-tions fromaround theworldwho, inpractice,demonstrateacommit-menttocontributinginapositivewaytotheevolutionarymomentumforupliftinghumanconsciousnessandprovidingalife-enhancingfutureforall.
Kalamitra and Kala Khoj
Kalamitra is a group that seeks to stimulate cultural life inAurovillebyhostingperformancesofmajorwell-knownartists.KalaKhoj is aprogrammeofferedbyKalamitratofacilitatethedevelopmentofanin-ternationalnetworkofartexchangeprogrammes,involvingartistsfromIndia,Aurovilleand the restof theworldwishing todeepen their re-searchinthearts.Itoffersshort-andlong-termresidentialprogrammesforvisitingartists.KalaKhojisanaffiliatememberoftheinternational‘ResArtis’network,whichisrepresentedinover120countries,andiscurrentlydesignatedastheorganizationtocoordinateanddevelop‘ResArtis’programmesinSouthEastAsia.
AU
RO
VIL
LE: U
NIV
ER
SA
L C
ITY
FO
R H
UM
AN
UN
ITY
34 AUROVILLE INTERNATIONAL CENTRES
TheAurovilleInternationalAssociationisaregisteredbodycompris-ing12AurovilleInternationalCentresinEurope,andNorthandSouthAmerica, supported by 15 other “LiaisonOffices” around theworld.ThesecentresprovideaconduitofinformationaboutAurovilleanditsactivitiesandprojects.
TheAurovilleInternationalCentresmaintainregularcontactwitheachotherandAuroville.AGeneralAssemblyoftheAurovilleInternationalAssociationisheldeachyearforrepresentativesoftheCentresandAu-roville.TheGeneralAssemblyenablestheCentrestosharetheirworkexperience and agree upon a unified approach to supporting theAu-rovilletownshipinthecomingyear.
AVI BRAZILPauloJ.BaetaPereiraR.Inconfidentes360ap.203-Funcionários30140-120BeloHorizonteMG–BRAZILTel:(+55)31-32212849mobile:(+55)31-88048063Email:[email protected]
AVI CANADAClaudeDaviault2164Amherst,Montréal,Qc.CanadaH2L3L8Tel:(+1)514-526-2600or(+1)514-521-8203Fax:(+1)514-526-2813or(+1)514-521-7253Email:[email protected](infos)
AVI CANADA-ONTARIO (antenna)CatherineBlackburn195,HowardParkAvenue,Apartment6,Toronto , OntarioCanadaM6R1V9Tel:(+1)416-604-1428Email:[email protected]
AU
RO
VIL
LE: U
NIV
ER
SA
L C
ITY
FO
R H
UM
AN
UN
ITY
35 AVI DEUTSCHLANDFriederikeWerner(secretaryAVIAssociation)Solmsstr.610961BerlinGermanyTel:(+49)(0)30-42803150Fax:(+49)(0)30-92091376Email:[email protected]
AVI FRANCEDevsmitaPatnaikc/oSAVITRI14ruedeLancry75010ParisFranceTel:(0033)0143391699Or(0033)0671083217(mobile)Email:[email protected]
AVI NEDERLANDS Jet ZwaansvanPetersheimstraat415126HJGilzeTheNetherlandsTelehone;+31(0)161453939Email:[email protected]
AVI ESPAÑAAlfonsoGalianaPasseigJoanMoreira,6,1r-2a.43500TORTOSA(Tarragona)SPAINTel:+34977441200email:[email protected]
and:
KitxuSánchezSanLorenzo,20,4º.31001PAMPLONA(Navarra)SPAINTel:+34948227514email:[email protected](for Spanish-speaking people only) AVI ESPAÑA (antenna)LURGOZOARosanaAgudoc/Gordoniz,no.44-4Dpt.148002BilbaoSpainTel.(+34)658738269(mobile)Email:[email protected](for Basque speaking people)
www.lurgozoa.com(SpanishandEnglish)
AVI SVERIGEEvelinePreibschRörläggarv.53S-16833BrommaSwedenTel:(+46)08-7048153Email:[email protected]
AU
RO
VIL
LE: U
NIV
ER
SA
L C
ITY
FO
R H
UM
AN
UN
ITY
36 AVI UK30TheGreenSurlinghamNorwichNR147AGU.K.Tel:(+44)1508538300Fax:(+44)[email protected]
AVI USAPOBox1534Lodi,CA95241U.S.A.Tel:(+1)8315425620Email:[email protected] AurovilleInformationOfficeJulianLines(chairmanAVIassociation)POBox676WoodstockNY12498U.S.A.Tel:(+1)845-679-5358Email:[email protected]
AUROVILLE LIAISON OFFICES
AnandiE.FernandezBolivar1288-1o.Dto.4BuenosAiresC.1151ARGENTINATel:(54-11)43070842Email:[email protected] Jan Allen5/4Walkerstr.LavenderBay,2060NSWAUSTRALIAPhone/Fax:+61299557769Email:[email protected]
PeterLloydRiverrun 5a1KaNamVillageNorthLammaIslandHONGKONGTel/Fax:(852)29822807email:[email protected]
DorithTeichmann5HatapuachSt.Hod-HasharonISRAELPhone:(+972)97445719Email:[email protected],2424123BergamoITALYPhone:(+39)35341637Mobile:0338-4313907Email:[email protected]
AU
RO
VIL
LE: U
NIV
ER
SA
L C
ITY
FO
R H
UM
AN
UN
ITY
37 Arjunan&NaomiSano#9025-26-14KamiumaSetagaya-kuTokyo-154-0011JAPANTel+fax+81-3-3428-0677Email:[email protected]
NurlanYeskendirovandKaisha480043AlmatyMkr.Orbita-4,7-37KAZAKHSTANPhone:(+7)3272207018Email:[email protected](Nurlan)[email protected](Kaisha) EgidijusSkudrickasVilniausstr.56-9,41118Birzai,LITHUANIAMobile+37062127728Mobile+37067275537(VytautusRasimavicius)Email:[email protected]
AdrianaPortilloG.InsurgentesSur1168Col.delValleD.F.03100MEXICOMobile:(52-5)551557296Email:[email protected] AugustDeudahlOlerudvn.30,2770Jaren,NORWAYPhone:0047-61335667,0047-95239674or0047-48059724Email:[email protected]
AVI Liaison Russia c/oAditiPublishingHouseMininast.,House23St.PetersburgRUSSIAPhone:+7(812)9748897Email:[email protected]://www.auroville.ruWebsiteinRussianofAurovilleInformation,RussianPavilioninAurovilleandAVIMoscow SuvarnaDayanandan#13-91SpottiswoodeParkRoad,ApartmentBlock110Singapore081110SINGAPOREPhone:+6562224194(home)Mobile:91261060Email:[email protected]
JasminandAravindaMaheshwari18FirfieldRoad,Plumstead7800,RSASOUTHAFRICATel(+Fax)+27217622721email:[email protected]:www.auroville-africa.org/
AU
RO
VIL
LE: U
NIV
ER
SA
L C
ITY
FO
R H
UM
AN
UN
ITY
38 Mr.Yi,Kyun-Hyeong(Namu)107-1203,HanyangApt.Hongje-dongSeodaemun-gu,Seoul120-782SOUTHKOREAphone:010-3160-4630/02-733-3134Email:[email protected]
CamilleEgger-FoetischAv.C.-F.Ramuz791009PullySWITZERLANDPhone:(+41)(0)217298553Mobile:9+41)794071801Email:[email protected]
Auroville International CentresTax exemption status
USAhttp://www.aviusa.org/donations_taxexempt.html
AurovilleInternationalUSAisatax-exemptnonprofitundersection501(c)(3).Thismeansthatyoucanmakeatax-deductibledonationtoAurovilleInternationalUSA,andwewillforwardittotheprojectofyourchoiceinAuroville.Wedotakea1/12thdeductionfromdonationspassingthroughAurovilleInternationalUSAtocoverouroperatingexpenses.
AurovilleInternationalUSAisclassifiedbytheFederalGovernmentasataxexemptnonprofitorganizationundersection501(c)(3)oftheInter-nalRevenueCode.FoundationStatusClassificationis:509(a)(2)andtheFederalEmployerIdentificationNumberis23-7360183.IfyoumakeadonationthroughAVIUSAtooneofAuroville’sprojects,ormakeacontributiontoAVIUSAitself,youwillreceiveareceiptforyourtaxpurposes.Notethatthistax-exemptionlettercanonlybeusedbyU.S.taxpayers
UKhttp://www.aviuk.org./fundraising.htmIfyouareaBritishtaxpayer,pleasemakeyourdonationviaAurovilleInternationalUKaswecanclaimanextra28ptaxforevery£1donatedviaGiftAid.
GERMANYhttp://www.auroville.de/en/vfavr/general-informationGermandonorsandsponsorsareentitledtodeducttheirdonationsfromtheirtaxableincome.ForthispurposeVFAVRissuesinJanuaryofeachyearreceiptsofthedonationsreceivedduringthepreviousyearwhichareacceptedbythetaxauthorities.
NETHERLANDShttp://www.auroville-int-ned.nl/Projecten_ondersteuning.htmlYoumayselectoneorseveralprojectsinAurovillebymakingadona-tiontoPostbankaccount805707,inthenameofAurovilleInternational
AU
RO
VIL
LE: U
NIV
ER
SA
L C
ITY
FO
R H
UM
AN
UN
ITY
39 USAinRijswijk,indicatingthedestinationofyourgift.SinceAVINeth-erlandstransactiontoapublicinterestbody,yourdonationundercertainconditions,taxdeductible.
AWARDS InrecognitionoftheexemplaryworkbeingcarriedoutbyAurovilleinseveralofitsfieldsofactivity,Aurovillehasreceivedthefollowingna-tionalandinternationalawardsoverthepastdecade:
2008 Ajit Koujalgi,asArchitectureCo-ConvenorforINTACHinPondi-cherry,playedamajorcoordinatingroleingettinganAwardofMeritinUNESCO’sAsia-PacificHeritageAwardsforCultureHeritageCon-servation Programme for the restorationwork done onVysial Street,Pondicherry,aprojectinitiatedbyhimselfandfellowAuroviliansSauroandLalit.
2006 Margarita Correareceivedanawardfor“SocialandEnvironmentalDevelopment”withinIndia(includingAuroville)andaroundtheworld.fromSustainableCommunityDevelopment and EM dealers and dis-tributorsrepresenting46countriesatameetinginKansasCity,USA.2006 Auroville Earth InstituteagainwonfirstprizeintheAll-Indiadesigncompetition“Multihazardresistantshelter”,awardedbyGandhigramRuralInstitute,fundedbyBhoomikatrustandICA-USA. 2005• Upasana Design Studiowonan“AwardofExcellence”certificateinDelhifortheirinnovativeandhighlysuccessfulTsunamikadollproj-ect,ontheoccasionofthe12thAnnualConvocationDayofIndia’sMin-istryofTextiles-sponsoredNationalInstituteforFashionTechnology.• AurovillearchitectJana DreikhausenwonasignificantawardatanInternationalConferenceonEcologicalArchitectureandEnvironmentintheTropicsheldinSemarang,Indonesia,forintegratingthefullrangeof(then)knownsustainablebuildingconceptsintoasingleinnovativedesign,intheformofaresidentialhouseinAuroville.• Auroville Earth Institutewonfirst prize in theAll-India designcompetition“HazardResistantHouse”,awardedbyGandhigramRuralInstitute,fundedbyBhoomikatrustandICA-USA.
2004 AuroRE Projects & Serviceswona“GreenOscar”intheformofoneof thefive annualAshdenAwards forSustainableEnergy,whichhighlightandrewardoutstandingrenewableenergyprojectsaroundthe
AU
RO
VIL
LE: U
NIV
ER
SA
L C
ITY
FO
R H
UM
AN
UN
ITY
40 world.Thisparticularawardwasforactingasacatalystforsmall-scalesolarbusinessesacrossIndia,helpingIndiatounlockitshugepotentialforsolarpowerusage.
2003Editions Auroville Press Internationalunitwonanawardforitsin-spiring“Geniusof India”video,basedonaslidepresentationshownwidelyaroundIndia,andacclaimedbothbyIndia’sthenPrimeMinisterandHomeMinister,inthe14thUniversityGrantCommission’sannualeducationalvideocompetition,held in cooperationwith theNationalOpenSchool,NewDelhi,for‘TheBestProgrammeoftheYear’.
2002Editions Auroville Presswontheawardfor“BestProgrammeoftheYear”inthe14thUniversityGrantCommissionannualeducationalvid-eocompetitioninNewDelhi.AtthesametimeRaintreeRecordsalsowontheawardfor“TechnicalExcellenceinSoundRecording”fortheirworkonthevideo.
2001AuroREreceivedtheSESIPVSEC(Applications)awardfromtheSo-larEnergySocietyofIndia.
2000The UNESCO Chair “Earthen Architecture – Constructive Cul-tures and Sustainable Development” was created to accelerate the disseminationofknowledgeonearthenarchitectureamongsthighered-ucationinstitutionsanduniversitiesworldwide.TheAurovilleBuildingCentrehasbeenchosenasoneofthepartnersoftheUNESCOChairforitsexcellenceinthepromotionofearthenarchitecturethroughresearchprojects,trainingprogrammes,publications,andpracticalapplicationinpublicbuildingsandhumansettlements.
2000Vikas communityatAurovillewasselectedasfinalist for theWorldHabitatAwards2000,sponsoredbyBuildingandSocialHousingFoun-dation, UK, for its “environmentally-conscious dwellings” using re-newableenergy,advancedwatermanagementtechniquesandwoodlessconstructionmethods.
1999The Auroville Building CentrereceivedtheGoldMedalfromtheIn-diaTradePromotionOrganisation,NewDelhi,for“Excellenceinpre-sentationofspecialdisplayonBuildTechpavilion1999–NewDelhi”.Themedalwasawardedforadisasterresistanthouse,builtin66hoursduringtheIndiaInternationalTradeFair99.
1997The Auroville Centre for Scientific Research was nominated BestNGOintheRenewableEnergySectorinIndiabytheIndianRenewableEnergyDevelopmentAgency(IREDA),NewDelhi,ontheoccasionofits“DecadeofService”celebrations.
AU
RO
VIL
LE: U
NIV
ER
SA
L C
ITY
FO
R H
UM
AN
UN
ITY
41 1996 The Club of BudapestadoptedtheAurovilleprojectto“becomehuman-ity’sfirstuniversalcity,thesharedtreasureofallnationsandpeople”.
1996OutstandingPerformanceAwardfortheBest Building Centre through HousingandUrbanDevelopmentCorporation(HUDCO),NewDelhi,fromtheMinistryofUrbanDevelopmentandPovertyAlleviation,Govt.ofIndia.
1995We the Peoples 50 Communities Award in the category of Human Settlementsontheoccasionofthe50thAnniversaryoftheUnitedNa-tions.
1995 OutstandingPerformanceAwardfortheBest Building Centre through HousingandUrbanDevelopmentCorporation(HUDCO),NewDelhi,fromtheMinistryofUrbanDevelopmentandPovertyAlleviation,Govt.ofIndia.
1992HassanFathiInternationalAwardforArchitectureforthePoorfromtheSocietyfortheRevivalofPlanningandArchitecturalHeritage,Cairo,Egypt, for the construction of the Auroville Visitors’ Centre, where cost-effectiveearthandferrocementtechnologieshavebeenappliedinapublicbuilding.
AU
RO
VIL
LE: U
NIV
ER
SA
L C
ITY
FO
R H
UM
AN
UN
ITY
42 INTERNATIONALSTATEMENTSOFSUPPORT• The General Assembly of UNESCOunanimouslypassedin1966,1968,1970and1983resolutionsofsupportforAuroville,inviting“mem-ber states and international non-governmental organisations to partici-pate in the development of Auroville as an international cultural township designed to bring together the values of different cultures and civilisa-tions in a harmonious environment with integrated living standards which correspond to man’s physical and spiritual needs.” AfurtherUNESCOBoardresolutionofsupportwaspassedin2007
• Indira Gandhi, (late) Prime Minister of India,on25thMarch1969:“It is an exciting project for bringing about harmony among different cul-tures and for understanding the environmental needs for man’s spiritual growth. May Auroville truly become a city of light and of peace.”
• His Holiness the Dalai Lamaduringhisfirstvisit toAuroville inJanuary1973:“We are deeply impressed by the spiritual aim behind the building of an international city called Auroville. The importance of the effort to achieve human unity and international cooperation by the cre-ation of such a city cannot be overemphasized; nor can we neglect the immense benefit to be acquired from it.”
• Dr. Ervin Laszlo, former Director of Research to the United Na-tions and Special Advisor to the Director-General of UNESCO, writer andphilosopher,inhissupportletterof28thFebruary1996:“Auroville, a unique experiment in international and intercultural coexistence, is one of the most hopeful indications of the practical realization of the human potential the entire world community will soon require to ensure a truly sustainable and humane future. (…) Auroville deserves worldwide recog-nition as a pioneer of planetary cooperation, harmony, and understand-ing.”
• David R. Brower, Chairman of the Earth Island Institute, USA, eminent environmentalist, in his support letter as reference person for the nominationofAurovillefortheBluePlanetPrize1997:“Auroville stands as one of the most courageous and hope-giving models of what is possible when the human will and spirit unite in a common action. (…) I encour-age you to assist this unique global community venture in its determina-tion to reverse the tide of environmental destruction, demonstrating how to restore hope and compassion on the only Earth.”
• Snr. Federico Mayor, former Director-General of UNESCO, in hissupport letterof31.01.98:“The Auroville project situated in Tamil Nadu, South India, which has been supported by the General Conference of UNESCO in 1966, 1968, 1970 and 1983, is actively developing ac-cording to the basic principles of international understanding and human unity.”
AU
RO
VIL
LE: U
NIV
ER
SA
L C
ITY
FO
R H
UM
AN
UN
ITY
43 STATEMENTSOFSUPPORTFROMTHEGOVERNMENTOFINDIA
Indira Gandhi, (late) Prime Minister of India,on25thMarch1969:“Pondicherry was Sri Aurobindo’s place of political exile and spiritual unfolding. His effulgent message radiated to different parts of the world from Pondicherry. It is appropriate that seekers of enlightenment from various lands should found a new city there bearing Sri Aurobindo’s name. It is an exciting project for bringing about harmony among dif-ferent cultures and for understanding the environmental needs for man’s spiritual growth. May Auroville truly become a city of light and of peace.”
• P.V. Narasimha Rao, then Minister for Human Resource Devel-opment, and ex-Prime Minister of India,duringhisvisittoAurovilleon23rdAugust1986:“I don’t know why we are calling Auroville an experiment; it is life, it is a part of life, it ought to be a part of life, but now that we have gone back and started calling it an experiment, let’s make it a success.”
• P. Shiv Shanker, former Minister for Human Resource Devel-opment,whileintroducingtheAurovilleFoundationBillinSeptember1988inParliament:“Auroville is to be looked upon as a vision which has a great potentiality, and this can be of tremendous service to our country and the world at large. The aim of Auroville is to discover a new life, deeper and more complete, and to show the world that tomorrow will be better than today. The Government is determined to help the pro-cess of development of Auroville in such a way that its aims and goals are made more and more realisable.”
• Dr. Karan Singh, appointed by the Central Government as Chair-man of the first Governing Board of the Auroville Foundation, in his speech to the residents of Auroville on 28th February 1991: “Auroville was envisaged by the Mother as a concrete manifestation of the new consciousness, as an arrow pointed towards the future of evolu-tion. And that is why Auroville is so extremely significant for the future of the human race. Never forget it is not only important to those who happen to live here. Certainly you are important, because it is you Au-rovilians who are doing the work and making the experiment, but your work far transcends barriers of space and nationality and even of time. Because what is sought to be done here is nothing less than the transmu-tation of consciousness.”
AU
RO
VIL
LE: U
NIV
ER
SA
L C
ITY
FO
R H
UM
AN
UN
ITY
44 • D.S. Meshram, Chief Planner, Town & Country Planning Or-ganisation, Ministry of Urban Development, New Delhi, in a letter aftervisitingAurovilleinMay2000:“We appreciate the efforts of Au-roville towards the innovative approaches adopted in recycling water, recharging of ground water, rehabilitation of water bodies, use of solar energy and biogas, regeneration of waste land, afforestation, planta-tion, etc.”
• Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi, Union Minister of Human Resource Development, in his message for the Auroville Universal Township MasterPlan2000–2025thatwasapprovedbytheGovernmentofIn-diainFebruary2001:“The significance of Auroville can be understood properly only when we fathom into the very heart of the crisis through which humanity is passing today. As Sri Aurobindo points out, the crisis of today is evolutionary in character and can be resolved only if human-ity turns upward towards the next step of evolution and realises univer-sal fraternity. (…) Auroville is an alternative to the conflicting strategies that aim at mere freedom that hurts the values of equality and equity or at mere equality that tends to fetter freedom of the spirit. In this context, Auroville stands out as a promise that liberty, equality and fraternity can meet together in a large synthesis.
It is gratifying that the Master Plan has not only been designed by the residents of Auroville and approved by the Governing Board, but the Town and Country Planning Organisation of the Union Ministry of Ur-ban Development has also extended valuable collaboration and thus enhanced the excellence of this Plan. (…) This Master Plan will serve as a further instrument through which Governmental and Non-Govern-mental help can be enhanced.”
• Dr. Jagmohan, Union Minister for Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation,inhisforewordof25thJanuary2001totheAu-rovilleUniversalTownshipMasterPlan2000–2025thatwasapprovedbytheGovernmentofIndiainFebruary2001:“The Auroville Univer-sal Township envisaged by the Mother is one of the unique examples of manifestation of human unity in diversity. The township founded on a barren plateau devoid of any blade of grass in 1968 has become a green area shaded with a variety of trees and plants. The architectural de-signs, appropriate building technologies, conservation approach, rain-water harvesting, re-use and recycling of water resources, solid waste management, land re-generation, community participation, are some of the areas where innovative models and techniques have been developed and adapted in the township. As per its Charter, Auroville belongs to humanity as a whole, and the ones who are to live in Auroville must be willing servitors of the Divine Consciousness. It is in this background the growth of Auroville needs to be seen. The township designed for an ultimate population of 50,000 in an area of 2000 ha. would be a viable functional entity. Although the character and set up of the township may not be the same as that of any other town of similar size, functionally it requires to be a self contained township. The Master Plan of the town-ship has, therefore, rightly envisaged development of an economic zone along with residential, cultural and institutional areas. The provision of green belt around the built up portion of the township would be an im-
AU
RO
VIL
LE: U
NIV
ER
SA
L C
ITY
FO
R H
UM
AN
UN
ITY
45 portant environmental safeguard. Auroville is a different township from the point of view of development management, and the Master Plan ex-ercise has rightly recognised its uniqueness. I am sure the Master Plan would channelise the future growth and development of Auroville as per the envisioned Charter. Its development may provide a good model for emulation in other towns and cities as well. Contributions made by the Residents Assembly and the various other Auroville Working Groups in formulation of the Master Plan are praiseworthy, symbolising ac-tive involvement of community groups in the Master Plan exercise. I complement Town and Country Planning Organisation of this Ministry and Auroville Foundation for drawing up the Auroville Master Plan of international significance.”
• Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi, Union Minister of Human Resource Development, Science and Technology,inhisaddresstotheresidentsofAurovilleduringhisvisiton31stDecember2003:“I was (also) very happy to have seen the short beautiful film on Auroville, which encom-passes the great story of development of Auroville in a few snapshots, each vibrant with charm and instructive disclosure. In those 20 minutes, I learned of Auroville more than one could learn from reading one full volume. I also learned with great eagerness the achievements that Au-roville has registered during the last 30 years. The first and the greatest achievement is a fact that it is through your labour that this arid land has been transformed into a miraculous green land. Your commitment to ecology and your dedication to the cause of harmony between hu-manity and nature is convincing and deeply satisfying. You have won several awards for varieties of achievements connected with develop-ment, housing and various inventions that are directly useful for the regeneration of the land and economic development. It is not surprising that UNESCO has adopted four Resolutions in appreciation of the aims and ideals of Auroville and of the educational work that is being pro-moted here. I am happy that the Government of India has accorded its recognition to your Institute of Educational Research as an Institution of Higher Learning of All India Importance. I am sure that the Government will be happy to extend both moral and financial support to the task of educational research in which you are engaged. For the programme of your educational research is centred on education for human unity, education for integral development of personality, and education for value-orientation. Happily, all these three objectives are central to the educational policy of the Government of India, and we shall be happy to receive the benefit of your research work. I am also particularly happy that Sanskrit is being specially encouraged, and your language labora-tory is so designed that it can provide rapid training to students in San-skrit as also in Tamil, French and English.
(…) To my mind, Auroville is an achievement and yet a promise which is still to be fulfilled. For Auroville is a great effort that aims at fulfilling a tremendous dream, a Divine Dream. This Dream places Truth as the sovereign principle, -- Truth, not as the mind sees it, but the Truth that can be seen by a supramental vision, by the faculty of vijñana, to use the expression of the Taittiriya Upanishad. It is a Dream where human re-lationships are to be built on the principle of universal fraternity, where work is to be conducted in the spirit of service to the Divine Conscious-
AU
RO
VIL
LE: U
NIV
ER
SA
L C
ITY
FO
R H
UM
AN
UN
ITY
46 ness, and where life is to be lived as a process of constant research whereby highest values can be embodied both in the individual and collective life.
(…) The Mother has given very important guidelines for the organi-sation of the economic life of Auroville. She has perceived a kind of economy in which none here owns any property, none has the right of inheritance, and all property is to be held collectively as a trust for the common welfare. I am happy that this directive of the Mother has been implemented, and that this is being done by everybody voluntarily. It is an instructive example that self-control can best be attained when it is voluntary and deliberate.
(…) The Charter of Auroville that the Mother has given is an uplifting Charter; it is an inspiring Charter, and it is a Charter that fulfils the highest ideals that India has conceived throughout the ages for social harmony and human solidarity.
The Charter declares that Auroville belongs to nobody in particular but to humanity as a whole; it proposes Auroville as a place of un-ending education, of constant progress and a youth that never ages; the Charter also provides to Auroville an ideal situation where money cannot remain a sovereign lord, and it ensures that Auroville develops as a learning society. In proposing it to be the bridge between the past and the future and as a repository of knowledge that comes to us from external frontiers of consciousness as also from internal frontiers of consciousness, Auroville has been turned into a field of research, a mul-tisided, multidisciplinary, and integral research that can open the gates of future realisations. Indeed, Auroville has been designed to fulfill Sri Aurobindo’s statement: ‘We do not belong to the dawns of the past but to the noons of the future.’
Finally, in declaring Auroville to be a site of material and spiritual researches that aim at a living embodiment of an actual human unity, we have here an unprecedented opportunity for creating a model where people can unite as citizens of the world.
Sri Aurobindo has spoken of a world union of free nations, in which each nation brings to the totality its own special contributions that can enrich unity and oneness of the entire humanity. This is a great vision, and the fact that you have voluntarily come here to organise a model of human unity puts on your shoulders a great responsibility to work out the problems which have divided the world so far into the East and the West or into smaller divisions of regions and provinces. Your efforts fill me with a great hope. Sri Aurobindo has said that humanity has today decisively turned towards the ideal of human unity; and even though there are dangers on the path, they can be minimized, if the principle of law and liberty is rightly employed.”
AU
RO
VIL
LE: U
NIV
ER
SA
L C
ITY
FO
R H
UM
AN
UN
ITY
47 • Mr. S.K. Triphathi, Secretary of State for Education, Govt. of India,atacolloquiumon“EvolutionofHumanConsciousnesswithintheSocietyofAuroville:anExampleofCulturalDiversity”,organisedbyUNESCO in its headquarters in Paris on 11thApril 2003, to cel-ebrateAuroville’s35thanniversary:“We envisage that the Sri Aurob-indo International Institute for Educational Research, which is being now supported by us, would bring about a change in the educational system in India through the implementation of Sri Aurobindo’s vision of integral education. This involves a change in the aims of education, a new perception in the role of the teacher, experiments with evolving new curricula and new methods of teaching and learning, thus serving as a real life laboratory for the country’s education system. (…) Au-roville has already brought a transformation in the areas surrounding it by adopting people-friendly technologies, eco-friendly farms which do not destroy Mother Earth, income generating industrial units which do not pollute the air, and many such innovations, which point towards an India of the future which is prosperous, in tune with nature, does not sacrifice its collective goals, and which acts as an inspiration for the new generation. Towards this aim, we are here to support Auroville as partners in progress, as facilitators rather than as mere administrators, and would like to contribute towards the progress of Auroville to serve as a beacon of hope, not only for the future of India, but also for human-ity as a whole.”
AU
RO
VIL
LE: U
NIV
ER
SA
L C
ITY
FO
R H
UM
AN
UN
ITY
48 FUNDINGAGENCIES
Overthepastdecades,Aurovillehasreceivedsupportfromaconsider-ablenumberofgovernmentalandnon-governmentalagencies,founda-tions,corporatedonorsandprivatewell-wishersinIndiaandabroad.
However,thefinancialchallengeofbuildingasustainablemodeltownforaprojectedpopulationof50,000residents,whichatthesametimecaresforanexpandingruralneighbourhoodof--atpresent--40,000people,isimmense.
Thisselectivelistcomprisesfundingagenciesthathavesupportedspe-cificresearchandpilotprojectsandprogrammesinAurovilleandtheneighbouringvillages.
International Organizations
EuropeanCommunity(EC)ICEF(India–CanadianEnvironmentFacility)UnitedNationsCentreforHumanSettlements(UNCHS-Habitat)UNESCO
Foreign Governments & Governmental Organizations
BELGIUM AlgemeneBelgischeOntwikkelingssamenwerking
CANADA CanadianHighCommissioninIndia
DENMARK DanishInternationalDevelopmentAgency(DANIDA)
FRANCE MinistèredesAffairesEtrangères
GERMANY BundesministeriumfürWirtschaftlicheZusammenarbeitDeutscheWelthungerHilfe(FAO)DeutscheGesellshaftfürTechnischeZusammenarbeitGermanAgro-ActionGermanAppropriateTechnologyExchange(GATE)KreditanstaltfürWiederaufbau(KFW)
JAPAN JapaneseEmbassyinIndia
AU
RO
VIL
LE: U
NIV
ER
SA
L C
ITY
FO
R H
UM
AN
UN
ITY
49 NETHERLANDS RoyalNetherlandsEmbassyinIndia
NEW ZEALAND NewZealandHighCommissioninIndia
SPAIN GovernmentofNavarraMunicipalityofPamplona
SWITZERLAND SWISSAID
UNITED KINGDOM DFID,UKDepartmentforInternationalDevelopment
Indian Government and Governmental Organizations
Government of India
BuildingMaterial&TechnologyPromotionCouncil(BMTPC) MinistryofEducation MinistryofEnvironment MinistryofHumanResourceDevelopment MinistryofNon-ConventionalEnergySources MinistryofRuralDevelopment MinistryofScienceandTechnology HousingandUrbanDevelopmentCorporation(HUDCO) IndianCouncilofPhilosophicalResearch(ICPR) IndianNavy IndianRenewableEnergyDevelopmentAgency(IREDA) NationalWastelandDevelopmentBoard(NWDB)
Tamil Nadu Government
TamilFund TamilNaduEnergyDevelopmentAgency(TEDA) TamilNaduFamilyWelfareBoard TamilNaduSocialWelfareBoard TamilNaduStateForestDepartment TRYSEMProgramme
Indian Non-Governmental Organisations & Businesses
AllIndiaBooks Aurofood Auroshikha BombayNaturalHistorySociety CreditHimatsingka IndianOilCorporationLtd.
AU
RO
VIL
LE: U
NIV
ER
SA
L C
ITY
FO
R H
UM
AN
UN
ITY
50 IndianTobaccoCompany INTACH J.R.D.TataTrust ModiCharitableTrust NewHorizonSugarMills SriAurobindo’sAction SriAurobindoMemorialFund Sri.DorabjiTataTrust Sri.RatanTataTrust Tata Energy Research Institute
COLLABORATINGRESEARCHINSTITUTIONS
Arrakis,Holland.
Bremen Overseas Research and DevelopmentAssociation (BORDA,Germany)
Communities Professional Partnership Programme (CPPP), PhnomPenh,Cambodia.
Craterre,UniversityofGrenoble,France. DeutscheGesellshaftfurTechnischeZusammenarbeit(GTZ),Germany.
DevelopmentConsultantsLtd,Calcutta.
EcoleFédéralePolytechniquedeLausanne,Switzerland. GamosLtd,UK. GermanAppropriateTechnologyExchange(GATE),Germany. HGALtd,UK. HUDCO,NewDelhi. HumanandInstitutionalDevelopmentforEcologicalRefrigerants(Hi-decor), MumbaiHumanSettlementManagementInst,NewDelhi.
AU
RO
VIL
LE: U
NIV
ER
SA
L C
ITY
FO
R H
UM
AN
UN
ITY
51 IT,Madras. InternationalDevelopmentResearchCorporation(IDRC),NewDelhi. InternationalFerrocement InformationCentre (IFIC),Bangkok,Thai-land. ITPowerIndia,Pondicherry. SpannerConsultants,Denmark.
Collaborating Partners of Auroville Greenwork Resource Centre and Palmyra
Government of Tamil NaduTamilNaduStateCouncilforScienceandTechnology
Government of IndiaInternationalDevelopmentResearchCorporation(IDRC)MinistryofEnvironmentandForestsMinistryofNon-ConventionalEnergySources(MNES)NationalWastelandDevelopmentBoard
Foreign OrganisationsAgriculture,ManandEnvironment(A.M.E.,TheNetherlands)CanadaFundDanishInternationalDevelopmentAgency(DANIDA,Denmark)FoundationforWorldEducation(FWE,USA)GIFFRID(German–IsraelGovernmentCollaboration)OverseasDevelopmentAdministration(ODA,UK.)throughCommon-wealthHumanEcologyCouncil(CHEC).SwissAid.
Collaborating Partners of Pitchandikulam Bio-Resource Centre and Shakti
Government of IndiaMinistryofEnvironmentandForestsAndamanandNicobarEcologicalTeam Foreign OrganizationsDanish International Development Agency (DANIDA, Denmark)through the Foundation forRevitalisation of LocalHealthTraditions(FRLHT,India)
AU
RO
VIL
LE: U
NIV
ER
SA
L C
ITY
FO
R H
UM
AN
UN
ITY
52 Collaborating Partners of Water Harvest Government of Tamil Nadu TamilNaduStateCouncilforScienceandTechnology
Collaborating Partners of Auroville Centre for Scientific Research (CSR) and Auroville Building Centre (AV-BC).
International OrganisationsUnitedNationsCentreforHumanSettlements(UNCHS-Habitat)EuropeanCommission Government of IndiaBuildingMaterialsandTechnologyPromotionCouncil(BMTPC)HousingandUrbanDevelopmentCorporation(HUDCO)IndianNavyMinistryofNon-conventionalEnergySources(MNES)NationalBuildingOrganisation(NBO)RajivGandhiDrinkingWaterMission,MinistryofRuralDevelopment Foreign Government OrganisationsDanishInternationalDevelopmentAgency(DANIDA,Denmark)DeutscheGesellshaftfurTechnischeZusammenarbeit(GIT,Germany)GermanAppropriateTechnologyExchange(GATE,Germany)OverseasDevelopmentAdministration(ODA,UK)throughCommon-wealthHumanEcologyCouncil(CHEC)
Foreign NGOs Bremen Overseas Research and DevelopmentAssociation (BORDA,Germany)FoundationforWorldEducation(FWE,USA)INERPAssociationScienfique(France)StichtingDeZaaier(TheNetherlands)ThresholdFoundation(USA)
AU
RO
VIL
LE: U
NIV
ER
SA
L C
ITY
FO
R H
UM
AN
UN
ITY
53 CITYNETWORKING
Agreements exist with the following cities:
MunicipalityofCologne(Germany)
MunicipalityofVenice(Italy)
AtelierParisiend’UrbanismedeParis(France)
ProvinciadiTreviso(Italy)
MunicipalityofPamplona(Spain)
GovernmentofNavarra(Spain)
MunicipalityofFormia(Italy)
CityofCampinas(Brazil)
THE AUROVILLE FOUNDATION
InSeptember1988,theParliamentofIndiapassedtheAurovilleFoun-dationAct tovest allundertakings related toAuroville inanautono-mousbody,inordertosecurethefurtherdevelopmentofAurovilleinaccordancewithitsoriginalCharter.OnthebasisofthisuniqueAct,theAurovilleFoundationcameintobeinginFebruary1991whentheCen-tralGovernmentnominatedthemembersofthefirstGoverningBoard.
Authorities of the Auroville Foundation
• TheGoverningBoard,appointedbytheGovernmentofIndia,hastheoverallresponsibilityforthepropermanagementanddevelopmentofAuroville.
• TheInternationalAdvisoryCouncil,appointedbytheGovernmentof India, advises theGoverningBoard on anymatter relating to themanagementanddevelopmentofAuroville.
• TheResidents’Assembly,comprisingall theresidentsofAurovilleovertheageof18,organizesthevariousactivitiesofAurovilleandde-cidesuponthetermsofitsmembership.TheResidents’AssemblyselectsaWorkingCommitteefromitsownmemberstoliaiseandrepresentitselfwiththeGoverningBoardandtheSecretarytotheFoundation.
Governing Board Members of the Auroville Foundation
Dr.Karan Singh Chairman
Shri.Ajoy Bagchi NewDelhi Ms.Malini Parthasarthy Journalist,Chennai
Ms. Mallika Sarabhai DarpanaAcademyofPerformingArts,Usmanpura,Ahmedabad.
Dr. (Smt.) Aster Mira Patel Auroville
Smt. Ameeta Mehra ThePresenceCentre,NewDelhi
Shri. Sunil Kumar JointSecretary,(Planning&UNESCO) DepartmentofSecondaryEducationandHigherEducation MinistryofHumanResourceDevelopment,GovernmentofIndia, Shri S. K. Ray, JointSecretary&FinancialAdviser DepartmentofSecondaryEducationandHigherEducation MinistryofHumanResourceDevelopment GovernmentofIndia
Present members of the International Advisory Council
Sir Mark Tully Chairman
Dr. Marc Luyckx Ghisi
Mr. Doudou Diene
Dr. Vishakha N.Desai Mr. Julian Lines Formermembersinclude:Mr.M’Bow,formerDirectorGeneralofUNES-CO;lateMs.LudmillaZhivkova,MinisterofCulture,Bulgaria;ShriNarasimhaRao,ex-PrimeMinisterofIndia;Mr.MauriceStrong,formerSecretaryGeneralUNCED;thelateMr.J.R.D.Tata,Indianindustrialist,Mr.ErvinLaszlo,Sec-retaryGeneraloftheClubofBudapest,Snr.FedericoMayor,DirectorGeneralofUNESCO,Mr.BertrandSchneider,SecretaryGeneraloftheClubofRome,Mrs.HannaStrong,PresidentoftheManitouFoundation,andDr.AmartyaSen,NobelPrizewinner,UK.
A Dream“There should be somewhere upon earth a place that no nation could claim as its sole property, a place where all human beings of goodwill, sincere in their aspiration, could live freely as citizens of the world, obeying one single authority, that of the supreme Truth; a place of peace, concord, harmony, where all the fighting instincts of man would be used exclusively to conquer the causes of his suffering and misery, to surmount his weakness and ignorance, to triumph over his limitations and incapacities; a place where the needs of the spirit and the care for progress would get precedence over the satisfaction of desires and passions, the seeking for pleasures and material enjoyments.
In this place, children would be able to grow and develop integrally without losing contact with their soul. Education would be given, not with a view to passing examinations and getting certificates and posts, but for enriching the existing faculties and bringing forth new ones. In this place titles and positions would be supplanted by opportunities to serve and organize. The needs of the body will be provided for equally in the case of each and everyone. In the general organisation intellectual, moral and spiritual superiority will find expression not in the enhancement of the pleasures and powers of life but in the increase of duties and responsibilities.
Artistic beauty in all forms, painting, sculpture, music, literature, will be available equally to all, the opportunity to share in the joys they bring being limited solely by each one's capacities and not by social or financial position.
For in this ideal place money would be no more the sovereign lord. Individual merit will have a greater importance than the value due to material wealth and social position. Work would not be there as the means of gaining one's livelihood, it would be the means whereby to express oneself, develop one's capacities and possibilities, while doing at the same time service to the whole group, which on its side would provide for each one's subsistence and for the field of his work.
In brief, it would be a place where the relations among human beings, usually based almost exclusively upon competition and strife, would be replaced by relations of emulation for doing better, for collaboration, relations of real brotherhood".
L'Avenir d'Auroville
www.auroville.orgPhone : 91 (413) 2622250