1968 - 2018 - auroville-france - accueil€¦ · publications are available at auroville visitors...
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It could conceivably be the most important single Bill ever passed by this House, because it deals not simply with material manifestation, not even with the collective human manifestation, but it deals with something which is still beyond the ken of human consciousness, it deals with an idea which is an arrow into the future - Dr. Karan Singh at the Indian Parliament in 1980.
1. Auroville belongs to nobody in particular. Auroville belongs to humanity as a whole.But, to live in Auroville, one must be awilling servitor of the divine consciousness.
2. Auroville will be the place of an unending education, of constant progress, and a youth that never ages.
33. Auroville wants to be the bridge betweenthe past and the future. Taking advantage ofall 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 embodimentoof an actual human unity.
The Auroville Charter
There should be somewhere on earth a place which no nation could claim as its own, where all human beings of goodwill who have a sincere aspiration could live freely as citizens of the world and obey one single authority, that of the supreme Truth; a place of peace, concord and harmony where all the fighting instincts of man would be used exclusively to conquer the causes of his sufferings and miseries, to surmount his weaknesses and igignorance, to triumph over his limitations and incapacities; a place where the needs of the spirit and the concern for progress would take precedence over the satisfaction of desires and passions, the search for pleasure and material enjoyment. In this place, children would be able to grow and develop integrally without losing contact with their souls; education would be given not for passing examinations or obtaining certificates and posts but to enrich existing faculties and bring forth new ones. In this place, titles and positions would be replaced by opportunities to serve and organise; the bodily needs of each one would be equally provided for, and intellectual, momoral and spiritual superiority would be expressed in the general organisation not by an increase in the pleasures and powers of life but by increased duties and responsibilities.
Beauty in all its artistic forms, painting, sculpture, music, literature, would be equally accessible to all; the ability to share in the joy it brings would be limited only by the capacities of each one and not by social or financial position.
For in this ideal place money would no longer be the sovereign lord; individual worth would have a far greater importance than that of material wealth and social standing. There, work would not be a way to earn one’s living but a way to express oneself and to develop one’s capacities and possibilities while being of service to the community as a whole, which, for its own part, would provide for each individual’s subsistence and sphere of action.
IIn short, it would be a place where human relationships, which are normally based almost exclusively on competition and strife, would be replaced by relationships of emulation in doing well, of collaboration and real brotherhood.
A Dream
BibliographyPublications are available at Auroville visitors center, Freeland book store (Edeyenchavadi) and online at www.auroville.com and www.sabda.org
For more information on Auroville please visitwww.auroville.org or write to us at:OutreachMedia, Multimedia Centre,Auroville 605101, Tamil Nadu, INDIA.E-mail: [email protected]
Auroville, moving forward
Programme: first glimpses of the coming events
50 years of Auroville in a nutshell
The Mother and the Matrimandir
Sri Aurobindo
50 years of unending education
550 years – Genesis & Functioning
50 years of green practices
50 years of social collaboration
50 years of exploring on economy
Auroville today
Unesco resolutions
Facts and figures
AAwards
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Press kit map
Moving forward
Auroville wants to be a universal town where men and women of all countries are able to live in peace and progressive harmony above all creeds, all politics and all nationalities. The purpose of Auroville is to realize human unity. - The Mother
AAs we approach the 50th anniversary of the International City of Auroville, we are looking back on the first half century of our existence. It is also time to look towards the future and share some crucially required developments for the coming years. AAuroville primarily being a place of inner growing, every aspect of the city’s functioning is a constantly changing pattern of life’s external expression: green practices, art and beauty, education, governance, economic realities, social collaboration and so on. All are part and parcel of a growing entity. HaHaving brought Auroville up to this point, we see the future as a time to bring a closer interconnection between the various patterns, or strands, of this integrated whole. There is a fresh look at participatory community processes regarding all aspects of the township.
On the same line, and with the slow but steady growth of our population, a definite trend towards refinement is apparent in the community: refinement of our financial structuring, decision making processes, resolutions to conflicts and approachto one another.
WWhile being aware of the enormous cultural differences in our multi-cultural society, concerted efforts forever continue to heighten the collective level of agreement among the residents, based on the commitment to our common vision and goal where each Aurovilian holds a responsibility on a
personal and collective level. A true and challenging task, crucial for that which Auroville stands for. WWith the aging of the pioneer generation, we’re delighted to mention that men and women in their forties, who were born and/or grew up in the city, have been stepping forward to take on their turn however, more will need to be done. One of our needs is to encourage and enable Auroville’s population of of young people to find an active place in the community’s evolution and transformation.
Another focus of the coming years will be the International Zone, one of the 4 zones planned for the city (Cultural, Industrial, Residential and International). It is perhaps because Auroville in itself can be seen as an International zone that this particular section of the Master Plan, originally designed by ChChief Architect Roger Anger, has become the last one to find its true concept. Possibly, because of the current world movements and changes, the zone has now been getting more attention from interested countries and is in the process of taking shape. Conceived as an experimental Township, Auroville offers itself as a testing ground and laboratory for the next step in humanity’s evolutionary process. A crucial necessity for this, of course, is the availability of the land upon which the city emerges, which is still not wholly owned by Auroville. As a result, fufundraising efforts are in place to raise money to purchase the land. The uncertainty of the situation, and the limitations it puts on developing the city, is yet another challenge carried by the Aurovilians. With new generations stepping in the coming years will see a gradual, further development of this extraordinary experiment. “Persevere”, said Sri Aurobindo. The residents, young and old, do just that. With joy.
Recommended read:- The Auroville handbook, Prisma 2013
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Auroville wants to be the bridge between the past and the future.- The Mother
Golden Jubilee Programme
Birthday week events:February 21-28th **Mother’s birthdayAuroville’s birthdayWater ceremony* HHuman chain for peace in collaboration with the neighboring villagesCelebration of the European House Auroville choirUnveiling of commemorativecoin and stampExhibitions and Art installationsTThe BridgeA A Collaborative Research Encounter, The Bridge, will present and share the Auroville laboratory with researchers engaged in similar fields in India and around the world. The event aims to convey the full potential of this laboratory and issue an open invitation to formulate projects, conduct research on and actively engage in the Auroville experiment.WWhen: February 22-27th 2018Where: Auroville
Abroad:Globes - Architecture andSciences explore the worldEExhibition exploring the globe concept through Architecture and Sciences, featuring among others photos of Matrimandir by renowned photographer, James Ewing. Opening by French Cultural Minister Mme Nyssen. When: November 9th 2017 to March 2018. VVenue: Cité de l’architecture et du patrimoine (the city of Architecture and Heritage) Paris - France
Exhibition on Auroville – School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) University of London - UK
*** There are talks about the possible visit of Honorable Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi during this period.* Details will be communicatedlater on our website.The list of events is indicative only.More details are available at: www.outreachmedia.auroville
November 2017:Exploring the Adventure of Auroville as a Universal Township in the Making The event will feature a conference and exhibitions to highlight the research and experiences of Aurovillein the last 50 years.WWhen: Wednesday November 22nd 2017Where: Indira Gandhi National Centrefor the Arts - Delhi
Learning to live together The UN Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development highlights with Goal 4 an "Inclusive and equitablequality education and promote lifelongllearning opportunities for all".Does Auroville have practical experiences that could be beneficiary to adopt to other educational environments? Can we contribute to the fulfillment of SDG 2030? When: Friday November 24th 2017Where: UNESCO building – Delhi
December 2017:AAuroville Film FestivalSpecial Fifth edition of The Auroville Film Festival (AVFF). Focus on themes of human unity, and films across four categories – films by residents of Auroville and its bioregion; films about Auroville and its bioregion; films by students of Auroville and its bioregion; and international films that develop the theme of human unity.WWhen: Saturday December 16 – Saturday 23rd 2017Where: Auroville
January 2017:Walk of hopeWWith Sri M, a social activist, educator and spiritual guide who grew up in Kerala. Sri M has walked kilometers in the name of peace, in India and abroad. Walk with us in and around Auroville and the surrounding villages, as an invocation for peace, within and without.When: Sunday & MondayJanuary 28-29th 2018WWhere: Auroville, Irumbai, Kottakarai, Edyenchavadi, Kuilapalayam.
November 2017- February 2018First glimpse of the coming events
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Auroville is a planned town for up to 50,000 people from around the world which is now under development in south-east India. Located mostly in the State of Tamil Nadu, close to the Coromandel Coast and some 10 km north of Pondicherry and 150 km south of Chennai, it is a place for research and experimentation, with the purpose of realising – for the first time on Planet Earth – an actual human unity in diversity on bebehalf of humanity as a whole.
Auroville in a nutshellofyears50
At the same time UNESCO repeated its unanimous endorsement of the project, and did so again in 1970 and 1983.In 1988 the project was given special status by the GOI, when the ‘Auroville Foundation’ was created by Act of Parliament.
TThe site chosen for Auroville was a severely eroded plateau extending eastwards to the sea. An early priority for the project was the environmental regeneration and reforestation of the land. To date over 2 million trees have been planted, with the result that the area now has a green and widely forested lalandscape. Alongside this work, emphasis has always been placed on development of the town and its immediate surrounding area using, - as much as possible - non-polluting appropriate technology and sustainable energy generating systems.
Auroville todayThe Master Plan for the town is based on a spiral galaxy shape and incorporates four sectors (the International, Cultural, Industrial and Residential Zones) plus a surrounding Green Belt. The four Zones have as their focus a huge globe-shaped structure called the Matrimandir, the ‘soul of AuAuroville’, a place for silent concentration. The Matrimandir will be surrounded by beautiful gardens, and eventually a lake.
Auroville today numbers around 2,700 inhabitants from over 50 countries, including India, living in some 120 settlements of varying size and character spread over a total area of 20 sq.km. In their day-to-day life they are engaged in the fields of agriculture & green work, renewable enenergy, education, health care, village outreach, construction, electronics,
History TThe concept of an international-universal town devoted to an experiment in human unity originally sprang from the writings of India's great philosopher-yogi Sri Aurobindo. It was his French-born spiritual collaborator and co-worker Mirra Alfassa, known as The Mother, who first gave it more concrete form by by naming it 'Auroville' and stating:
"Auroville wants to be a universal town where men and women of all countries are able to live in peace and progressive harmony, above all creeds, all politics and all nationalities. The purpose of Auroville is to realise human unity."
This was the first public statement on Auroville, given out in 1965. Next, in 1966, the concept of Auroville was put before the General Assembly of UNESCO by the Govt. of India (GOI), and was unanimously endorsed. Two years later, on 28th February 1968, youth representing 124 nations and all ththe Indian States came together to inaugurate the township and receive its Charter from The Mother, which reads as follows:
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 constant progress, and a youth that never ages.33. 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.44. Auroville will be a site of material and spiritual researches for a living embodiment of an actual Human Unity.
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water-dependent agricultural practices; and is promoting the use of effective micro-organism (EM) technology.
TThe Centre for Scientific Research (CSR), recognized by the GOI since 1984 for its development work in appropriate technology, is a focal point for future-oriented activities, together with the Auroville Earth Institute (AEI). The latter provides regular training programmes, offers consultancy, designs bubuildings, supervises construction incorporating its own compressed earth brick technology, and is headed by the representative for India & South Asia to the UNESCO Chair of Earthen Architecture. The Auroville Institute of Applied Technology (AIAT) is a non-profit training sschool serving students from the local villages.
Other major outreach work undertaken by Aurovilians has included overseeing the transformation of Pondicherry’s Bharati Park, restoration of historical buildings in Tranquebar, and the restoration and transformation of Adyar Creek in Chennai into a healthy and environmentally susustainable nature reserve.
EducationAuroville's multi-cultural educational system endeavours via its nine schools to help each child discover the inner self and realize her/his highest potential. It is increasingly based on a free choice system, which allows the children / students to choose their own subjects for study. Sports and physical ededucation are strongly encouraged for the balanced and healthy growth of the child, and artistic training is given to develop aesthetic faculties. Most of the Auroville and Outreach schools are under the umbrella of (Sri Aurobindo International Institute of Educational Research).
Special care is given to volunteering students from India and abroad, who are given meaningful activities and study projects guided and monitored by the town.
commerce, the arts and administration. All are volunteers who either receive a monthly basic ‘maintenance’ in local rupees, or pay for themselves partly or entirely from their own private resources as a contribution to the project.
GGeneral financing for Auroville comes from five sources – the GOI and NGOs within India and abroad; Auroville International Centres and Liaison Offices in 33 countries; a percentage of the profits of Auroville’s many commercial / business units; individual supporters of Auroville worldwide who ununderstand the global importance of what is being attempted through this unique experiment; and, substantially, from the Aurovilians themselves.
Auroville's significance and outreachAuroville's work is not confined only to meeting the needs of the emerging town, nor to just those of the wider bio-region. Auroville sees itself as a place of research and experimentation for humanity as a whole, with emphasis not only on sustainable practices but more importantly on the esestablishment of a society based on a practical human unity that can eventually be replicated by all peoples and all nations. Auroville has already gained national and international acclaim for its environmental work. Many hundreds of acres of forest cover have been created; indigenous flora and fauna have been rre-introduced or have returned naturally; botanical gardens, tree seedling nurseries and seed banks have been established; and comprehensive soil and water conservation practices have been introduced. The development of ecologically-sound agriculture without the use of pesticides and detrimental cchemicals, plus the application of up-to-date agro-forestry techniques, is also being actively pursued.
Further to the above, Auroville is also involved in raising awareness of the dangers of salt water intrusion in the immediate coastal zone caused by over-pumping of ground water; is working with farmers’ associations to identify and introduce less
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windmill production, clothing and fashion, computer services, building construction and architecture. They contribute a third or more of their profits toward the ongoing development of the town and maintenance of its basic services and infrastructure, while also providing employment and training opopportunities for large numbers of local people, some 5,000 of whom areemployed in Auroville.
OrganisationThere are three separate but interacting bodies which make up the Auroville Foundation – a Governing Board with Secretary who is resident in Auroville, an International Advisory Council, and a Residents Assembly, the latter comprising all Aurovilians on the Master List of residents agaged 18 or over. Bodies like the ‘Auroville Council’ and 'Auroville Working Committee' are elected by the residents every few years from volunteering Aurovilians willing to dedicate themselves to handling the basic administrative needs of the town. Most major decisions, especially those of a controversial nnature, are taken at General Meetings or,in case of more official mattersat a Residents Assembly.
Visitors CentreAuroville has a number of guest houses of different styles and standards. Day visitors can obtain comprehensive information on the aims of the town and all that it is attempting to achieve in the Visitors’ Centre via its Info Desk, various exhibitions and video showings, while also enjoying 3 boutiques, 2 rerestaurants, a Coffee Shop and other facilities.
In addition to the above, some 700 children from the surrounding villages benefit from Auroville's educational programmes via another half dozen day or night schools and educational centres established and overseen by Auroville’s Village Action teams.
Arts and cultureIIn addition to hosting a biannual Film Festival, there are also regular film shows in Auroville, plus occasional theatre, music, dance and choir performances, poetry readings, exhibitions, PowerPoint presentations, lectures, etc, all normally free to residents and guests alike. The creative enenergy field in the town is highly conducive to various forms of artistic expression, though Auroville Art festivals and exhibitions are also hosted in various places around India.
HealthTogether with allopathy and dentistry provided for both Aurovilians and village patients, many systems of alternative primary health care are in use, including homeopathy, Ayurveda, physiotherapy, naturopathy, acupuncture, massage and other therapies via various centres in the town area.
IIn addition to a new Institute for Integral Health near the town centre, available to Aurovilians and guests, there is also the original Auroville Health Centre located near Kuilapalayam village equipped with basic medical facilities to meet the needs of the Auroville community and around 200 local papatients daily via its main building and 7 village-located sub-centres. More than 30 local women health workers, trained by Auroville, are active in 17 nearby villages, giving first-aid, advising on home cures, providing basic health education, and encouraging better nutrition by way of small ffamily vegetable gardens in the villages.
Social enterprisesSome 180 commercial / business units and 70 service units operate in Auroville. The activities of the former include handicrafts, graphic design and printing, food processing, electronics and engineering, metalworking,
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personal interactions between Aurovilians and the Mother. When she left her body, the residents of Auroville understood that a “seed” had been planted and the work had to go on until its blossoming.
IIt was Mother who encouraged the Aurovilians to build the Matrimandir as the Soul of the City. The first stone was laid in 1972 and the building completed in 2008.It is a place of silent concentration tofind one’s self.
TToday the Matrimandir is nationally and internationally recognized for its beauty and peaceful spiritual presence, surrounded by twelve planned gardens to-be. In the centre of the area reigns a majestic banyan, the only tree that existed there in the early days of Auroville. It naturally became the centreoof the city and an integral part ofthe Matrimandir.
Recommended reads:-The Mother, The Story of Her Life, George Van Vrekhem, HarperCollins Publishers India -Turning Points, Auroville Press Publishers, Auroville--Mother’s Agenda, Institut of recherches evolutives Paris, The Mother Institute of Research Delhi, Mira Aditi Mysore-Matrimandir Hymn to the Builders of the Future, Dominique Darr, Archana Press
The Matrimandir will be the Soul of Auroville. The Matrimandir is neither a temple nor a religious building. All architectural plan, fixtures or fittings calling to mind religious features have no place in its environment.- The Mother
AAuroville’s guiding force during its early years was ‘the Mother’. Mirra Alfassa was a Parisian, of Turkish and Egyptian Jewish ancestry. After she settled in Pondicherry in 1920, she became Sri Aurobindo’ssspiritual collaborator. It was he who recognised her as a highly developed spiritual being and named her ‘The Mother’.
IIn 1954 she had the first vision of an ideal place and she wrote “A Dream” (see page 2) and ten years later she decided to launch the project of Auroville. The inauguration took place on February 28th 1968.
UUntil she left her body in 1973, aged 95, the Mother was central to every aspect of life in Auroville. She chose who would become Aurovilian, oversaw the design of Auroville prior to its manifestation and she answered all day-to-day questions from the early settlers during personal meetings with them in her roroom at the Sri Aurobindo Ashram. The book Turning Points is a collection of first hand accounts of Auroville’s founding, and reveals the quality and the depth of the
The Mother and the Matrimandir
Born in Calcutta in 1872, Sri Aurobindo had a thorough Western education in England. Soon after he came back to India in 1893, he declared : “We have abandoned Shakti and are therefore abandoned by Shakti.” In 1906, in the columns of the Bande Mataram, he was the first Indian to publicly call for India's independence from the British Empire. He thus became “the most dangerous man we have to deal with,” as the then ViViceroy called him, and was later jailed on sedition charges. During his one-year-long imprisonment at Alipore, Sri Aurobindo had major spiritual realizations. But “a solitary salvation leaving the world to its fate was felt as almost distasteful,” and he decided that “a yoga which requires me to give up the world is not for me.”Sri Aurobindo narrowly escaped the gallows. From a revolutionary fighting for India's freedom, hhe became a revolutionary in the spiritual field ; for forty years, from 1910 to 1950, digging to the deepest roots of our misery, he sought to transform the entire human nature down to the body, in a divine rehabilitation of Matter. His “integral yoga” aims at embodying the next principle of consciousness beyond mental man. To Sri Aurobindo, evolution is not over, and the growing chaos we see in the world is not just the end of a cycle, but the bbirth throes of a new age:
“Man is a transitional being.”
Recommended reads:The life divine, Sri Aurobindo, Sri Aurobindo Ashram Publications The synthesis of yoga, Sri Aurobindo, Sri Aurobindo Ashram Publications The ideal of Human Unity, Sri Aurobindo, Sri Aurobindo Ashram publications
Sri Aurobindo and Integral yoga
Man is a transitional being
Auroville will be the place of an unending education, of constant progress,and a youth that never ages.
Let beauty be your constant ideal: the beauty of the soul, the beauty of sentiments, the beauty of thoughts, the beauty of actions, the beauty in the work, so that nothing comes out of your hands which is not an expression of pure and harmonious beauty, and the Divine will always be with you.- - The Mother
Unending Educationofyears50
The Sri Aurobindo International Institute of Educational Research (SAIIER) promotes and coordinates most of Auroville’s educational and cultural programmes, keeping the focus upon the aims and ideals that have inspired Auroville. The Institute also acts as a financial and administrative umbrella for ththese activities. It receives funding for this purpose from the Ministry of Human Resource Development in New Delhi. Financial support also comes from various units and individuals within Auroville and other bodies such as the Foundation for World Education (USA) or StichtingDe Zaaier (Holland). EEducation in Auroville seeks to cultivate all parts of the being. It is a “research through experience of a life divine”. Life and action in Auroville aims at a growth of consciousness and an increasing perfectibility and this is the purpose of all its research, study and experimentation. The attempt is to create coconditions whereby the inmost being, the soul personality, can come forward. Each individual in Auroville is an evolving being seeking the highest individual potential. This follows Sri Aurobindo’s idea of an Education that works towards raising human consciousness and generating conditions that ggive birth to an actual human unity.
(…) the training of intellectual faculty is also an important part of its utility (…) the imaginative, creative and sympathetic or comprehensive intellectual centres are best trained by art, poetry, music, literature and the sympathetic study of man and his creations. These make the mind quick to grasp at a glance, subtle to distinguish shades, deep to reject shallow self-sufficiency, mobile, dedelicate, swift, intuitive.(…) But beyond and above this intellectual utility of Art, there is a higher use, the noblest of all, its service to the growth of spirituality in the race… (…) Spirituality is a wider thing than formal religion and it is in the service of spirituality that Art reaches its highest self-expression…The national value of Art – Karmayogin- Sri Aurobindo
Education, the need for a growth of consciousness in every part of the being, - mental, vital and physical, - pervades every aspect of life in Auroville. Since 1968, structured educational processes have developed and evolved as Auroville grew in diversity to include adults and children from evevery continent on Earth. This multinational, multilingual community has brought together educational concepts and methodologies from around the globe while yet basing itself upon the fulcrum of Sri Aurobindo’s evolutionary world view. Educational teams have been drawn from wwithin the members of the Auroville community, and parents and students have taken an active role in the development of Auroville’s educational experiments. Auroville’s ethos is based upon the need to study, learn and experiment in order to create conditions that lead to a higher and truer life – – it is filled with students of every age from 9 years to 90! Schooling in Auroville begins with Crèche and Kindergarten levels to High Schools and beyond for Auroville’s 692 children and youth. Some schools favour a more formal curriculum and are oriented towards systematized academic syllabi, with many students going on to external universities. OtOthers are experience-based and centred on the free progress approach where contents and methodologies, while remaining inclusive of all domains of knowledge, can be oriented towards individual psychologicalgrowth patterns. Auroville shares its educational programmes, resources and teaching methodologies with its bioregion through its outreach schools and learning centres. Ideas, teachers and students are exchanged between local villages and Auroville. Some 700 children from the surrounding villages benefit from these ededucational programmes via some half dozen day or night schools and learning centres established and overseen by Auroville’s Village Action team.
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Auroville is internationally known for its varied architectural experiments from the sculptural houses of chief architect Roger Anger to eco-friendly earth stabilized constructions. It was conceived in the shape of a spiral galaxy with the Matrimandir at its center, which is the undoubtedly the best acachievement of Auroville: the symbol of the collective attempt by the Aurovilians to manifest perfection in beauty.
Let beauty be your constant ideal: the beauty of the soul, the beauty of sentiments, the beauty of thoughts, the beauty of actions, the beauty in the work, so that nothing comes out of your hands which is not an expression of pure and harmonious beauty, and the Divine will always be with you. - The Mother
Recommended reads:MMother on Education, Sri Aurobindo Ashram PublicationsThe Good Teacher and The Good Pupil, Kireet Joshi, Auroville Press & Saiier, AurovilleThe national value of Art – Karmayogin - Sri Aurobindo, Ashram Publications Auroville Architecture, PrismaAuroville Form, Style and Design, Prisma
The Mother had for Auroville a key word: Consciousness…Bringing consciousness in all forms of life(all life is yoga - Sri Aurobindo) generates an active field of creation allowing the emergence of a new life, and with it, a new culture based on unity, harmony and beauty.
TThe experimental nature of Auroville with a population of only 2700, fosters creativity and beauty, encouraging a multitude of artistic expressions: painting, sculpture, music, literature, dance and film. Auroville is also host to the Auroville Film Festival, a biennial film festival.
AAt the same time, the presence of the International zone brings a host of artists from India and around the world who wish to participate in this universal experiment or offer their work.
AArt in Auroville belongs to all without the necessity of personal ownership. Each one has free access to it if s/he wishes.
AArtistic work is not motivated nor dominated by market forces but wants to be an expression of an inner self, something that will progressively nourish and energize the human soul and the city.
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Greetings from Auroville to all men of good will. Are invited to Auroville all those who thirst for progress and aspire to a higher and truer life - The Mother.
Message aired at the inauguration of Auroville on28th February 1968
Genesis Current functioningandyears50
At the time, the Sri Aurobindo Society (SAS), with the Mother as its president, was in charge of the fundraising and managing of assets. The Mother appointed French Architect Roger Anger to design the township. It was tougher than he thought; there were a number of obstacles to overcome, ththe major one was Auroville did notown all the land.
After the passing of the Mother in 1973, many Aurovilians withdrew their involvement with the Sri Aurobindo Society (SAS) when the latter claimed the right to take over the experiment (Auroville belongs to nobody in particular. Auroville belongs to humanity as a whole… The Charter).
TThis led to a conflict that took many years to be resolved. In the 1980’s at a request from the community, the Indian government took over temporary management of Auroville.
IIn 1988, following the passing of the Auroville Foundation Act by India’s Parliament, assets and undertakings were vested in an autonomous institution, The Auroville Foundation, with the aim of ensuring that the residents would henceforth be free to develop the township independently in in accordance with the Charter. Based in Auroville, the Auroville Foundation as per its legal structure, consists of three interacting authorities: The Residents Assembly (represented by the Working committee), the Governing Board and the International Advisory Council.
SSeven members of The Governing Board (mainly based in Delhi) are appointed by the Central Government of India and have overall responsibility to see that the development of Auroville is aligned with its aims and ideals. *
RReflecting the international nature of the project, the International Advisory Council comprises five eminent individuals of high international repute from different nations appointed by the Government of India. Their
Fifty years ago, approximately 5,000 people attended the birth of Auroville on a barren plateau. The inauguration took place on February 28, 1968 and was broadcast live on All India Radio. Youth representing 124 nations and 23 Indian states placed soil from their native lands into a marble urn, which reremains at the Amphitheatre in the centre of Auroville. The Charter of Auroville was read over the wireless in French by the founder Mirra Alfassa, also called The Mother, from her room in the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry.
Initiated by the Indian government, UNESCO - the cultural organization of the United Nations - accepted four resolutionsin which Auroville is mentioned asof great importance.
TThe late Prime Minister of India Mrs. Indira Gandhi described Auroville as “an exciting project for bringing about harmony among different cultures and for understanding the environmental needs of man'sspiritual growth.”
BBorn upon impoverished earth in a backward area of southern India, yet straining towards the highest ideals (see The Charter), Auroville naturally had its difficulties as well as its successes. In the beginning there were only a handful of people in Auroville. In 1969 and 1974 caravans from France arrived wiwith young people who brought with them many skills such as welding, carpentry, masonry, which were much needed. They had all been touched by The Mother’s dream:
There should be somewhere upon earth a place that no nation could claim as its sole property, a place where all beings of goodwill, sincere in their aspiration, could live freely as citizens of the world, obeying one single authority, that of the supreme truth {…}
IIn 1971 these young pioneers started building the Matrimandir, the intended Soul of Auroville. People from nearby villages and others from India and all over theworld soon joined.
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procedures and mandates, and deals with internal conflicts. In some case arranging mediation and arbitrationwhenever necessary.
TThe Working Committee is the official representative of the Residents Assembly with regard to local officials, Government of India and other outside bodies. It liaises with the Auroville Foundation.
Dr. Aster Patel, Dr. Karan Singh and Late President Abdul Kalam (During the Presidential visit in Auroville).
**Present members are: Chairman Dr. Karan Singh (Member of Parliament), Dr. Prema Nandkumar (Researcher, Author), Dr. Nirima Oza (Professor, Mahatma Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Dental Sciences, Pondicherry), Prof. Sachindananda Mohanti (Vice Chancellor, Central University, Orissa), DrDr. Anirban Ganguly (Research Fellow of Vivekandanda International Foundation) and Secretary Mr. Mohan Chunkath (Indian Administration Service, retd.). The ex-officio members are: Mr. Rakesh Ranjan IAS (Joint Secretary, HRD Ministry) and Ms. Darshana Dabral IAS (Financial Advisor, HRD MMinistry).
Recommended reads:- Auroville, the City of the Future, Anu Majumdar, Harper Collins 2017- Dawning of Auroville, W.M.Bill SullivanAuroville Press, 1994- Made in Auroville, Monique Patenaude, les editions Triptyques Canada, English version Auroville 2008
function is to advise the Governing Board on matters relating to management and development of the township. TThe Governing Board and Advisory Council meets twice a year in Auroville, an occasion during which they interact with members of the community.
TThe Residents Assembly plays an important part. Every registered Aurovilians above 18 years is member of the Assembly and is periodically required to vote on major matters. An active Residents Assembly Service sees that the residents are regularly updated on major issues, meetings andppolicy decisions.
AAuroville's evolving socio-economic arrangements and experiments in the distribution of responsibilities have often proved perplexing to those outside the community and remain one of the most asked about and least understood aspects of Auroville's life. The community’s constantly changing patterns of internal organization have presented little in the way of conventional forms or structures that can be be easily grasped, and those provisional structures which have emerged have been subject to often abrupt changes or dissolution. Both in its present essence and long range vision Auroville is fundamentally anarchistic, and this has determined the nature of the community’s unfolding organization patterns. - David Wickenden 1980.
Over the years, Auroville has established Working Groups to assist with internal and external matters. The working groups are responsible in making decisions regarding specific fields or topics and handle day-to- day decisions on a mandate from the Residents Assembly. Examples are the Town DeDevelopment Council, the Funds and Assets Management Committee, the Loan Group, the Forest Group, the Housing Board, the Entry Board and the Land Board. More complex issues that pertain to the community at large will be looked into by the Residents Assembly, the Auroville Council or/andthe Working Committee.
The Auroville Council operates on a mandate from the Residents Assembly. It designs and oversees Auroville policies,
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There is a tale, called the Irumbai Legend, which says that many centuries ago, a powerful Yogi cursed the land in this area – nothing would grow and the land would dry up and erode. The legend states that the curse could only be broken when people from distant lands came to make the area green again. Auroville inherited a desert, and over a few decades turned it into a lush, tropical forest.
Green Practicesofyears50
Afforestation and water conservation are two sides of the same coin. Just as the earliest Aurovilians’ greatest needs were water and shade, afforestation could only be achieved by simultaneously conserving water. The desert plains that Auroville inherited in 1968 could not retain water and, during every monsoon peperiod, precious topsoil was washed into the Bay of Bengal. It was a wasteland locked into a destructive cycle of erosion. Through trial and error, Aurovilians learned how to select, plant, protect and nurture trees (marauding goats, cows and village women wanting to use the wood for fires were a constant threat to yyoung seedlings and saplings). In tandem with planting millions of trees over the first two decades of Auroville’s existence, a series of ‘bunds’ (raised earth banks) were created which followed the local topography from the highest watershed point towards the coast. These allow the maximum amount of rainfall to soak into the earth, rereplenish the aquifers, raise the water table, and nourish the plants and trees. As the forests grew, birds and wildlife returned to the area, and Auroville became its own bioregion with its own microclimate. Such was its success that the Indian Government funded research into Aurovilian afforestation techniques for five years during the 1980s. This partnership with India’s Department of Environment resulted in the spreading of Auroville’s afforestation techniques to several Indian communities in TaTamil Nadu and Karnataka. In 2003, the Sadhana Forest project was established, turning a 70-acre plot of severely eroded land into a forest. The focus once again was on afforestation and water conservation and emphasis on sustainable living and farming. Sadhana Forest attracts thousands of volunteers every year and has ‘d‘daughter’ projects in Haiti and Kenya.
The Auroville Botanical Garden was established in 2000 in response to the disappearing Tropical Dry Evergreen Forest (TDEF) of the Coromandel Coast, South
India, and to the global need for the conservation of genetic diversity in the plant kingdom in a wide range of climatic conditions. Since Auroville’s inception, teams of green workers involved in the reforestation work have collected seeds of the native TDEF species in sacred groves. A recent survey done by by the Botanical Garden has shown that sacred groves in India are rapidly shrinking in size and encroachment is rampant. Fortunately, with Auroville now having all the native TDEF species, seed collection happens within Auroville itself.
Naturally, another urgent need of early Aurovilians was food, so fruit trees were planted and the first farms established with the help of the local farmers. Today there are 19 farms of various sizes, supplying Auroville with high quality organic produce. In addition, there are few hydroponic food prproduction units, and Auroville has had its own Spirulina farm since 1997.
The Solar Kitchen is the central canteen for Aurovilians, and it is quite possibly the largest kitchen powered for a great part by solar energy. Most of the buildings in Auroville feature solar energy as well as water recycling. Wind farms and solar electricity generation provide 100% of Auroville’s elelectricity needs.
A particular focus on mobility is the next step to replace the predominance of polluting transport seen in the city. Auroville has a well-established network of cycle paths and there are hundreds of bicycles available for visitors. Electric vans, motorcycles and cycles are growing in number and some are even dedesigned and built in Auroville. Auroville is living proof that we can all live inharmony with nature.
Recommended reads:Mutation Alchemy & Grace, Roger Harris,Auroville Press Publishers 2017Catalogue of Sustainable projects:http://www.green.aurovilleportal.org/http://www.auroville-botanical-gardens.orghttps://www.auroville.org/categories/78
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A city that cares for its hinterland.
Social Collaborationofyears50
80
36
1800
021200
0666000
124000
350
5300
700
Villages in which Auroville outreachwork takes place in the local district
Auroville educational / cultural centres in the villages
Village students in Auroville schools
Auroville health centres in the villagesPatients annually
TThe Mother and the MatrimandirPatients annually
50 years of unending educationPatients annually
Auroville Village self-help groups
Village self-help women members
Village self-help men members
youth of this rural area a real and viable alternative to migrating to the cities and urban centres, which so often is the only option for those seeking self-developmentand employment.
Few numbers to illustrate the importance given to the development of the local area:•• 23% of the general Auroville budget is allocated to village development, • 28% of the Auroville educational budget is allocated to village education.
AAuroville educational services in the local villages provide five pre-schools, six after-school services and two third-level training centres. More than 800 children from neighbouring villages attend Auroville schools; many more benefit from Auroville classes in their village schools.
Auroville's development is inextricably intertwined with the surrounding villages. The area is part of the Villupuram district and was in 2006 classified as per the Panchayat Raj as one of the country's 250 most backward districts (out of a total of 640).
TThere are 13 villages in the direct surrounding area of Auroville, comprising of about 40,000 people, and altogether 40 villages in its larger bioregion. Approximately 350 people from the surrounding villages have joined, or were born, in Auroville.
AAuroville employs almost 5000 local people, ranging from manual support staff to engineers. Most of them have been trained in Auroville to improve their qualifications and skills. Importantly, Auroville provides for the
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collective associations such as women and men’s clubs, social enterprise and financial inclusion programmes;• co-creative, participatory developmental programmes for village enhancement and cohesion;•• increased standard of living through vocational training, micro project development and self-employment; and• environmental awareness and development of wasteland reclamation, watershed management and environmental regeneration.
RRecommended reads:Catalogue of the sustainable projects of the Auroville bio-region soon available on www.outreachmedia.auroville.org
• 20,000 patients from the neighbouring villages receive health care from Auroville annually.
OOver the last 40 years, Auroville village development groups such as Auroville Village Action Group (AVAG), Auroville Health Centre, Auroville Dental Centre, Pitchandikulam Forest and Palmyra, have been engaged in health and development programmes for the neighbouring villagers. ThThis could be done through the funds from many national and international organizations closely working with Auroville. The programmes aim at fostering full potential and wellbeing through:• improved health conditions with education, preventive care, infrastructural development and health treatment programmes; • empowerment of women and men through
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For in this ideal place money would no longer be the sovereign lord; individual worth would have a far greater importance than that of material wealth and social standing. There, work would not be a way to earn one’s living but a way to express oneself and to develop one’s capacities and possibilities while being of service to the community as a whole, which, for its own part, would provide for each individual’s subsistence and sphere of action. In short, it would be a place where human relationships, which are normally based almost exclusively on competition and strife, wowould be replaced by relationships of emulation in doing well, of collaboration and real brotherhood. - The Mother
Exploring the Economyofyears50
While Auroville is developing with a lot of goodwill, funds are still needed for its infrastructure, town development, social services and securing of the land: income is generated by its social enterprises, guest houses, services, fundraising, and donors from India and abroad, via Auroville InInternational. The Government of India provides funds primarily for education and town development. And if the value of money is present in the mechanism of practical Auroville’s life, the material presence of cash is discouraged: the township aims to be a cashless society where no exchange of money ffor goods takes place.
Auroville’s economic aims are to sustain and create a city of self-sustaining residents, providing for everyone’s needs not on basis of right or equality but on necessities. To ensure that all contribute in work, kind or money and to attempt to eliminate any exchange of money between Aurovilians and therefore crcreate an eco system where Money is no longer the sovereign Lord.
Recommended reads:Economics for People and Earth - The Auroville Case 1968-2008, Henk Thomas and Manuel Thomas,Prisma 2013
Auroville is driven by the ideal given inA Dream by The Mother.
AAuroville’s economy has “no private ownership” as the main pillars of its economic system. The land, the housing, the public buildings and social enterprises are owned by the collective as a whole. To manage the collective assets for land, housing and the various service and social enterprise trusts mamany groups are functioning to monitor and guide the process. A significant level of autonomy as well as connection to the root principles keep the economic experiment of non owner ship alive and in fifty years has grown to the community turnover in the range of Rs. 50 crores (US$ 7.7million)
The second important principle in action is the voluntary nature of the residents working in Auroville, the principle of community service. More or less all Aurovilians get similar cash and kind benefits regardless of the work rendered to the community. This aspect is sometimes compared to the cocommunist system. Though outwardly similar Auroville has a core spiritual ideal and everyone is free to find their work to help them progress. To quote A Dream: there, work would not be a way to earn one’s living but a way to express oneself and to develop one’s capacities and possibilities while being of service to the community as a whole.
The above principles of economic system though tried in tight communities have never been done on a city level experiment. This leads to a constant experimentation and Auroville has seen many experiments in this sphere namely “envelope” system, baskets, prosperity, Pour Tous (For All) and now the mamaintenance system. These are ever-evolving system to satisfy individual needs and keep as close to the ideal of common ownership and community growth.
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Auroville today
them have chosen to join the community: at present over 49% of the Auroville population is Indian, and a majority of these comes from the local villages (70%). We cannot pretend that tensions between different cultures do not sometimes arise, but all Aurovilians share the ideal of manifesting human unity, despite ththe many challenges. A recurrent misunderstanding presents Auroville as society that operates without money. An unrealistic statement for a city in the make, which needs huge investments and find ways of supporting itself. However, its internal functioning aims at no money exchange between Aurovilians. The intention is is that the community provide the basics to its residents, thus allowing them to fully dedicate themselves to serving the experiment.
Although Auroville is not a touristic place, outside tour operators have included the Matrimandir in their package. The reason is partially due to its national recognition as one of the most beautiful architectural realisations in India. The Matrimandir is not a temple, nor a place for images, rituals, woworshipping or even for any form of collective meditation. The inner chamber of the Matrimandir is a place for silent, inner concentration and reflection.
There are no rules about how to practice the Integral Yoga and a wide variety of approaches are to be found here. There is no one spiritual programme that everybody is expected to follow, each one having his/her own path towards progress. Of course, we are still far from realising the ideal of Auroville. BuBut Auroville is like a laboratory and within it, slowly, painfully, clumsily at times, but also joyfully, Aurovilians are trying in their daily lives to make the first steps towards changing themselves and making a new world, always aware of the long way to go.
Auroville is a city in development, a complex entity with many dimensions, some of which may seem contradictory. Ultimately, it cannot be ‘understood’ in the conventional sense; it can only be only lived, experienced.
For those who are satisfied with the world as it is, Auroville obviously has no reason to exist. - The Mother
Auroville is an experimental city, which embraces all facets of life; a living laboratory in constant development. Its founding principles and ideals are profound and bring with them a variety of challenges ontthe practical level.
MMost of the day-visitors (spending few hours in the Visitors Centre) have a very limited understanding of the scope of the endeavour that sees residents of very different cultures and 52 nationalities (at present) working side by side. Auroville aims to realize a Human Unity, which implies overcoming one’s didifferences by transcending them, in order to live and work together. An important tool to achieve this is the Integral Yoga underlying the project. It encourages practitioners to psychologically enter a deep self-introspection and gradually evolve from there.
For an outsider it is difficult to grasp this invisible bond linking the residents and therefore it’s easy to judge, most of thetime due to one’s preconceivedexpectations or ideas. PPresently the population is of 2700 people, including a large number of children, for a city planned for 50 000 residents. The building and running of a growing township creates a need of manpower and numerous work/learning opportunities for about 5,000 people from the immediate bioregion, be they hohouse workers, gardeners, carpenters, managers, supervisors, engineers, teachers, doctors etc. While this helps to drive change and development in the local villages, the learning process has not just been one-way. The Aurovilians, arriving in the early days on a barren plateau, immensely learned from the vvillagers’ local techniques for constructing shelters and agricultural know-how. Approximately 20% of Auroville’s income is spent on outreach work. Moreover, local people are free to participate in many of Auroville’s events and activities. Many of
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Billions of dollars are spent on "peace keeping". This is only a short-term remedy, but "peace building" is the longer term and that is UNESCO's mission. Themission of Auroville has a lot in common with what UNESCO is trying to do.- Mr. C.L. Sharma, Deputy Director-General, UNESCO 1993
of SupportUNESCO Statements
India Radio Broadcast on the 28th February 1969, during the Auroville inauguration. In March, in occasion of the Auroville - UNESCO symposium in Pondicherry, he underlined the deep trust and hope in Auroville’s dream and project: "We have tried in UNESCO. We have tried every way, and we hahave failed. And so now we turn to Auroville… And so, on behalf of UNESCO, I hail Auroville, its conception and realisation, as a hope for all of us and particularly for our children, for our youth who are disillusioned with the world that we have built for them and who will find in Auroville as they found at the ttime of its foundation ceremony, a living symbol, inspiring them to live the life to which they are called."
1983: The UNESCO General Conference adopted a Resolution inviting Member States and international non-governmental organizations to participate in the development of Auroville as an international cultural township: this resolution has been reconfirmed until nowadays.
11986: Words of deep appreciation for Auroville residents, came from Mr. A. M. M'Bow from Senegal, then Director-General of UNESCO, during his visit: "You have been able to transcend what yesterday may have been barriers, that separated you. You work together, you understand each other, and peperhaps you are what I might say a summing-up of the aspiration of theworld of tomorrow."
1993: On 27th February 1993, Mr. C.L. Sharma, Deputy Director-General of UNESCO, came from Paris on behalf of Snr. Federico Mayor, Director-General of UNESCO, for the meeting of the Auroville International Advisory Council. In an interview about UNESCO's connection with AuAuroville, he commented: “I am absolutely delighted to be here and it is much better than I expected it to be. UNESCO has been conscious for a long time of Auroville's mission, of what it is trying to do. There have been successive resolutions passed by the General Assembly in favour of Auroville,
On the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the founding of Auroville, in 2003 Mr Koïchiro Matsuura – then Director-General of UNESCO - said that "as an intellectual and ethical organization, UNESCO cannot fail to be fascinated by this experience ". And UNESCO, the EdEducational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation of the United Nations, not only was fascinated from the very beginning, but supported Auroville formally and concretely, thanks to the similarities between UNESCO's ideals, values and principles and those underpinning this unusual community, wwhich can be summed up with these words: to promote cultural diversity, intercultural dialogue and lifelong learning as the basis for peaceful, sustainable societies.
During its foundation ceremony in February 1968, young people representing 124 UNESCO Member States deposited soil from their respective countries on the site of the future township to illustrate the fundamental concept of unity in diversity. Since that historic day, UNESCO has regularly reiterated its susupport for Auroville, a place that embodies many of the principles underlying the Organization's worldwide action.
The General Assembly of UNESCO unanimously passed in 1966, 1968, 1970 and 1983 resolutions of support to Auroville, inviting "member states and international non-governmental organisations to participate in the development of Auroville as an international cucultural township designed to bring together the values of different cultures and civilisations in a harmonious environment with integrated living standards which correspond to man's physical andspiritual needs."
1969: “I believe that Auroville is one of the pilots that can lead us on to that land of unity where we can all join together in working for the development of our country ...” with these words, Dr. M.S. Adiseshiah, then Deputy Director-General of UNESCO, expressed his support on Auroville, in an interview with All
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2008: Thus, “Auroville stands out as an unparalleled human experiment in transforming these ideals into reality: Aurovilians have worked closely with the inhabitants of the surrounding villages to help improve their living conditions. The outlying rural region, considered by the local gogovernment as among India's most underdeveloped areas, has benefited greatly from Auroville's presence. Some 5,000 people from local communities have found employment in the township, and a number of health and educational facilities have been created to serve them” said UNESCO DDirector-General Koïchiro Matsuura during the Auroville's 40thanniversary celebration.
Director General Irina Bokova in Auroville, 2012.
2012: During her visit, the Director General Irina Bokova expressed her appreciation for the vision of the Auroville International Zone: “this is an impressive platform embodying ideals and views that resonate with those of UNESCO. I am certain it will serve as an open space for a living embodiment of acactual human unity, as the Charter of Auroville declares. This is a vital task today, and I wish you all support, inspiration and courage to carry it forward”.
bringing it to the notice of our 170 member states. UNESCO has also associated itself with seminars and meetings and contributed $ 25,000 to the recent Birthday celebrations.TThis is a very clear expression of UNESCO's, not just interest, but support and appreciation of an experiment that we definitely want to succeed because today's world problems are due to lack of understanding between human beings. (...) We need to make a conscious effort in "peace building". Billions of dollars are spent on "peace keeping". This is only a short-term remedy, but "peace building" is ththe longer term and that is UNESCO's mission. The mission of Auroville has a lot in common with what UNESCO is trying to do."
2003: In fact, “key aspects of the Auroville experiment resonate strongly with some of UNESCO's major priorities and concerns such as dialogue among civilizations, cultures and religions; cultural diversity and culture as a factor for development, poverty eradication, quality education and life-long learning; and rerenewable energies” (Flash Info n° 134Office of the Spokeswoman UNESCO, Paris, April 11, 2003).
In March 2003, Mr. S.K.Tripathy, then Secretary of State for Education, Govt. of India, celebrating Auroville's 35th anniversary at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, explained with clear word the position of UNESCO in the relation with Auroville and its step toward a green development, a mamatter of unquestionable urgency: "Auroville has already brought a transformation in the areas surrounding it by adopting people-friendly technologies, eco-friendly farms which do not destroy the Mother Earth, income generating industrial units which do not pollute the air, and many such iinnovations 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 aadministrators, 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 humanity as a whole."
2017: The cooperation of UNESCO with the international township of Auroville has been confirmed in Paris, duringthe 39th Session of the General Conference, on the19 October 2017:
““Recognizing that Auroville has developed into a centre of expertise in a wide range of fields, benefiting India and noting its success in sharing its experience and helping the development of its neighbouring rural population; and further recognizing that Auroville is a successful and unique model project, proving the capacity of an international community, after almost 50 years of existence, to continue to live up to its initial founding ideas of peace and international harmony and which are also UNESCO’s own values and principles, as well as some of its major priorities; the DiDirector-General invites to reinforce the association of UNESCO with Auroville and organize commemorative activities for its 50th anniversary and to re-invite the Member States on the special occasion of Auroville’s 50th anniversary, to participate in Auroville’s further development”.
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Facts Figuresand
• Auroville settlementsrelying on alternative energy only - 36Afforestation• Acres of afforested land - 1250• Trees planted - 3 millionEmployment generation• • Employees - 6,000• Commercials units - 153• Service units - 75Activities in surrounding region• Villages in which Auroville outreachwork takes place - 80• Education/cultural centres - 36• • Students - 1,800• Health facilities - 6• Patients (annually) - 6000• Village self-help groups - 350• Membership - Women 5,300• Membership - Men 700Auroville International (AVI)CCountries hosting AVI Centres - 31Outreach• States of India in which majorappropriate technologyprojects are initiated or managedby Auroville - 14• • Major projects in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry - 25• Countries in which major appropriate technology projects are initiated or managed by Auroville - 30
Planned surface area 4,942 acres(20sq kms)• Owned by Auroville 2,100 acres(84. sq kms)• Auroville settlements - 130Planned Population - 50.000• • Present Population ~ 2760• Nationalities - 54• Residents aged above 18 - 2068• Residents aged below 18 - 692• Indian residents - 1080Education• Auroville schools - 10• • Students - 550• Auroville Outreach schools - 7• Students - 800Health care• Health centres - 2• Patients annually - 12000• Dental clinic & subcentres - 12• • Patients annually - 4000Renewable energy• Alternative energy installations - 500(incl, solar, biogas, wind & steam generators,)• Auroville homes/offices usingsolar energy - 250• Auroville settlementsrrelying on alternative energy only - 36Renewable energy• Alternative energy installations - 500(incl, solar, biogas, wind & steam generators,)• Auroville homes/offices usingsolar energy - 250
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2009: Dr. Kamla Tewari, the prestigious National Award for Excellence for Social Service, by Ms. Sheila Dikshit, then Chief Minister, New Delhi.
2007: Margarita Correa at the EM International Partners Conference for the eradication of Malaria and remediation ofssoil and water.
2006: Auroville Earth Institute, First prize All India design competition ‘Multi hazard resistant shelter’, Gandhigram Rural Institute, by the President of India,Sri Abdul Kalam.
22005: Jana Dreikhausen, An award For Ecological Architecture and Environment in the Tropics, Indonesia.
2005: Upasana Design Studio, Award of Excellence certificate in Delhi for the Tsunamika doll project, by National Institute for Fashion Technology.
22005: Auroville Earth Institute, first prize of the All India design competition ‘Hazard resistant house’ by GandhigramRural Institute.
2004: AuroRE, International Ashden Award (£30,000) for Projects and Services Enterprise for small-scale solarbbusinesses across India.
2017: Claude Arpi, the Field Marshal KM Cariappa Chair of Excellence issued by the United Service Institution of India in Delhi for his book on Tibet: The last months of a free Nation.
2017: Sharan Founder Dr Nandita Shah received the Nari Shakti National Award.
22016: Auroville Earth Institute receives International first prize Low Carbon Award for the Green Building Solutions for Kaza Eco-Community Centre built in Spiti, India, Construction 21, France (Given during COP22 in Marrakech, Morocco).
22013: Kathy of EcoFemme, women pacesetter award from the SRM Institute of Science & Technology, received at Chennai’s Global Conference on Women Leadership.
22012: Shradhavan of Savitri Bhavan, the Auro-Ratna Award 2012 in recognition of her services and scholarship over the decades, by the Overman Foundation of Kolkatta.
22012: D. Saravanan from Aranya, Award for 100-days Biodiversity Conservation Awareness Walk, received from Sempadugai Nanneeragam, Puducherry.
22010: Sadhana Forest, the Danish Humanitarian Water and Food Award, received at Faculty of Life Sciences, Copenhagen.
22010: Pitchandikulam Bioresource Centre, Tamil Nadu Khoshoo Memorial Award for Creating an ecology park at the edge of a bustling city and campaigning for better energy efficiency and cutting waste.
22010: Auroville Earth Institute, The Prince Sultan Bin Salman Award for Urban Heritage by Al-Turath Foundation, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for building Al Medy Mosque in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
In recognition of the work being carried out by Aurovilians around the worldNational and International awards
1998: Auroville Earth Institute, Bharthiya Nirman Ratan Award, for Individual Outstanding Achievement and Nation Building by Indian Economic Development and Research Association (IEDRA),New Delhi.
11997: The Auroville Centre for Scientific Research (CSR), recognised as Best NGO in the Renewable Energy Sector, by Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA), New Delhi.
11996: The Club of Budapest adopted the Auroville project to "become humanity's first universal city, the shared treasure of all nations and people…."
11995: Auroville Building Centre, Outstanding Performance Award for the Best Building Centre through Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO), New Delhi, from the Ministry of Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation, Government of India.
11995 and 1996: Auroville Earth Institute, Outstanding Performance Award for the Best Building Centre through Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO), New Delhi, from the Ministry of Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation, Government of India.
11995: We the Peoples 50 Communities award in the category of Human Settlements on the 50th Anniversary of the United Nations.
11992: Hassan Fathi International Award for Architecture for the Poor, from the Society for the Revival of Planning and Architectural Heritage, Cairo, Egypt, for the construction of the Auroville Visitors' Centre.
11991: Auroville Building Centre, received a Plaque of Appreciation from the International Ferrocement Information Center (IFIC), Bangkok, Thailand, and Ferrocement Information Network India (FINI), Roorkee, India.
2003: Editions Auroville Press International, recognition for ‘Genius of India’ video, acclaimed by India's Prime Minister and Home Minister, with the National Open School, New Delhi, for 'The Best Programme of the Year'.
22000: Auroville Earth Institute, India Gold Star Award and Gold medal. Friendship Forum of India (FFI), New Delhi.
2000: Auroville Earth Institute, Glory of India Award and Gold medal. Friendship Forum of India (FFI), New Delhi.
11999: The Auroville Building Centre, Gold Medal jointly with Earth Institute for disaster resistant house built during the India International Trade Fair 1999, by India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITOP), New Delhi.
11999: Auroville, National Growth Award, Excellence award for Outstanding contribution to the society at large and the Nation, by National Business Development Society (NDBS), New Delhi.
11999: Auroville Earth Institute, Nation’s Vikas Jyoti Award from the World Economic Development Association (WEDF),New Delhi.
11999: Auroville Earth Institute, Bharat Excellence Award and Gold medal, for Outstanding leadership and extraordinary achievements in his field of Work and forthe services rendered to promote greater friendship and India-International co-operation by Friendship Forumoof India (FFI), New Delhi.
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