Auroville Outreach Media Catalogue of Auroville and the Bio-region
Outreach Media Auroville 2015-2016
Table of Contents
Auroville ................................................................................ 1 Outreach Media .................................................................... 1 Catalogue of Auroville and the Bio-region ........................................................................................ 1
Auroville 2015-2016 .............................................................. 1 Upasana.................................................................................. 4 Tsunamika .......................................................................................................................................... 4 Small Steps......................................................................................................................................... 5 Varanasi Weaver ................................................................................................................................ 5 Kapas.................................................................................................................................................. 6 Paruthi ................................................................................................................................................ 6
Mohanam Community Centre .............................................. 7 Auroville Bamboo Centre (bio-region) ................................. 7 SEDAB (Sustainable Enterprise Development in the Auroville) (Bio-region) .................................................................. 8 Auroville Botanical Gardens (bio-region)............................. 8 Auroville Dental Centre ......................................................... 8 ADCERRA (Auroville Dental Centre for Education, Research and Rural Action) Bio-region ................................................ 9 Solitude Farm (Bio-region) ................................................. 10 Eco Femme .......................................................................... 10 Naturellement ....................................................................... 11 Earth&us ............................................................................... 11 Auroville Institute of Applied Technology (AIAT) Bio-region .............................................................................................. 12 Coffee ideas .......................................................................... 12 Marc’s Café – Roast and Taste ............................................ 12 Catami- Dreamer’s café ....................................................... 13
Sunlit Future ........................................................................ 14 WASTELESS ........................................................................ 14 Garbology 101 ................................................................................................................................. 15 Pick It Up ......................................................................................................................................... 15
The Colours of Nature ......................................................... 15 Shri Arohan .......................................................................... 16 Sustainable Livelihood Institute ......................................... 16 AVAG (Auroville Village Action Group) - Bio-region ......... 17 Reach for the Stars ........................................................................................................................... 17 Be True not Violent ......................................................................................................................... 18
LEC (Life Education Centre) ............................................... 18 Thamarai .............................................................................. 19 Deepam School .................................................................... 19 Sadhana Forest ....................................................................20 CSR (Centre for Scientific Research) ..................................20 Earth Institute ..................................................................... 21 WELL Paper ......................................................................... 21 Upcycling ............................................................................. 22 Pitchandiculam Forest (Bio-region) ................................... 22 SAIIER (Sri Aurobindo International Institute for Edicational Research) ............................................................................. 23
Upasana Web: http://www.upasana.in/ Facebook: www.facebook.com/upasana.auroville Contact: Greta E-mail: outreach@upasana.in Tel: 0413-2622939 / 9443362384 Upasana is a place where creativity, fashion, design, Indian culture, business, social responsibility and spiritual progress get woven together seamlessly. It is a place where people are the central focus and all the projects, products and resources are to help people grow and develop into their full capacity. Upasana was founded in 1997 by Uma Haimavati in Auroville. Upasana presents India through its textiles by designing clothes using those traditional Indian textiles. Every state of India expresses its unique personality through specific textiles, and Upasana wishes to bring this to the forefront. Upasana ventured into the field of social development in 2005 with a strong focus on application of design for social welfare. The project was called Tsunamika, and since then, Upasana has initiated various projects exploring the potential of Socially Responsible Design. It is a place that works towards ecological, sociological, and psychological harmony.
Tsunamika Web: tsunamika.org Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tsunamika.alivingsymbol Email: tsunamika@upasana.in The Tsunamika doll is handmade by women affected by the 2004 Tsunami in India. The project started as a trauma counseling effort for fisherwomen in February 2005. The raw material came from industrial waste and more than 600 women were taught to make these tiny dolls called “Tsunamika”. The doll is never sold, but given. The project runs on community support where people take dolls and contribute as per their capacity. They are gifts of love and friendship. Today, more than five million dolls are made and sent to over 80 countries. The Tsunamika project has been given the “Award of Excellence” by the Government of India and special recognition by Unesco.
Small Steps Web: www.smallsteps.in Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/smallstepsbags Blog: blog.smallsteps.in Email: smallsteps@upasana.in “Small Steps” is a green campaign which was launched as a solution to the environmental problem of plastic carry bags. We aim at making people carry their own shopping bags and encourage them to avoid the usage of plastic bags. Small Steps, however, is more than just a bag. Women from more than 14 villages work to make the Small Steps bags. Here at Small Steps we believe that solutions to our problems lie in every little step we take everyday.
Varanasi Weaver Web: www.varanasiweavers.org Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Varanasi-Weavers-242120099256957/ Email: varanasiproject@upasana.in Upasana began to work with Varanasi Weavers Community in 2006 and later went on to introduce a brand called Varanasi Weavers.This project encouraged the weavers from this community to continue what they were good in – weaving. Upasana involves itself with the community with social intervention, design, communication solutions and marketing. This project has been granted special recognition by UNESCO. Upasana has introduced Varanasi both nationally and globally and has also brought many brands to work in support of the weavers community.
Kapas Web : www.kapas.in (not working) http://www.upasana.in/kapas Email: office@upasana.in Upasana created Kapas in 2008 as a sustainable business collaborative striving to protect and promote the fragile cotton communities of Tamil Nadu. Failed crops, increased competition, and unfair business practices have driven thousands of cotton farmers and weavers to despair. From seed to sale, Kapas is a socially and environmentally sustainable project using only the most ethical prac-
tices for the earth and the cotton communities of rural India.
Paruthi Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/paruthiclothes/?fref=nf Blog: blog.paruthi.in Email: office@upasana.in With Paruthi, Upasana decided to go Organic in 2011. Upasana has been working with the Organic cotton farming community for many years and decided to launch the brand in their support. Paruthi, in Tamil, means cotton. It has taken a fashion route to sustainability and successfully launched a clothing line under “responsible fashion.” Uma, founder of Upasana, says ”Fashion has the power to change the world. Give it a chance.”
Mohanam Community Centre Web: http://www.auroville.org/environment/avag/mohanam_purpose.htm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MohanamOrganization/?fref=ts Contact: Balu E-mail: mohanam@auroville.org.in Tel: 9943644757 Mohanam, located in Sanjeevinagar, is a Community Centre and an educational facility for children. We provide an after school activities program for kindergarten and older children. The primary focus is providing developmental childcare for pre-school children, and equally important, we conduct arts and crafts programs that revitalize the culture of the village: Bharatnatyam and classical Indian dance, Kolattam (stick dance), Kummi voice and dance, and Silambam (a martial art).
Auroville Bamboo Centre (bio-region) Web: http://www.aurovillebamboocentre.org Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Auroville-Bamboo-Research-Center122795727739035/?fref=ts Contact: Balu, and Nils E-mail: aurovillebamboocentre@auroville.org.in Tel: 04132623806 / 8098837997 The Bamboo Centre is located in Auroville. We manufacture a wide range of bamboo products; toys, furniture, buildings, soaps and many more. It also offers educational workshops around the use of bamboo that have been very successful – last year, for example, it had 400 participants, this year it will be over 700. The bamboo centre is a very interesting environment because it is one of the busiest units in Auroville due to the numbers of workshops the centre offers and the large amount of visitors who come to learn about the products. The centre uses bamboo, as a sustainable medium for developing a wide range of products and for construction; bamboo is quickly gaining a reputation of being something of a miracle grass.
SEDAB (Sustainable Enterprise Development in the Auroville) (Bio-region) Web: http://sedabblog.wordpress.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sedab.comm/timeline Contact: Email: ird@auroville.org.in Tel: 0413-2677187 The mission is to provide sustainable livelihood to communities within Kazhuveli bio-region of TamilNadu, India, by utilizing resources from the Auroville community. SEDAB works to provide training and capacity building for setting up sustainable enterprises that enhance the communities present income and youth training for employment in other enterprises. SEDAB enterprises are broadly divided into the categories of local natural resource based products, and eco-friendly cottage industries based products. This has been designed to ensure that the local knowledge, skills and resources are best utilized to create new forms of enterprises that have sustainable factors built into to them. The utilization of local knowledge and resources reduces the learning time for the community, as well as the external hand holding required for taking forward the enterprise idea.
Auroville Botanical Gardens (bio-region) Web: http://www.auroville-botanical-gardens.org/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Auroville-Botanical-Gardens-221670527915894/?fref=ts Contact: Paul Blanch flower E-mail: botanical@auroville.org.in Tel: The Auroville Botanical Gardens is a facility devoted to conserving and expanding planetary biodiversity—particularly of the indigenous vegetation of the Tropical Dry Evergreen Forest (TDEF)—through amongst other things environmental education programs with the local schools, nursery and landscaping with indigenous species, and seed saving for vegetables. Here at the Gardens we want to educate everyone about the important role that the Tropical Dry Evergreen Forest can play in their lives. In 2002 we brought local school children to our gardens and when these programs were expanded to Eco-clubs for children and women groups learning to use TDEF plants in their everyday lives, we built in 2007 the campus building.
Auroville Dental Centre
Web: http://www.auroville.com/dentalcentre/ Contact: Jacques Verre E-mail: aurodentalcentre@auroville.org Clinic Tel: 0413 2622 265 or 2622 007 The Auroville Dental Centre has been conducting a social work program that started in 1994 in Auroville, South India, supported by donations and volunteers. Our main objective is to teach rural populations dental health through a new concept of education: self help, because 70% (800 million) of India’s population lives in rural areas that has no access to dentists! We are helping to relieve and to diminish the need for expensive dental care through our mobile dental facilities and services which are unique in rural areas.
ADCERRA (Auroville Dental Centre for Education, Research and Rural Action) Bio-region Web: www.ruraldeantalcare.in Contact: Jacques Verre Email: aurodentalcentre@auroville.org The Auroville Dental Centre for Education, Research and Rural Action is a unique program in India meeting the oral health needs of disadvantaged rural areas. It works with prevention and early intervention for long term results. It offers check-ups, manual scaling, sealants, obturations and “atraumatic restoration treatment” (ART). It also increases awareness about dental health via campaigns, targeting young generations.
Solitude Farm (Bio-region) Web: https://www.facebook.com/events/163661823774564/?fref=ts Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/solitudefarm/?fref=ts Contact: Krishna McKenzie E-mail: krishnamckenzie@auroville.org.in Tel: 0413 262 2068 Solitude is a farm started by Krishna McKenzie in 1996 and is deeply involved in permaculture, natural farming and various social agriculture projects. Solitude works with schools and the community, trying to get people to rediscover where their food comes from and learn how to grow and use local foods, reconnecting with nature and essentially with ourselves. There is also an arts and kids space dedicated to arts and crafts; pottery, sculpture, painting, carving etc bringing children and artists together. The farm also boasts our very own beautiful Solitude Organic Farm Cafe providing delicious organic food throughout the day.
Eco Femme Web: www.ecofemme.org Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ecofemmeindia/?fref=ts Contact: Kathy email: kathy@ecofemme.org Tel: 9443135005 Eco Femme is a social enterprise founded in Auroville in 2010. We are a global women's empowerment initiative. Rising from rural India and reaching women around the world we promote and revitalize menstrual practices that are healthy, dignified, affordable and eco friendly. We have a commercial and nonprofit range of activities. Commercial: Eco femme designs and produces cloth washable menstrual pads – an eco friendly alternative menstrual product. Products are stitched as a livelihood project by rural women self help group members of the Auroville Village Action Group. Eco Femme’s motivation is to create and market these products arises from concerns about the significant amount of sanitary waste for which there is no truly effective disposal mechanism – especially in India. Sanitary waste is a recent phenomenon in India and it can be prevented by switching to alternative menstrual products. Eco Femme seeks to raise awareness of these product options.
Non commercial: Eco Femme has a pad for pad program which enables us to provide menstrual hygiene education and gift cloth-washable pads to girls from economically disadvantaged families across India – this program is mostly sustained through contributions added to sales of cloth pads abroad. We also conduct educational programs about menstrual hygiene management and the issues of sanitary waste with varied audiences within India and have created many resources to do this advocacy and educational work. We cross subsidize pads from international sales to enable the same products to be affordable to women in India at a reasonable price.
Naturellement Web: www.naturellement.in Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100009592008563&fref=ts Contact: Martina E-mail: naturellement@auroville.org.in Tel: Naturellement is a social enterprise specializing in natural and organic food products such as jams, marmalades, pickles, peanut butter, and breakfast cereals. Two years ago they started a restaurant next to their garden. They employ only women from the local Tamil villages, they provide an environment enriched with opportunities, and follow fair trade standards. They like to keep Naturellement a happy work place by treating everyone equally across the board.
Earth&us Web: http://www.earthandus.org Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/earthus-418370554931453/ Contact: Bindu E-mail: bindu@earthandus.org Earth&us is a new sustainable initiative from Auroville that works in the fields of LCA (Life Cycle Analysis), eco-efficiency, product-rating and behavior change. Earth&us was born out of a passion for promoting sustainable development through trans-disciplinary research and action. For us, the journey towards sustainable development essentially entails sustainable production and consumption, with sustainability not being a vague, feel-good term but a concept that can be measured and rated.
Auroville Institute of Applied Technology (AIAT) Bio-region Web: http://www.aiat.org.in/index.php?lang_code=en Contact: Lavkamad or Michael E-mail: office.ais@auroville.org.in or mike@auroville.org.in Auroville Institute of Applied Technology (AIAT), is a non-profit Industrial Training Centre, which is recognized by the State and Central Government of India. Contributing to the eradication of poverty and the creation of prosperity in rural areas through vocational education and self empowerment are the key objectives of our Institute. AIAT provides a learning environment that offers a broad range of vocational education choices with access to contemporary technologies and opportunities for a holistic personal development. By promoting modern teaching-learning methodologies and curricula that reach across disciplines, AIAT aims to instill in students the desire to learn and excel so that they can successfully respond to the challenges of their rapidly changing world while also advancing their employability and income prospects. Through this work, AIAT strives to become a model center for vocational education and ap-
plied technologies for rural India.
Coffee ideas Marc’s Café – Roast and Taste Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Coffee-Ideas244611942233179/?fref=ts Contact: Marc Tormo, Jose Luis Herrero, Davaselvam E-mail: coffeeideas@auroville.org.in Tel: 0413 2623 119 Started in 2008, with the creation of the coffee brand Marc’s Coffee, Fine Indian Coffees. Promoting certified high quality coffees from India to the Indian market. Marc’s café- Roast and Taste is one of the few in India to showcase micro roasting, coffee tasting and retailing under one roof. It offers consultancy services to the hospitality sector to create their own coffee image or improve their standards. In 2012, with the creation of
the Dreamer's café a new concept that follows the "3rd wave cafes", a worldwide movement. The cafe was built using a second hand container and it’s solar powered. It aims to promote genuine coffees and food products and the concept of up cycling to reduce the usage of newly manufactured materials. Small gourmet producers and farms from Auroville produce 75% of the products offered at the café.
Catami- Dreamer’s café Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/DreamersCaf%C3%A9/403642393042752 Contact: Marc Tormo Email: catami@auroville.org.in Tel: 9443326499 Dreamer’s Cafe is a project born from using an upcycled ship container, from the Chennai port that was abandoned and discarded. The container was given “new life” as Dreamer’s Cafe located at the Visitors Centre in Auroville. The Dreamer’s café promotes Auroville’s best food products, which includes a wide variety of beverages and snacks. It is of high priority to support local enterprises, farms, and artisans-- coffees are roasted by Marc’s coffee and the delicious cakes are baked by Tamarind Bakery and Kalya’s Delights. Fresh milk comes from Auroville farms and the ceramic collection is crafted by local potters.
Sunlit Future Web: http://www.sunlitfuture.in/contact-us/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FutureSunlit/?fref=ts Contact: Email: info@sunlitfuture.in Tel: 0413-2622992 / 2919352 Sunlit Future is an integrated service provider bringing high quality renewable energy solutions to both rural and urban India. Sunlit Future aims at fusing solar energy technologies into the daily lifestyle of urban and rural India to effectuate an environmental and social impact. With built-up capacities for design, procurement, integration, management, installation and maintenance of solar energy applications and services, Sunlit Future facilitates informed decision-making and provides customized solutions through: expert advice, customized planning and implementation of solar systems, rapid delivery and installations and knowledge of state of the art components in a rapidly changing technological environment.
WASTELESS Web: http://wastelessindia.org Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WasteLess/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/WasteLessIndia Contact: Ribhu E-mail: wasteless@auroville.org.in Phone: 0413 2623 445 or 9488 4838 71 WasteLess is a non-profit social enterprise located in Auroville, dedicated to bringing about change to the way we make, dispose of, and think about waste. WasteLess believes that each one of us can make a positive and tangible difference for a better and cleaner future. We're a young dynamic team of professionals
from diverse backgrounds committed to changing the world one piece of garbage at a time.
Garbology 101 We have developed an innovative, activity-based curriculum called Garbology 101. It is an educational tool kit that includes a 101 activities aimed to raise awareness on waste, consumerism and the environment. It is meant for children from 6 to 12 years of age.
Pick It Up Since segregation at source remains one of the major challenges for waste management today, ‘Pick it Up’, a card game aims to spread this important awareness in a fun and interactive way hoping to inspire and motivate more people to segregate waste and earn money by selling recyclable waste to scrap dealers. It targets children from 7 years of age and above and is available in two versions (Tamil/English and Hindi/English). In 2010 we initiated a fun awareness campaign called Litter Free Auroville. This convinced us to create WasteLess and it continues to inspire us today.
The Colours of Nature Web : http://www.thecoloursofnature.com/ Contact person : Ruby Email : pdcoordinator_colnature@auroville.org.in Tel : 0413 2 622587 The Colours of Nature was founded by Jesus Ciriza in search of truly eco-friendly dyes for clothing in 1993. While traveling through India searching for dyes that do not contaminate the environment, he arrived in Auroville. Here he practices his passion of Natural dyeing with the aim to create high quality colors that do not run and fade. A holistic and sustainable approach is taken, to only use renewable material from nature like leafs, flowers, fruits, plants, rind, and alum for fixation. Jesus experimented with the process with much trial and error and successfully achieved beautiful colors from Classic Indigo Blues from Indigo fera tinctoria leaf, Deep Red and fresh Pink, Oranges from branches of Rubia Cardifolia and many more. Textiles generate the second biggest source of pollution today, along with making the dyes, processing them and then after with each wash. In all these processes our water and aquifers are directly contaminated. The core solution is to use zero chemical dyes. Over 20 years, more than 20 hues of all colors have been created by us with the highest of standards. Our color library has been used and produced for Handloom Denim, Levi’s Straus, Industry of All Nations, Pepe Jeans, and many other initiators in organic color dyes.
Shri Arohan Web: Facebook: Contact: Sanjay Casual Email: sanjaykusale@auroville.org.in or sanjay.kusale@gmail.com Tel: 9442485046 “Revival of the cottage industry, and not cottage industries, will remove the growing poverty. When once we have revived the one industry, all the other industries will follow…I would make the spinning-wheel the foundation on which to build a sound village. I would make the wheel the centre round which all other activities will revolve” (YI, 21-5-1925, pp.176,177) The above statements of Mahatma Gandhi reflect not only his confidence on spinning and weaving as an effective tool for eradication of poverty and unemployment in the country but also the success of this decentralized way of cottage industry will enable all the other industry sectors to follow. Shri Arohan is a self-sustaining organization that believes in using clean energy by using solar power to create excellent quality textiles and continue the tradition of loom weaving to empower women in rural areas by giving them the opportunity to earn income and improve the life of their families.
Sustainable Livelihood Institute Web: www.tnavsli.in (this is still under construction) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tnavsli/?fref=ts Blog: http://sli-av.blogspot.in Main Contact: Ramasubramanian or Raja Ganesh Email: director@tnavsli.in, programme@tnavsli.in Tel:+914132622333 / 0413-2622333 Sustainable Livelihood Institute (SLI) is a joint venture between the Tamilnadu State Rural Livelihood Mission and the Auroville Foundation. This cooperation is done on a large scale between the state of Tamil Nadu and Auroville for promoting a rural development based on the principles of sustainable development. Indeed this being a domain in which Auroville can contribute a lot as many researches and experimentations are taking place in many corners of Auroville.
AVAG (Auroville Village Action Group) Bio-region Web: www.villageaction.in Facebook: Contact: Abu Email: villageactiongroup@gmail.com Tel: 0413 267 8871 The core mission is to partner in a process of integral development with all the local village communities surrounding Auroville with particular emphasis on facilitating community solidarity, fostering capacity for self-empowerment in addition to promoting gender and caste sensitization. Auroville Village Action Group (AVAG) is an NGO committed to grass roots and integrated community building with the villages surrounding Auroville. Through an expanding network of women’s and men’s Self Help Groups (SHG) and Federations of female and male leaders, AVAG offers a wide range of successful programs and initiatives to meet the complex needs of villagers. AVAG’s programs span the four critical areas of community development, economic development, capacity building, and psychosocial services. The component programs offered by AVAG include: micro financing and micro projects; capacity building trainings and seminars for villagers; psychological and physical health initiatives; global warming and environmental degradation awareness; livelihood trainings and social enterprise development; expansion of legal access for women and children confronted with human rights abuses; and caste integration exchange programs.
Reach for the Stars Web: http://www.reach-for-the-stars.org/language/en/ Facebook: Contact: Stephanie Email: sb@reach-for-the-stars.org Tel: 0413 2623481 Reach for the star enables motivated and able young men and women from poor and difficult backgrounds to achieve their educational potential through a college/university education. our students support one another and develop their sense of community, mutual respect and responsibility for one another, extending that to the communities they come from. The education our students receive often enhances their status and influence in their communities and with that their ability to help others. We encourage and help them to behave with integrity in all areas of their lives and to become confident, positive role models for their communities.
Be True not Violent Contact: Rita Email: This is a program for children, youth and adults, and about how they can solve their conflicts peacefully. This is for creating awareness at every age in order to create peaceful surroundings. Be True Not Violent is a violence prevention programme for schools and social institutions. The curriculum is structured in a way so that it can be used internationally: for children in trouble spots, in developing countries and also in a daily environment in the western context.It was written by Rita Erben, Astrid Kummer and Emanuele Scanziani. Since August 2012 it was developed as a model project inAikyam School inAuroville. This International Peace Handbook is also supported by Terre des Hommes(Help for children in Distress, Germany) and will be distributed worldwide.
LEC (Life Education Centre) Web: http://www.life-education-centre.org/about-lec/ Contact: Email: lec@auroville.org.in Tel: 0413 262 2082 Life Education Centre (LEC) is an ongoing programme to train young, underprivileged girls between the ages of 14-21, from villages in the region around Auroville. The Centre was created with a focus on children ignored by conventional education systems – drop outs because they were socially, economically or academically backward. Initially the Centre allowed both girls and boys to attend but before long LEC changed to an all-female environment. Vocational training that is provided for the girls helps them to develop the skills necessary to be successful both in their future homes as well as in finding a suitable job. However, LEC is essentially a therapeutic learning community, where much emphasis is placed on various self-development tools. Education at LEC is individual-based, where the needs of every student are evaluated and addressed; one of the most important interactions at the school is between the students and counselorcoordinator, which naturally takes place on a one-to-one basis.
Thamarai Web: www.thamarai.org Contact: Email: thamarai@auroville.org.in Tel: 9443135005 Initially our main interest was to work with women. We shared the idea of creating a place for collaborative learning and culture in the village and began to exchange ideas. We also conducted a number of experiential workshops with the women to get to know them better and to start to build a sense of trust and confidence. The ideas that grew out of these exploratory sessions included to start a crèche and to have a tuition program for children. They were also very concerned with primary health care and sanitation in the village and this led to the idea to include classes on environmental awareness, food safety in the home and personal health care. At a certain point in our visioning phase, a few youth from the village begun to approach us with a strong wish to “help the village” as well as develop themselves. Meetings with an increasing number of these youth led to expand the concept to include education programs for youth such as programs for improving English and developing the body. Some of the village youth offer classes in karate, theatre and conversational English and Tamil.
Deepam School Web: www.deepam-auroville.in Contact: Email: deepam@auroville.org.in Tel: 0413-262325 In January 1992, two women from Auroville gathered together children with disabilities from the local village of Kuilapalayam (in Tamil Nadu, South India) on the so-called Playground under some big Tamarind trees. At that time, there were mainly children who were mentally challenged and several boys who had polio. Physiotherapy exercises, play, handicrafts and snacks were offered three afternoons a week. Over the years the children with polio found their way into training programs or studies and became independent of our help. The vaccination program of the Indian government has been successful and we do not see children newly affected by polio in recent years.
Sadhana Forest Web: http://sadhanaforest.org Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sadhanaforest Twitter: https://twitter.com/SadhanaForest Contact: Email: sadhanaforest@gmail.com Tel: 0413-2677682/3 Sadhana Forest started its ecological revival and sustainable living work on December 19th 2003. The vision of its founders, Yorit and Aviram Rozin, is to transform 70 acres of severely eroded, arid land on the outskirts of Auroville. In a spirit of human unity, their aim is to introduce a growing number of people to sustainable living, food security through ecological transformation, wasteland reclamation, and veganism. Our energy and resources are focused on the creation of a vibrant, indigenous Tropical Dry Evergreen Forest (TDEF). Sadhana Forest won the third place in the Humanitarian Water and Food Award (WAF) 2010.
CSR (Centre for Scientific Research) Web: http://www.green.aurovilleportal.org/agro/12-centre-for-scientific-research-csr Contact: Email: csr@auroville.org.in Tel: 0413 2622168 / 277 / 748 CSR was founded on January 6th, 1984. Auroville Centre for Scientific Research (CSR) is an international voluntary organization working towards a sustainable future in the field of renewable energy systems (wind, solar, biomass), appropriate architecture & building technologies, waste water recycling and sanitation, and the transfer of these technologies through training programs.
Earth Institute Web: http://www.earth-auroville.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Auroville-Earth-Institute247948571886090/?fref=ts Contact: Email: info@earth-auroville.com Tel: 0413 - 262 3330 / 262 3064 The Auroville Earth Institute (AVEI), previously known as the Auroville Building Centre/Earth Unit, was founded by HUDCO, Government of India, in 1989. The former building centre progressively evolved and took the name of the Auroville Earth Institute in 2004. AVEI is a non-profit organization registered under the Foundation of Auroville, which is an organization of the Government of India. In the intervening years, the Auroville Earth Institute has become one of the world’s top centres for excellence in earthen architecture, working in 35 countries to promote and transfer knowledge in earth architecture. The work of the Earth Institute has attempted to revive traditional skills and to link ancestral and vernacular traditions of raw earth construction with the modern technology of stabilized earth.
WELL Paper Web: http://www.wellpaper.org Facebook: Contact: Email: wellpaper@auroville.org.in Tel: 0413 2622 219 or 9442035583 WELL started as a training and empowerment center for women from the inland villages under Auroville’s Coastal Development Center (ACDC), and the project soon spread. Women to be trained are selected by Auroville Village Action Group (AVAG). The goal of WELL is to empower women by providing an extended training program to aid them set up their own profit-sharing production units. For a period of six months, a group of eight to ten women learn to create products using recycled materials, mainly newspaper, as raw material. They are taught, amongst other things, to roll newspaper into reeds, which they then weave into baskets. From here on, there are no limits: they have created coasters, table-mats, accessories, bags, plates, and boxes, all of varying colors, shapes and sizes. Women laugh, sing, share and create not only new products but also a new life around them.
Upcycling Web: (under construction) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/upcyclingstudioauroville/info?tab=overview Contact: Ok and Marc Email: okjeonglee@gmail.com Tel: 93440 02972 We want to be seen as an open space for research, experimenting and educational practice on upcycling. Our goal is to spread the knowledge we have on upcycling different materials, our designs will be open source. We believe in reduce-reuse-recycle, and work on the goal "zero waste" in Auroville. Everybody and every good will is welcome to join our workshops and exhibitions.
Pitchandiculam Forest (Bio-region) Web: http://www.pitchandikulamforest.org/cms/content/view/23/31/ Facebook: Contact Us: http://www.pitchandikulamforest.org/cms/component/option,com_contact/Itemid,3/ Tel: 0413 2622365 The Pitchandikulam Bioresource Centre with its library, database, artefacts and photo displays, provides a focus for the teaching of restoration ecology, environmental science, and the identification and use of indigenous medicinal plants. A major focus of Pitchandikulam is community outreach and currently we work in 25 villages throughout the Kaluveli bioregion.
SAIIER (Sri Aurobindo International Institute for Edicational Research) Web: http://www.auroville.org/contents/521 Facebook: Contact: Email: saiier@auroville.org.in Tel: 0413-262-2210 or 262-2982 The Sri Aurobindo International Institute of Educational Research (SAIIER) was founded on 28th February 1984, to coordinate and further develop educational research in Auroville through many experimental fields. Over the years SAIIER has evolved into an umbrella organization that has sponsored diverse research units and nurtured several educational initiatives in Auroville, “Education for Human Unity” is our long-term project. Included in this category are many sub-themes essential to the main one – perceiving education as an unending process, education of the integral personality, perceiving each being as unique, and giving the freedom and opportunity to each person to pursue his or her own path of growth and progress.