Auroville attempts to distance itself from the conventional sense of economics by having implemented their own debit card system. The Aurocard, as it is named, serves to eliminate the use of cash in everyday life transactions. The philosophy behind it seems to be that by eliminating the use of cash and thereby reducing the negative visual/psychological impacts that money can bring. The way it works is that you visit Auroville’s financial center to charge your card whenever you need it. This money can then be used at any of the enterprises that are a part of Auroville. For the Indian people I am sure that this has it’s positive impacts. But for me as a foreigner visiting Auroville, the use of the Aurocard essentially just replaces the card I use back home.

To further distance itself from the conventional economy, Auroville has a few cooperatives to encourage a deeper sense of community. One is in the form of a sort of supermarket store where people who want to be a part of parallel/alternative economic system contributes a certain amount on a monthly. This enables members to shop entirely for free without ever seeing a price tag on anything. It works by encouraging and building on a recognition of needs before greeds/desires,. This means that people that are a part of the cooperation shifts their thinking more towards a needs based economy. People are also encouraged to contribute by donating excess products for others to consume.

It is an interesting social experiment of sorts where conventional consumerism is questioned by actually initiating reflection on the origin for the different products that comes from your own community. It makes one think more carefully about the production process and that you actually contribute your money towards your own community. This was a very interesting initiative that contrasts with the intense consumerism culture back at home where most people don’t think that much about the origin of the things that they buy. Perhaps there will bemore similar initiatives all over the world to bring us back to a point where we no longer over-use the resources which are far from contributing to a sustainable future.

//Joel Hellström

Linnaeus University Sweden