On a sticky, humid, and hot Saturday afternoon the group sits in a circle blankly staring at one another, some contemplating NGO choices and others contemplating life choices. The suffocating silence is broken by Professor Talcott addressing us with a question, “What brought you to India over the middle of your winter break sweaty, hot, and tired?” A literal answer to his question would be to study sustainable development, but then you are confronted with defining sustainable development, and automatically his question is no longer a simple announcement but a reflective exercise over the past 11 days into sustainability, development, and Auroville; a vessel for these two concepts to blossom. For many Aurovillans Auroville has been a canvas, a space to create, experiment, fail, succeed, and repeat. With each visit to the different units you find it’s not a community of discovery but for discovery, an attempt at an alternative lifestyle.

On our first official day in Auroville we were introduced to Deepti, an Aurovillan citizen who has been a living part of the experience for 40 years, she provided insight into the vision of Auroville and presented us with this idea that everything done in Auroville or even outside of Auroville has to be done with consciousness and there will always be this ‘pressure of consciousness.’ This idea remained with me over the next two days and I became a bit obsessed, obsessed with how conscientious individuals have come together to intentionally create a community, obsessed with the consistent reflection and projection that must be utilized to ensure its existence, and obsessed with trying to figure where exactly had I landed. I then was plauged with the idea that the acknowledgement of consciousness is a painful state, you must steadily account for or monitor your actions because you understand that you yourself contribute to the ills of the earth. But the more Aurovillans we met the less I felt there were traces of a sadness but instead awareness. Aware that my actions affect others, aware that we must coexist, and aware that a conscious mind is an enlightened mind not saddened one, but within this enlightened state there is a greater responsibility.  

I cannot say my obsession has subsided just simply halted while I try to process the immense amount of information presented to us. My desire is to continue to understand how enlightened conscious minds can aid in a sustainable future. What Auroville has presented to us within the past 11 days is that sustainability and development are complex issues that emerged within the confines of conditioned social structures and how  we continue to develop will be determined by how we consciously address these broader issues that prevent many from beginning to imagine an alternative way of life.

Azalea Capers

The work is up and running – see a glimpse of some activities we are initiating with Mohanam bioregional cultural and heritage centre!

News and Notes Auroville 30 December

Elin Pettersson

Its interesting how we are learning about a space where alternatives are the norm and yet there is still this feeling that its all WRONG. Which begs the question of ‘what is wrong?’ Is thinking outside of the box wrong? Is innovation and originality wrong? Are we so stuck in our ways that doing anything different is inherently wrong? Is it wrong to not be satisfied with how apathetic we have all become to the world around us?

In a little over the last decade thousands of cotton farmers in India have become so desperately in debt they’ve committed suicide. The rising costs of farming, GMO crops and lawsuits brought about by the Monsanto corporation has driven them into crippling debt. In response to this tragedy a local fashion designer decided to change the way she did fashion in order to support her community. Uma, the founder of UPASANA spoke to us about the challenges of being a fashion designer that has decided to practice sustainable fashion. She tells us this “change doesn’t come easy. When you get hit and are crying helplessly that is when you find the change.” To her that moment was the loss of so many lives due to corporate greed and a general lack of consciousness. At first, this change, to her, meant 100% organic cotton. “I will give you organic whether you want it or not,” she states emphatically, “I will give you fashion, but I will make it my own way.” Her label states 100% organic cotton, her marketing and advertising all emphasize this point. This new practice has taught her the difficulty of effectuating change in a consciously unconscious society; a society that chooses not to see the damage caused by massive consumption and consumerism. The challenges of staying a float in a society that prefers not to think of their impact or simply does not have the luxury to think past their personal needs due to financial constraints.

When she is asked why she chose to use fashion as her medium for social change, she replies, “Because I didn’t know anything else. If I had known music I would have used music. If I were a writer I would’ve used writing…If I don’t think in a certain way, I will never act in a certain way” Over the years, however, she has found that organic does not necessarily mean sustainable. If organic means that you have to import your material then this is not necessarily sustainable. She is now planning to expand her label to include simply locally grown cottons and will not qualify her brand as 100% organic, though she does plan to continue supporting organic farmers.

When she promotes sustainable fashion and conscious consumerism she does not throw shame, guilt, and pity into the consumers face but is of the belief that “positive conversation has a far greater effect than negative conversation for a positive cause.”

Despite all the strength of conviction and character this woman has, one gets the sense she is very much disillusioned with the world and their reception of the new consciousness that is being awaked by people like her. She says to us over and over again “I did it all wrong,” she explains that she feels she jumped in blindly and had she known how difficult it would all be she would have done things differently. Instead of taking a leap of faith she might have taken baby steps in the right direction.

Auroville is a community of social entrepreneurs. We have been told several times that Auroville despite all its challenges is a place you can try, a place to experiment, a place to give up many preconceptions. Without a space like Auroville, Uma’s conception of sustainable fashion may have never come to be. In the greater sense of development, sustainability, social change and social entrepreneurship; we are coming to a place in the human collective experience where we are more open to alternatives while still remaining skeptical to change. “We are all looking for change, but change can be quite difficult,” sometimes it can feel like we’re doing it all WRONG.

Lina Reyes

Who does one turn to in time of need? Our families, our friends, our religious or political leaders? Auroville is a village where community comes first. On the 26^th of December AUP students took a visit to the Free Store in order to better conceptualize one of the many methods by which Auroville sustains itself. This store serves as a local market where Auroville residents can benefit from a range of commerce on a needs basis. One does not take more than is needed per individual or family. This concept of Free seems idealistic; however, in Auroville though you may Freely take it is generally expected that one must also Freely give. While 30% of the products range from local produce, the other 70% are imported to the village creating a challenge to remain 100% sustainable on local produce. However, beginning with nearly 100 volunteers, the Free store rapidly expanded to over 1,000 volunteers allowing for a higher range of intuition and support from local villagers.

In a world that seems to be tarnished by the self gain and violence, it seems rare that there have been no cases of stealing or robbery from the Free store, but how can one steal something that is Free? Perhaps when there are enough basic necessities in life to sustain everyone, the concept of stealing would seem inane. While concept of sustainability is still being defined, I feel that it should be a continuity of sustenance for a society. Sustainable development is a field that is constantly shifting based upon paradigm shifts or what seems to be important at the moment. It is not sufficient to say that sustainability provides enough in a society such as Auroville. On the other hand sustainability is a community effort that depends on all the strength from links in a continuous chain of effort.

-Ashley Boykin