By Rafaela Marinello

For the people living and working at Sadhana Forest, sustainability is not just an ideal—it’s a way of life. From compostable toilets to solar-powered generators, it is woven into nearly every aspect of life in this unique sustainable living community just outside of Auroville.

Today, Sadhana Forest is one of the largest residential participatory projects in the world. However, like many other organizations in Auroville, it began as nothing more than a barren piece of land—the majority of the area’s indigenous Tropical Dry Evergreen Forest (TDEF) was severely damaged by erosion and deforestation. Yet from that desolate land grew Yorit and Aviram Rozin’s vision: to transform a 70-acre plot into a sprawling forest community and ecological project rooted in compassion—towards animals, people, and the planet.

Central to Sadhana Forest’s commitment to compassion is its strict devotion to veganism. All of the meals prepared by and for the residents, volunteers, and guests are vegan, meaning that they do not contain any meat, fish, dairy, or other animal-derived foods, such as honey. Yet according to co-founder Aviram, veganism is “not just a diet—it’s an attitude.” At Sadhana Forest, this commitment to veganism extends beyond food to general care for animals, including through a Gaushala—a sanctuary for old or abandoned cows rooted in Hindu spiritual tradition. Rather than use cows for milk or meat, Aviram believes that “animals have the same rights to live [as humans], even if they have nothing to give.” This care for cows reflects Sadhana Forest’s vision of a world without speciesism, in which all beings—humans, plants, and animals—can live and co-exist with equal dignity and respect, regardless of their position within society or the food chain.

Another way in which Sadhana Forest practices compassion is through its implementation of a gift economy—an alternative economic model based on “a form of exchange, …where goods and services are given freely without monetary exchange or expectations of a return or reward” (Sadhana Forest). Sadhana Forest does not generate income and relies wholly on support from donations and volunteers. In addition, residents living in the forest do not pay rent, and visitors are invited to enjoy a free meal and movie screening in the forest every week. All of this goes back to Sadhana Forest’s mission as a space that is open and accessible to all, regardless of their class or social status. According to Aviram, people give naturally when they are treated with kindness—whether through their time, knowledge, or resources. Ultimately, unlike the dominant neoliberal economic model which tends to sow division and inequality, a gift economy has the potential to unite communities and counter inequality—as Niels Thygesen argues, a gift economy “is a social economy and by its ability to include, expand and generate, it builds and is built on community” (Thygesen 500).

Sadhana Forest is a perfect example of the symbiotic relationship between animals, people, and the planet. By protecting the environment, one is not only ensuring the continued survival of our planet, but also promoting greater peace and prosperity for future generations. In a world simultaneously plagued by conflict and climate change, it is more important than ever to recognize the interconnected nature of many of the issues we face, and to recognize climate change as a human, not just an environmental problem. Ultimately, as Sadhana Forest states on their website: “May there be more forests to grow people!”

Learn more about Sadhana Forest by visiting their website.

Works Cited:

Thygesen, Niels. “The Gift Economy and the Development of Sustainability.” Local Economy: The Journal of the Local Economy Policy Unit, vol. 34, no. 6, Sept. 2019, pp. 493–509, https://doi.org/10.1177/0269094219882261.