The Auroville Village Action Reach is a long-running program to help develop regional villages within the Auroville spirit of unity and consciousness. It began with four or five villages doing charity work in 1983, but has since grown and developed into its current role as a development organization. The difference is that instead of working for the people, they are now working with the people. In addition, they’ve chosen to focus specifically on women’s empowerment in villages within the 20km radius around Auroville. Through their participatory and ethological approach, they have been making positive changes in women’s lives in the Tamil Nadu region.

A key component of their program is providing access to credit and savings. Government and donors like to fund building projects which result in a tangible, finished product, but there is almost always difficulty in maintaining them afterwards. For example, sanitation and open defecation are affecting the health of Indians. The government will easily find the funds to build toilets at the public school, but they won’t plan for maintenance costs. The teachers don’t want to clean them, and if they make the students do it, the parents will complain. What actually happens is that the teachers lock all the toilet stalls except one for the teachers. It is in examples such as this that AVAG steps in to bridge the gap with the support of the community. They work with the community and involve them in all stages. For example, they will ask the community to contribute to funding whether it’s matching funding, a percentage, or just a contribution of labor, depending on the project. If they need to do administrative applications for government funding, they will teach the women how to do it themselves so they can do it again in the future.

However, development and empowerment isn’t sustainable if it’s only focused on economic empowerment. Especially after having several women in the villages commit suicide, AVAG was motivated to promote well-rounded development by offering emotional, mental, spiritual, and physical health services for their women. Their work is sustainable because they recognize the challenges and needs of the women they work with. For example, they help women question and think critically about taboos in a safe environment. One myth in India is that when a woman is menstruating, they can’t feed the dog or else it will go blind. Instead of telling the woman that it’s wrong, they ask the group, “Is there anyone who has fed their dog while they were menstruating?” Then one woman who doesn’t have any males in her household will share her story that she has been feeding the dog for ten years, and nothing has ever happened. Through sharing experiences in an open and safe environment, the women begin educating themselves and learning how to speak up.

But AVAG’s work is not yet done. After bringing the women into a safe zone and speaking about empowerment, they still have to return to their daily lives in their villages. AVAG’s goal is to prepare them for re-entering that environment by giving them the ability to engage in participative discussion.

These self-help groups are a powerful tool of change in the region surrounding Auroville. Also among AVAG’s initiatives are community building projects such as festivals and sports events, exchange programs, livelihood training, financial support for girls, and educational and leadership training.

Connie Moreland

“The history of mankind is the history of sanitation. It’s the history of shit.”

– Dr. Lucas Dengel, Founder executive of Eco-Pro

You can tell a lot about a city from its sanitation policy. It defines and sets a precedent for the cleanliness and technological advancements of a city. Not only do sewage systems keep a city looking sparkly but also keeps the citizens healthy – as fecal matter carries many harmful diseases that if not controlled safely can spread quickly and become fatal. In India alone, every minute a child dies of dysentery as only 40% of the population have access to a closed sewage system defining a sad part of a beautiful and colorful country.

100 million of the population defecate openly on the street without a toilet. This is problematic because diseases such as Hepatitis, Enteroviruses, Rotavirus, Poliovirus, Giardia, Norovirus acute gastroenteritis, and Dysentery are carried in feces. If a fly, dust particle, fingers, or animals touch the feces and then food the diseases infect unsuspecting victims quickly and efficiently. The governmental also spends extra funds on medical coverage as it reacts to the negative affects of a poor sanitation system – instead of investing in a proper system preventing the diseases where they begin.

So for now the cost of the energy, water, drains, sewage pipes, power supply, operation, and maintenance are expensive, large, and difficult to operate leaving the poorer Indian population to suffer from fecal oral infections – or as Dr. Lucas Dengel, founder executive of Eco-Pro, says: “shit-mouth infections.”

Dr. Lucas Dengel moved to India in 1988 and worked in the Auroville Health Center for ten years and was deeply horrified by the health problems caused by the poor sanitation systems so he developed Eco-Pro, an organization dedicated to providing ecological sanitation solutions on a small scale. Eco-Pro has developed an alternative ecological solution that saves water, re-uses the nutrients found in human waste while at the same time eliminating possible diseases.

Their main weapon, the Urine Diversion Desiccation Toilet, is designed to provide a sanitary, green, and safe solution to sanitation in small villages.

This toilet has three sections:

1. Composting and drying chamber for the feces. The user must add sawdust, ashes, bio char, coconut ash or sand to the feces and it will become completely dried out into a dirt safe to use as compost and containing absolutely no smell.
2. Urine diversion desiccation toilet (UDDT). This section collects the urine and must be collected regularly and can be put directly into the soil as a fertilizer. And just like the feces – this has zero smell.
3. Drain for anal cleaning. This drain also has to be deposited by the user into a soak pit. With a light low pressure cleaning system this will save water and also remain stink free.

Since 2013, Eco-Pro has built 54 of these toilets in small villages in the surrounding Pondicherry area and frequently monitors 48 of them. They also give lectures and workshops in the villages on why sanitation is important and conducted science experiments proving the cost benefits from using urine to fertilize crops.

Eco-Pro has started the beginning of a long process in overcoming the “purity-pollution” gradient in Indian society which is conditioned into a caste system. But it is simple to install toilets, pipes, and an entirely new sewage system into rural villages – the question remains on how to include this model into a larger modern city. Sewage systems in the western world are complicated and gigantic making an ecological approach to sanitation seem daunting and nearly impossible in even a medium sized town. Is it possible to change the social taboos surrounding defecation and urination? As Dr. Dengel explained, we have been conditioned by the media and cleaning products commercial propaganda.

Mindsets need to be molded and brains need to be educated but we remain hopeful, as one large act always begins small. The Aurovillian ecologically sustainable spirit may be able to carry the green sanitation toilet into a larger sphere as Eco-Pro continues to write their own “history of shit” in India one UDDT at a time.

-Sarah Harper-Johnston

I have always noticed that people tend to regard the term “Gypsy” as a derogatory one, no matter where in the world and even here in India. The situation is tragic for the gypsy living in Tamil Nadu, especially those suffering from poverty, unemployment, and lack of education and health care. Thus, we are facing a global crisis. On December 17th, AUP students visited the Samugam Foundation and met with Mr. Bruno Savio–the present director of Samugam. The Samugam Foundation is working for the deprived gypsy community along with street children in Pondicherry’s radius. It seeks to provide shelter for approximately 100 disadvantaged children (who are often deemed the “gypsy children”), by providing proper education and extra-curricular activities (such as music, drawing and handicraft works). The latter are assisted and carried on by qualified staff within the organization.
Once we entered the building, the children started to sing an inspiring piece in Tamil, the native language of the region. The happiness that our visit brought them was evident from their warm greeting, playful dancing, and constant laughter. They were as foreign and unfamiliar to us as we were to them. A genuine bond was felt in the atmosphere, along with feelings of happiness and joy. We all believed that these sweet children desperately needed love. Mr. Bruno gave a tour of the building that he called “home,” as a reassurance that the children have a place to belong to. Then, he described the services offered for the children as well as the needs of the organization. They incorporate a number of programs such as JALY Home (Justice Awareness Loyalty for Youth) and SAMUPLAN which both aim to provide a better life for these deprived kids. We had a chance to watch a short film made by the AUP interns from last year, and then received an explanation regarding how the organization works hard to provide a healthy educational and social life for them. What struck me the most was how shocking the process is of removing the children from their initial (and deprived) upbringing.
Mr. Bruno explained how the main goals of Samugam are to provide a better education for the children, to commit to helping the underprivileged, to contribute to the economic development of the oppressed class, and to empower the disabled and marginalized. In short, the organization strives for a better future.
The major challenge of financial maintenance is the main concern for Mr. Bruno; he explained this in detail to us at the end of the presentation. Samugam is dependent on the support of donations given in cash and kinds, whether they be donors, individuals and various local organizations. The obstacle remains that donors usually provide only for fixed costs such as a new facility or necessary equipment. Yet their main challenge is to establish a way to maintain financial sustainability in regards to keeping his foundation running. We left the home with promising thoughts on the practices which Samugam may adopt to overcome these challenges. The tasks will revolve around a sustainable solution for providing better opportunities in life to these wonderful gypsy children.

Nehal AbuMarahiel

by Callia Barnard

The Auroville Botanical Gardens were created sixteen years ago with two missions in mind: conservation of forestation, and environmental education for local school children.

Paul Blanche Faulkner, originally from the UK, moved to Auroville in the 1990s with his knowledge of botany to create a garden on his purchased undeveloped land. An avid seed collector, Faulkner brought species from all around the world to be cultivated in Auroville. Since then, the 50 acres of land have flourished with around 2500 species of plants. The success of the greening of the land is astonishing, considering that when Auroville began as a settlement almost fifty years ago there was nothing but a sandy plateau of barren, undeveloped land. It only rains here an average of thirty days per year, so the gardens must use alternative sources of water for the survival of their plants. Around 30,000 litres of water per day are required to sustain the garden, which raises the question if it is actually sustainable at all, considering the fact that Auroville does not have much access to natural water sources and only sees rain around 8% of the entire year.

Just under 20 acres of the garden are dedicated solely to the conservation of tropical dry evergreen forest, which was almost extinct thirty five years ago. These kinds of plants have waxy leaves to retain their water as they are used to a dry climate, making them very suitable for Auroville. Another primary focus at the garden is their medicinal section: plants such as aloe, lemongrass, and wheatgrass are used all around the world as alternatives to expensive and damaging medicines. Auroville Botanical Gardens grows a variety of medicinal plants and educate visitors on their healing properties.

Throughout the practicum, we have constantly been reminded of India’s trash problem. Lack of knowledge on proper waste management, combined with lack of resources for proper waste management, has resulted in the trash we see along the roads. This societal issue has derived and thrived from the fact that the people of India have lost their connection with nature, not giving a second thought before dumping their trash on the street. Auroville Botanical Gardens says “only when we understand the importance of the environment to our society we will work together, more energetically, towards the creation of a sustainable future for both ourselves and the planet.” This vision begins with the education of children.

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By Samantha Gilliams

Oral health care in India is a national issue. With approximately 95% (800 million) of India’s   population lacking in oral care, French dentist, Dr. Jacques Verré, decided to ditch his job in Angers, France and move to Auroville, India to get to work. He opened up Auroville Dental Centre Education Research and Rural Action (ADCERRA) in 1982 and felt motivated to become “the dentist of Auroville.”

The clinic is a 15 minute drive from Auroville’s center, set amongst other local businesses and village residencies. A dirt road is taken to reach the clinic, where there is a small building fit with three treatment rooms. Each room is equipped with Japanese furniture designed in order for the practitioner and patient to be physically comfortable. The practitioner sits behind the head of the patient, while the patient lies relaxed on a horizontal flat bed.    

Auroville Dental Clinic has treated over 25,000 people within Auroville and the Bio-region (at their second clinic for villagers) with the help of 10 village women whom he trained. He taught them how to do dental checkups, teeth cleaning, and fill small cavities by hand. In order to work in the clinic as a villager, one must be a married woman who can read and write Tamil. I understood the reasoning for reading and writing as inherent in a clinical environment, however I was curious as to why only married women were hired?

Jacques described how in rural Indian society, men clinically treating women is taboo, nevertheless in their mouth. He explained that they (patients and practitioners) prefer this job to be done by “women because women are mothers… They have softer hands and a more relaxed attitude.” Indian women have the potential to successfully treat 76% of India’s population who need dental care with their dispatching of dental knowledge.

Not only is Jacques challenging the gender roles in Indian society by empowering women through dentistry, he is also (positively) disrupting the caste system. For example, when someone from a higher caste needs a dental service, a practitioner from a lower caste may be the one sticking their fingers in their mouths (and visa-versa). Thus, there is an unspoken trust and will to help and receive care from/by all castes.

But, even though Jacques and the 10 village women are actively working towards public oral health from their clinics, the awareness in the villages is “almost zero.” Jacques and his team hope to figure out a simpler way to teach the villagers and demystify the fear that a large majority of rural Indian have around professional health care.

Contributing to the work of organizations in a foreign culture necessitates a sensitivity toward the social philosophies particular to that environment. During the first days in India our group has wrestled with the unique and often contradictory systems of thought which have slowly moulded the national culture. During our lectures from Deepti on the concept of ‘Integral Yoga’ and the unity at the heart of Auroville’s founding ideologies, I wondered how these perspectives could coexist with the systems of oppression which have also played a prominent role in Indian history.

Our introductory tour of local organizations began with a day in the city of Pondicherry which neighbors Auroville. Through these initial presentations we began to develop a sense of the social, religious and colonial histories which have come to shape the complex social structure within which organizations are operating.Perhaps the most prominent and difficult to understand from a Western perspective is the caste system.

A preliminary discussion on the caste system was facilitated by members of the organization PEDs, who described their project as an attempt to work within the lowest caste, or dalit, communities to raise awareness of the prejudices they face and their ability to improve their situation. The caste systems relies on the more familiar concepts of rebirth and karma which ensure that the actions taken throughout the course of a lifetime will be reflected in the caste of future lives. According to the leaders of PEDs, the fixed nature of caste designations fosters a general acceptance of inhuman treatment and strict segregation of the dalits. While caste-based segregation has been outlawed by the Indian government, deeply ingrained ideas of purity and pollution persevere in the villages. The so-called “untouchables” are given jobs, such as sewage management, rejected by higher castes and forbidden from physical and social interaction.   

The ordeal of the dalits was hard to conceptualize without an extensive discussion on the history and contemporary role of the caste system. Students struggled to envision a social hierarchy which prescribed a rank based not on wealth, religion or race but rather inherited at birth and fixed throughout this lifetime. It was equally difficult to understand how an organization could attempt to address the problems of an excluded population without condemning the system as a whole. As Tanya explained to us, even Ghandi worked toward a reform of human rights without rejecting the classifications that had lead to tension and stratification between different castes.

While two NGOs we visited dealt directly with the segregation of the lowest caste, the dalits or “untouchables”, the restrictive inter-caste dynamics affect many of the village based organizations we have visited throughout the week. Groups who address women’s empowerment, youth education, public health and even cultural preservation all indirectly work against caste discrimination. However, the enduring adherence to this social system often hinders work in environmental and health sectors by associating uncleanliness or pollution with specific populations. Acknowledging the power of this social structure and learning to work within it will be an essential challenge for most of the group as we begin our internships.

   Menstruation in India remains a taboo topic that drives women to be ashamed, patronized, and even temporarily banished during their time of the month. While for some it might be an issue to merely blush over and giggle about, for many Indian girls it could be disastrous for their education and thus career, as research shows that 1 in 5 girls in India drop out of school due to menstruation. The absence of an open discussion about the process and how it should be perceived, comprehended, and handled does not only stem from educational ignorance and toxic cultural myths, it also fosters them. By keeping the issue ‘under the rug’, girls are taught since puberty to feel burdened by their bodies. In an interview for the BBC, Anshu Gupta, founder of a non-governmental organization in northern India, insists that the root of the problem lies in how menstruation has always been treated as an isolated women’s issue. Gupta asserts that menstruation must be generalized and evaluated from a human health perspective.

     Here in Tamil Nadu, menstruation is equally challenging. Fortunately, efforts to better educate girls and provide them with the necessary hygienic products are in place. One Aurovillian non-governmental organization by the name of Eco Femme is a revolutionary force that combines a profound understanding of the issue concerning menstruation in India as well as the sustainable and eco-friendly mindset of Auroville. By creating reusable products, women in India could easily avoid committing to purchasing plastic ones regularly as well as struggling to dispose of sanitary waste. According to Celia, a research and marketing specialist at Eco Femme, a regular disposable pad takes up from 500 to 800 years to fully decompose. Furthermore, the risk of developing infections and irritations whilst using a plastic pad is highly amplified in comparison to the Eco Femme’s reusable cloth pads which are nearly entirely organic, and can be used for up to 5 or more years, if well-maintained.

      The entirety of Eco Femme’s profit is used directly to fund educational programs for local school girls who are truly in need of unbiased and shame- free menstrual hygiene guidance and instruction, since they seldom acquire it from their community. With the help of Eco Femme’s health and education specialists, they learn all about the intricacies of puberty, their menstrual cycle, how to properly use or insert a variety of sanitary products, not exclusively the Eco Femme ones. At the end of the sessions, the girls are provided with free-of-charge Eco Femme pads which they are encouraged to use.

        One noticeably challenging limitation to this educational approach is its exclusiveness for girls. If the end goal is to eradicate the silence surrounding menstruation in India and instead create a healthy and open dialogue, then everyone should be included in the revolutionary transition, otherwise fundamental change will never occur, and an immense gap in the understanding of the issue will continue to exist and be hindering.

   Eco Femme’s products are locally made with the assistance of other local non-governmental organizations. The Auroville Action Group Organization (AVAG), an organization that provides women with opportunities for financial independence, completes the stitching and the sewing process of the pads. WASTEless, an organization that is concerned with India’s waste and environmental problems, provides educational material and research concerning the dangers of sanitary waste. The coordination and support amongst the different organizations reflect Auroville’s core sense of community and its emphasis on a cooperative and communal lifestyle.

Dhouha Djerbi.

To find out more about Eco Femme’s origin story and products, please visit: https://ecofemme.org/

To read the BBC story mentioned, please visit: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-29727875

In the center of the lovely French Quarter of Pondicherry was the location of our next NGO visit, PondyCAN. The organization invited us all for tea, samosas, and a wonderful presentation on the Pondicherry Heritage Festival. The purpose of this yearly festival is to explore Pondicherry’s culture and it’s many forms of arts, crafts, architecture, dance, music, and more. But why exactly is this fun and festive event important for Pondicherians and their future? Well, we live in a time where the takeover of modernity leaves community members slowly forgetting the true value of their heritage. Western ideas and practices have spread around the world, introducing other cultures to the multifaceted iPhone, popular sports like wrestling, updated tools to get chores done faster, and the general digital transformation. Of course, there are many positive aspects of modernity and its contribution to society, for example, the implementation of technology features in villages that may not be familiar with it. This semester, I studied Information and Communication Technology for Development and weighed the pros and cons of this form of development. After some thorough research, I found that ICT4D actually benefits developing communities and works well in areas such as education, health, and governance. I, however, did see the aspect of modernity as a negative impact for reasons such as losing cultural identity, which is what PondyCAN aims to tackle.

(Pondicherry Heritage Festival 2015)

By focusing on heritage conservation and restoration, this festival is allowing the Pondicherry community embrace their culture and history. After the collapse of the Marie building, which is a Pondicherry Heritage building and is said to be nearly two centuries old, it was decided by the city and the government to not demolish the building, but instead, restore it. This restoration of heritage is a prime focus on the festival and this reconstruction reflects the idea of conserving and restoring Pondicherry’s heritage.

One of the festival’s goals is to get to local residents involved as much as possible to create a sense of community. In my Development Communications course, I explored the importance of community involvement when it comes to development and how, without this factor, it becomes difficult to practice development. I think this festival is a form of development as it brings empowerment to the Pondicherry community and allows them to proudly share their beautiful heritage so the aspect of community involvement with PondyCAN was very interesting and admirable.

Hibaq Dougsiyeh

Waste Matters

To be honest, waste management is an issue of which, I really had not given adequate thought to in the past. Our visits to Wasteless and the Pondicherry dump changed this for me, and ideally for several classmates as well. Not unique to other subjects, learning about waste management in a classroom compared to taking the rare opportunity to stand in the middle of the Pondicherry dump was surprisingly a humbling experience, and one that allowed us to quite literally put ourselves in the middle of viewing both the increasing amount of trash (56m high), and the increasing relevancy of the issue of the waste management into daily life; the vast majority of inhabitants in Auroville neglect to separate compostable waste from non-compostable waste, let alone are aware that certain daily habits are an issue. For example, the abundance of flies that are attracted to waste that is dumped outside the front steps of homes can transmit multiple types of diseases.

Our visit to Wasteless was thought-provoking and the presentation was relatable and engaging. Wasteless is an NGO based in Auroville that focuses on knowledge sharing of proper waste management and why it matters, particularly by educating youth. Wasteless has developed interactive games and activities for children, who have proven to be the more useful target market by subsequently influencing parents at home about simple, proper waste management tactics. One game Wasteless has developed is Garbology 101, a school curriculum comprised of 101 environmental, multi-intelligence activities focusing on empowerment which targets primary and middle school children. kNOw plastics is another example of a game in which children have the ability to learn about proper vehicles of managing waste; for example, one-time use plastic water bottles would be much more of a waste of compared to using reusable, stainless steel and glass water bottles. Children tend to be more receptive and able to pick up knowledge because of their younger age, and these games promote discussion amongst children and at home. We learned about the importance of conscious consumerism, the horizontal perspective of integrating positive change, and the effects of greenwashing. Greenwashing is one way in which the effects of particular marketing strategies can influence consumers. A company is guilty of greenwashing when, for example, it makes itself appear to be more eco-friendly and sustainable than it really is to boost profit and increase brand loyalty and retention. For example, take a look at the advertisement example below. Wasteless used this example to show us during the presentation. Also, the more modern push for increased transparency in supply chain logistics and accountability could help begin to remedy this because consumers would have access to see where the product comes from and be more consciously aware. Whether or not consumers choose to access this information is a separate, arguably ethical issue.

Externalities of consumerism run high, but it is important to be aware that problem-solving competence is an area of which we have the capacity to share with others. Waste management, put much more simply than the depth of the issue itself, can be analyzed in a linear process; from extraction, to production, to production, to transportation, to purchasing, usage, disposal and dumping, waste management is a complex and impactful subject of pertinent importance, regardless of geographic location. But the issue runs deeper; there seems to be a lack of shared knowledge that waste management is a detrimental issue to people, communities, and the environment, why proper waste management is integral to incorporate into daily life, and what role and minor adjustments people can make to contribute to mitigate the effects of insufficient waste management. One point which resonated highly with me was the point made that the trash we throw away, never really goes away. The garbage is contained within our planet, and can reappear in one form or another, and we need to adapt this cyclical form of thought. For example, the small piece of plastic that is nonchalantly disposed of into the ocean can be consumed by marine life, who is mistaking the plastic of jellyfish. Over time, this plastic moves up the food chain until it reaches us as consumers; we must be conscious that we then consume that microplastic. Long-term, mass consumer awareness and commitment to sustainability is necessary to ensure positive social change can withstand over time, but it must also come from legislation by way of voters. Although generally not an advocate for a top-down approach in terms of development aid projects, taking a top-down approach by way of legislation would be ethologically appropriate to implement sustainable waste management standards. As consumers, we must be conscious of our actions, but also willing to implement the changes we can. It’s quite simple to overlook small misgivings in a busy schedule, but awareness of an issue is the first step. As consumers, we have a social ethically derivative duty to understand what steps we can take to help. Turn the water tap off when not in use; ‘talk trash’ about the issue and ramifications of improper or nonexistent waste management in your communities; bring Garbology 101 to the virtual educational space. Crowd funding strategies and campaigns can prove effective. Acknowledging that this type of behavior of proper waste management cannot really be changed instantaneously, awareness can be implemented, which leads to discussion and positive social change with long-term, unified consumer commitment.

Caitlyn Fitzgerald