A lovely and quaint white, yellow, and blue building sits amidst the bustle of the Center for Science Research. Here you can find a garage, workshop, and co-working space belonging to Kinisi. This organization works around supplying Aurovillians, their guests, and tourists with electrical cycles in a move to shift the heavy reliance on diesel. Their newest path of expansion has been targeted towards the thousand workers that commute to and from Auroville  Not only reducing people’s carbon footprint, the initiative is helping save money as well. The average litter of diesel costs 100 rupees. In contrast with their subscription program for a monthly fee of 1,000 rupees including any repairs, maintenance, and modifications for ease of use, this saves commuters a hefty sum. (When they say, repairs and maintenance, they mean it! On my way around Auroville, my Kinisi bike chain popped off. I parked it, and after getting in contact with them, I went off to complete my errands. When I returned it was fixed and left right where I had left it!)

They estimate that within Auroville, they have a constant 350 subscriptions. All the technical work that goes into the program happens in the workshop out back where they house a Research and Development department, a maintenance department, and a storage space for old batteries. One of the biggest critiques of electronic travel is the problem with pollution and waste generated by batteries. Batteries have a complicated disposal process due to the components and acids in their makeup that can cause dangerous situations if not managed properly. However, Kinisi has put forward an initiative to repurpose these batteries for solar panel energy collection. In our short tour, our guide explained to us how their batteries are made of 20 to 30 cells. The moment a single cell has lived out its lifetime, the battery is unusable. Thus, they collect these in hopes of making use of the rest of the cells or finding a way to repurpose them or dispose of them properly after the fact.

            Located upstairs in a building behind their workshop, you’ll find their unique co-working space. With strong broadband Wi-Fi, coffee, meeting spaces, and places to take work calls, this new initiative has started to take off quickly. With the many different types of visitors that enter Auroville, the co-working space is an important tool. Especially because in my limited experience here, wi-fi and a quiet place to work are two things that are rarely found together. Thus, this dynamic and quickly improving organization is one to keep your eye on, whether for finding a place to work or finding a quick and easy way to zoom around the areas of Auroville. But move quick! The e-bikes are in high demand!

By: Alexandra Shao