Heeding the Call: Sustainability for South India and Beyond

Tamil Nadu today is ranked among India’s most ‘developed’ states. Increasingly urbanised, it has a growing service sector in the cities, and is a proud leader in healthcare and information technology. And yet, the same state is plagued by one of the country’s highest levels of malnutrition, rising unemployment and severe social stress that results, among other consequences, in the highest rate of suicide among young adults. Less and less of the once fertile land is available for agriculture, and farming, particularly of food crops, is in decline. Rapidly shrinking natural resources, environmental degradation, climate change, increasing dependence on global markets, and rising living costs, all contribute to this challenging situation.

Sustainability, the need of the hour

2015 marks the 20th anniversary of the Rio Conference, and in December – just a year away – the global leaders will congregate in Paris, France, to try to agree on ‘Sustainable Development Goals’ to replace their earlier commitments to ‘Millennium Development Goals’. In principle, this is a significant step forward.

In these two decades things have changed a lot. Sustainability has been recognised as a mainstream priority, not only in commerce and economics, in an effort to contain human greed and consumption. It has also impacted the sphere of development, through the setting of different goals, aspirations and values by which human development is measured around the world.

While the global leaders decide on the 16 parameters by which sustainable development goals will be measured, the very nature of sustainability demands that there be a million local applications. Sustainability and local economic revival are synonymous. And while globalisation pursues its galloping course, there are trends all over the world that promote slowing down, localisation, and ‘growing green’, all indicating a new consciousness descending on us. For some it is a necessity and a matter of survival, for others it is a matter of choice, but the shift to the ‘sustainable’ paradigm is an irreversible fact.

Auroville’s bioregional outreach: IRD and SEDAB

Intentional communities like Auroville that have over decades adopted and developed practices of conscious and sustainable living have a responsibility towards the world to come forward and share their knowledge, insights and practices in this moment of need for humanity and the Earth.

From the very beginning Auroville endeavoured to share itself with the people of its region – including the ‘first Aurovilians’ as Mother once called the villagers within the area – through bridging the vast cultural and economic gaps. Today, it has many outreach projects with a diversity of approaches.

The IRD project

Auroville’s IRD, short for Integral Rural Development, was created ten years ago by Bhavana, Rod and Joss, to help facilitate the Auroville-based outreach work in the bioregion. The Kaluveli bioregion, as it is called, is a mini-watershed area that originates near Gingee at its highest point and ends in Kadapakkam where the water drains into the sea; it encompasses a large area of 750 square kilometres. Several outreach units have been operating in this region in the past decades, in spheres like women’s empowerment, micro-finance, literacy, education, adult education, culture, health, art, music, sports, agriculture, irrigation, livelihoods and crafts. While some of the early outreach work used to be funded through philanthropic contributions facilitated by Aurovilians, more recent ventures are increasingly having to put in place a plan to sustain their project. This includes building the capacities within the community to own, manage and grow with these ventures.

As early as 2005/6, the IRD had articulated a vision for a sustainable region with a very bold and forward-looking plan. In a series of engagements with the (then active) national Knowledge Commission headed by Dr. Sam Pitroda, the Planning Commission, and later the Rural Development department, this vision was much appreciated as a regional development plan. However, IRD was asked to accommodate parts of their vision into one of the schemes, the ‘Special SGSY scheme’ which, unlike more conventional programmes, allowed for several process innovations.

The birth of SEDAB

Out of this process evolved SEDAB (Sustainable Enterprise Development in the Auroville Bioregion), launched as a collaboration of several Auroville units under IRD’s banner, with the aim of creating sustainable enterprises at village level in Auroville’s wider neighbourhood. SEDAB identified potential entrepreneurs amid more than 1100 village women in the bioregion. These were provided with skill enhancement, knowledge of markets, raw materials, and capacities to create and manage enterprises in several areas. The project has been implemented in the Vanur and Marakkanam blocks of the Villupuram district since June 2012, and will be completed in 2015.

Until today, around 700 beneficiaries have been reached, and about ten enterprises have come into existence through the process. Many of the women are first-generation entrepreneurs, and their products are on display and sale through various channels, including a special outlet made available for them by Auroville at the Visitors Centre, called Kamalam. One of SEDAB’s unique features is the emphasis on building a healthy eco-system within the village, which is essential for these enterprises.

The SEDAB Enterprises

SEDAB’s work with enterprises has mainly focused on the Natural Resource Based Enterprises and Cottage Based Enterprises. The former are as diverse as working with the Irula tribal community with their expert skills in snake catching for snake venom extraction (VSVPT), establishing indigenous plant nurseries as enterprises, and projects involving Auroville units such as the Earth Institute producing compressed earth blocks for construction. Examples of cottage enterprises include the tailoring of cloth bags (SmallSteps) and reusable sanitary napkins (EcoFemme). Employment Based Capacity Building takes place through vocational training schools, such as the Auroville Institute for Applied Technology (AIAT), the Swami Vivekananda Rural Community College, and Auroville units such as the Bamboo Centre and Rio. Some Auroville units provide training and then employment, and others take it a step further by helping the beneficiaries take ownership of their own production and enterprise.

Environmental Education

SEDAB’s environmental education activities have the aim of creating awareness and protection for the Kaluveli watershed. The programme works with the Education and Forest Departments, Panchayat presidents and Parent-Teacher’s Associations, to create awareness in schools and in self-help groups. All groups are encouraged to come up with their own solutions to protect the watershed. This is done through nurturing strong Eco-clubs, whose events are activity-based and include many field trips and hands-on discovery sessions. Today, 22 schools offer courses as co-curricular activities, on themes such as Young Healers, Young Botanist, Bird Watching, Physical Health and Hygiene (encouraging the use of EcoFemme pads and spirulina), and Stress Reduction (using mindfulness and laughter therapy techniques from Auroville). Seminars are also conducted on topics such as biodiversity, pollution, water conservation, alternative energy, and local traditions.

The Nadukuppam Environmental Education Centre was created by Pitchandikulam as an outreach centre 30 kms away in the bioregion, and has evolved into a model site visited by over 150 groups annually. The local government school was ‘adopted’ ten years ago, and today has an ecology class, natural wastewater treatment, and a nursery and vegetable garden cared for by the children. Near the school, there is a site for SEDAB enterprise projects, and land with a young forest and an experiment in sustainable farming.

The Sustainable Livelihood Institute

The work of IRD and SEDAB ensured a continuous dialogue with the government agencies that were facilitating and funding the project. In the process, the department of Rural Development of Tamil Nadu recognised that there are several ways in which Auroville can offer valuable contributions: not only by improving the effectiveness of the existing government programmes, but also by bringing new and enhanced perspectives to their overall efforts.

In September 2012, the programme managers of the government’s Rural Livelihood projects from Tamil Nadu’s 30 districts, along with various top functionaries, attended a three-day design and marketing workshop in Auroville. It was the first time that all the heads of district had come together to Auroville for such a training. In July 2013, the Principal Secretary of Tamil Nadu’s Rural Development department visited some of the SEDAB enterprises. During an interaction with Auroville’s secretary, Mr. Bala Baskar, he suggested that Auroville and Tamil Nadu’s State Rural Livelihood Mission jointly create an institution that will look at livelihood training from the sustainable paradigm. He felt such an institute would benefit not just the community, but also the staff and functionaries of his department. Mr. Bala Baskar concurred, and offered to make available land on lease for such an endeavour if the government was willing to invest in creating the facility, and sustain the institute for a reasonable period of time. The Sustainable Livelihood Institute (SLI) is the outcome.

It is significant that while previously Auroville used to take its projects to the government, here the government approached Auroville to collaborate and create this institute, and infuse it with its ideas, spirit and expertise. The SLI has no precedent in India – the only faculty with a somewhat similar scope being a department of the Institute for Rural Management (IRMA) in Gujarat. The invitation to Auroville to host and shape the SLI for Tamil Nadu is based on the realisation that a profoundly new approach is needed that has eluded earlier efforts, and the faith that Auroville can gather and share that crucial missing ingredient.

The broad outlines of the Sustainable Livelihood Institute were agreed upon through a concept note at the end of 2013, between Auroville’s IRD and Tamil Nadu’s State Rural Livelihood Mission (TNSRLM). The Institute will be autonomously managed jointly by Auroville and representatives from government and civil society. As its immediate – but by no means exclusive – scope, the SLI would create programmes for officials and field workers of the department, aiming at a paradigm shift in thinking and action. The global requirement of sustainability would be met with the local need for consistent, risk-addressed livelihood options with dignity, through programmes designed, carried out, monitored and continuously evolved by these officials. The Institute would have sections dedicated to research, innovation, outreach, documentation and communication, in addition to its core activity of training.

In February 2014, the agreement was signed for a preparatory phase of the SLI, during which a curriculum, a master plan and all the documents required for the setting up of the SLI would be worked upon. The overall commitment from the government is to create an infrastructure facility with a budget of 10 crore Rupees [approximately US $ 6 million], and provide sustained financial support for the administration and training activities by the Institute for seven years from the beginning of the operation.

Several teams within Auroville have been working since then on the various aspects of the project. Presentations and workshops on SLI have taken place in the community; similarly the Farm and Dairy groups, Auroville Campus Initiative, Higher Education, L’Avenir, FAMC, and the Governing Board have all received presentations and expressed support.

An extraordinary opportunity

Apart from creating courses for public servants and community resource persons, Auroville is encouraged to use all its creativity and vision to make the Institute into a dynamic centre that reflects its ideals and furthers its goals. The possibilities are almost unlimited and the need is great. Auroville is not expected to provide all the solutions; it is envisaged that SLI can be an inspiring platform inviting the most advanced and promising initiatives from India and beyond for exchange, cross-fertilisation, networking and collaboration.

Aside from the deeper picture, the benefits for Auroville are many. Needless to say, helping to create a healthy bioregion – ecologically, socially and economically – is paramount for a sustainable Auroville. A growing hub of learning and excellence brings a vitalising influx of fresh and creative energies. Young Aurovilians, especially Tamil-speaking ones, will have meaningful work opportunities without being forced to leave the community. And finding sustainable local solutions rooted in age-old knowledge and traditions is essential not only for the people and communities of Tamil Nadu. It will promote a deeper understanding and appreciation of the local culture, and a growing oneness among Aurovilians from different cultures.

A curriculum for sustainability

Formulating a comprehensive curriculum and programme for the new institution is both a challenge and a powerful opportunity. Even in designing courses for government servants, the SLI has been given an exceptional freedom to adopt innovative approaches. The SLI’s offerings will therefore range from perspective building in sustainability to hands-on training in eco-friendly technologies, from professional capacity enhancement to ‘soft skills’ that are gaining ever more recognition for their importance, and so much more. Organic farming will be taught alongside the capacity to study, organise and systemise local livelihood activity, conservation-linked enterprises, ecological building techniques and design, traditional crafts that will find newer relevance, leadership and communication in sustainable thought and practice, the ancient science of self-development, alias yoga – the scope is endless and will keep evolving and adapting. Courses will take place with Tamil as the main but not exclusive medium. A strong emphasis is placed throughout on staying rooted in and relevant to the local culture and traditions of the participants, which only need to be tapped to yield their rich treasures of sustainable knowledge.

The outer mirrors the inner

The curriculum-building team has come together following a call to the Auroville community, including open workshops, to involve all those with experience or a strong interest and commitment to the sustainable paradigm. With the wider Auroville seen as the field of learning, or ‘extended campus’ of the SLI, input and collaboration is invited from the many units and individuals who are engaged in one or the other form of sustainability.

As soon as the curriculum team started meeting, it became clear that its work wasn’t going to be business as usual. By necessity, it embarked on an in-depth exploration of the meaning of sustainability, beyond the overused and misused buzzword, and in particular what it means in the local context. This turned out to be an engaging process which questioned many assumptions or stereotypes, and was in itself a transformative journey. Three fundamental insights emerged with striking clarity:

Firstly, that no amount of green technologies and system changes can lead to sustainability in livelihood, without a profound shift in human consciousness – away from the excesses of individualism, self-assertion and domination, to a new-found sense of oneness and the inter-connectedness of all beings.

Secondly, that there is no sphere of human activity that can be left out of the quest for sustainability. What better place then for the SLI than this grand experiment planted in the soil of South India, based on the premise that ‘All Life is Yoga’? And if, just as in the integral yoga, the all-inclusive scope of the task seems overwhelming, it is also an immense advantage, since every step in the right direction helps the totality of the transformation.

Last but not least, it became clear that an institution committed to sustainability will be truly effective only in the measure that it is itself sustainable in all its aspects. Not surprisingly, when the team formulated its shared values and guiding principles, these had strong echoes with the Charter of Auroville – and we seem to hear once more the luminous, compelling call to the Great Adventure!

Avaniyammal, 30 years old, runs the Amirtha Herbal Medicine Enterprise in Vandipalayam. This is a women’s enterprise promoting herbal kitchen gardens and sustainable harvesting of herbs for medicines, food products and cosmetics.

“My mother died in a bus accident when I was 15 years old, and my father is deaf. I have two younger brothers.” Avaniyammal shares that she did not want to get married because she felt responsible for taking care of her brothers and father, but that she did eventually marry, after long negotiations to persuade the groom’s family to take in her youngest brother as well. “My husband is a farmer, also now I have two kids, my son is 14 and my daughter is 11.” Avaniyammal’s training took place in 2013. “We took surveys of medicinal plants and types of common illnesses in our area. Then we were taught the traditional herbal remedies preparation techniques. The work we are doing is good and useful and the feedback we are getting from people we sell to, even our families, is encouraging.” Avaniyammal works with the sales team of Amirtha. “We have to take the initiative ourselves; it is our own decision which results in our income." There are many challenges as well: “It is not so convenient as we don’t have a cycle and have to walk far for marketing, we cannot visit many places in one day, and we often come back home late.” Avaniyammal hopes to earn more in order to help with her children’s studies. “We need to further develop the work to further develop our life.”

Angeli Devi, 24 years old runs one of the five units of Aval, an advanced tailoring enterprise. Each unit produces a wide range of stitched products. Some products, such as Eco Femme and Small Steps bags, are produced for Auroville units. The Aval units are located in Irumbai at the Village Action campus.

Angeli explains, “I feel this work is good because before I used to sit at home, here I can do more without feeling useless.” Angeli’s income fluctuates, but she says she is earning about Rs. 3000 per month. She used to tailor a little at home before, but now she is happy to have more constant and regular orders and a promise of salary. “It is easier to work in a group. Also, my husband has no regular painting work in the rainy season so my income is important.” She shares that she is happy with her work and her enterprise group, saying that many women are beginning to change their minds and gain confidence. “Traditionally women were expected to stay at home, but here there is lots of training, and we need more training! I want to become more famous in tailoring and I want to train others.”

Kamalam is a retail outlet of SEDAB situated at Auroville’s Visitors Centre through which products from all SEDAB enterprises are marketed. It promotes ethical and eco-friendly products. Auroville has provided this space to support sustainable livelihood options for women from the villages around Auroville. Kamalam helps spread awareness about sustainability efforts to the many visitors to Auroville who pass by the shop on their walk from the Visitors Centre to Matrimandir.