Residents’ Assembly approves a new Entry Policy and FAMC mandate

The new Entry Policy

Sindhuja is one of the Auroville Council members who has put in a lot of work to achieve these results. She is satisfied with the outcome but would have preferred it if the vote hadn’t been necessary. “We wanted to start the new Entry Policy without a vote of the Residents’ Assembly, as we feel that voting pushes us into an outdated pattern, but this was objected to. Some felt that we were working in an opaque and manipulative manner and being disrespectful of the Residents’ Assembly. We had no choice but to put the Policy to a vote.”

Though a vote has the distinct advantage that nobody can accuse the Council of ‘pushing its will through’, the disadvantage, says Sindhuja, is “that it may be more difficult to make amendments later.” In anticipation, the Council has announced that the new policy, or parts of it, may need to be amended if necessary. “The Council will do a policy review after 18 months. If we realize that we have made mistakes, we should have the freedom to change it. We would like to do that without going through an entire community voting process, simply by announcing a proposed change and declaring it approved if no substantial disagreements are raised,” she says. “But that the future will tell.”

The process

It has been a long, elaborate process. The first draft of a new Entry Policy, published in August last year, received more than 600 comments from 157 residents. The Council published a compiled feedback with answers to all comments, and followed up with a General Meeting in the beginning of September. A second draft, published in October, received another 120 comments, this time from 48 concerned Aurovilians. Feedback was processed in a ‘feedback integration meeting’ attended by 29 people at the end of November. This led to a third and final draft, published on February 9th, followed by another General Meeting on March 24th and the concluding vote.

All this was a continuation of an attempt made months before the Auroville Council took office, back in 2014 when a self-appointed Entry Task Force tried to change the entry policy, but it was stalled for various reasons. There were strong objections to its proposal to de-link entry from housing (which, says Sidhuja, had become linked without following a proper community process), and so make it possible for people to join Auroville even if they had no funds to contribute to an apartment. This, opponents argued, would lead to an avalanche of people coming in for whom no housing would be available, and so create a tremendous pressure on the community.

“Soon after the Council had taken office, the Task Force came to one of our meetings, submitted their ideas, and told us ‘do what you need to do with it’,” says Sindhuja. “At the same time, we noticed that there was a lack of people wanting to work for the Entry Service. The Entry Service kept complaining about having too few people, but those who joined didn’t stay and when they left they told us that they were not happy with the process, which, they felt, was very unwelcoming to Newcomers.”

The Council decided to restudy the matter, using the existing policy and the policy proposed by the Task Force as a base. It constituted a group of resource persons, inviting members of the community as well as current and past members of the Entry Service. “There was a good response; we started off with 10-12 people, some people came in and went out, and finally 8 people rewrote the policy and kept working on it till the final document was put to the vote.”

The findings

The group studied the strengths and weaknesses of the former Entry Policy and the way it had functioned over the years. It found that fear and doubt had been the driving forces behind the policy. But the Entry Group’s fear of selecting the ‘wrong people’ led to situations where Newcomers were fearful of being judged and of being rejected, and so they were not always honest about what they were doing. Attempts at exercising control over ‘all that might go wrong’ – in the entry process or in Auroville generally – had proven to be a futile endeavour.

“No systems, policies or rules will ‘keep out’ the people we presume to be unsuitable for Auroville,” found the study group. It also stated that the entry process was judging people by criteria that were not observed in the community. “This is unfair. We ourselves are not yet true Aurovilians. We can begin by observing the rules we keep ourselves as a means of deciding which ones to keep.”

The group stated that, “The answer lies in sincerely looking at the manner in which we are attracting to Auroville the difficulties that are triggering the ‘bad newcomer’ fear in the first place, and how these difficulties are a reflection of ourselves individually and of the society we are manifesting. We need to deal with all these symptoms at root with an approach that seeks the Truth that prevails behind all things and all people, searching instead for ways to transform situations and conditionings.”

It concluded that the policy and process of entering Auroville need to be changed. “Less rules, which remain but rigid tools estranging us from the intuition and loving reality we are aspiring to, and instead to attempt openness and intuitive practices in the ways we deal with the entry process. The mission is to make the entry process more welcoming.”

The mentors

One of the major changes in the new policy is that the Entry Service becomes a mainly administrative body, and no longer the group that has the sole authority to decide if a person can be admitted to Auroville.

The first step in the new process will be a Welcome Talk. The applicant will be informed about the entry process and the various possibilities of engaging with Auroville. The intention of the talk is to communicate clearly the current ground realities of living in Auroville, along with the ideals we have chosen to honour. The applicants will be encouraged to have all of their questions answered before entering the Newcomer Process.

To help them, the Entry Service will select two mentors, and the applicant one, from a pool of Mentors. The three mentors will ensure that the applicant is given the space, the time and the attention he or she needs in order to reach an informed decision about whether or not to join Auroville and become a Newcomer. When the applicant together with the mentors agrees the time is right to start the Newcomer Process, a request will be made for a meeting with the Entry Service. In an informal talk, the applicant, together with the mentors, will jointly confirm their intention to follow through with the Newcomer process. The Entry Service will provide the relevant paperwork and handle it in a timely fashion to allow a harmonious flow of energy and goodwill. The applicant will be announced as Newcomer immediately or, in case of a foreign national, upon his or her return from abroad with the required Entry Visa.

Then the Newcomer period of about one year starts. During this time, the Newcomer and his or her mentors can assess if the choice of living in Auroville is the right one. It is also the period where the mentors, the Entry Service and the community can engage with the Newcomer, and help sort out the issues that may crop up and provide general guidance.

The mentors – Newcomer interactions will promote a better understanding of each Newcomer’s journey and they will jointly seek collaborative solutions to the ‘bumps and hiccups’ that may occur during the Newcomer Period. The mentors will encourage and assist the Newcomers in their personal growth to materialize those aspirations which are in harmony with Auroville ideals. At the end of the Newcomer year, the Newcomer, mentors, and the Entry Service will jointly decide if the person can be recommended as an Aurovilian to the Residents’ Assembly.

“The mentors are not ‘judges’ as the present Entry Service members are conceived to be. They are also not ‘contact persons’ who ‘monitor’ the Newcomer,” explains Sindhuja. “The idea of the mentor is different. The mentor is not intended to closely follow the life of the Newcomer. It is a support role, a friendly accompanying role to help the Newcomer if the Newcomer needs help.” Sindhuja acknowledges it might not work out as anticipated. “We might fall back into the old patterns as they have dominated our thinking and behaviour for the last decades. We have received many comments that we won’t be able to draw a sufficient number of mentors, that it is a very tough job and that people will drop out, and all these concerns may be valid. We will have to face them.” Today, 47 people have signed up to be mentors. With about 20 Newcomers at present, the mentor pool has to be extended and strengthened.

The housing contribution

Another major change is that the new policy doesn’t link entry to housing, and so makes it possible for people to join Auroville even if they have no funds to contribute to an apartment. “A Newcomer being responsible for obtaining housing within Auroville will discuss the matter with the Housing Service while keeping the Entry Service informed,” is all the new policy says about the topic. “This issue is still under study,” says Sindhuja. “We feel that both the Housing Policy and the Newcomer Contribution Policy need an overhaul as they do not express the conclusions of the Retreat. As we did not want to freeze the new Entry Policy till all related topics are resolved, we put it to the vote while work on the other topics continues.” She mentions that according to present policies, a Newcomer has to contribute up to Rs 4.15 lakhs to become a Newcomer. “This obviously goes in the wrong direction. The idea is to encourage new people to come and join, not to make them bleed financially. If we base ourselves on trust, other solutions should be found.” The Council will come with proposals on these issues in the near future.

Other ways to relate to Auroville:

Auroville Student

An Auroville student is (a) a person below the age of eighteen years who has been accepted to study at an Auroville educational institution without being accompanied but with the agreement of the parent(s) or legal guardian; or (b) a person of eighteen years or older who has asked to study at an Auroville educational institution or with an Auroville unit without being an Aurovilian.

Relatives/Partners of Auroville

A relative / partner is (a) an ageing or ailing family member of an Aurovilian who does not want to become an Aurovilian or who has not been accepted as Newcomer or as Aurovilian but who needs to be near the Aurovilian relative; or (b) a person who does not want to become an Aurovilian or who has not been accepted as Newcomer or Aurovilian but who is the spouse or partner of an Aurovilian and wants to stay permanently in Auroville with their spouse or partner.

Friends of Auroville

A friend is (a) a person who wants to come occasionally to Auroville, is committed to Auroville but cannot be physically present here e.g. a person living abroad who can only come whenever their situation abroad allows; or (b) a person who comes once or twice a year and wants a permanent place to stay for an extended period of time, but no longer than nine months. Such people are often people connected to Auroville, but also have commitments in their home place.

Associate of Auroville

An associate of Auroville is a person who is associated with an Auroville unit / activity through work, or who is involved in a project of Auroville or of an Aurovilian, and wishes to be part of the Auroville family.

People joining in any of these categories can use Auroville facilities but not participate in community decision-making.

Another major shift is the change of mandate of the Funds and Assets Management Committee. This Working Group, which is constituted under the Rules of the Auroville Foundation by the Residents’ Assembly, has been slowly growing in significance. Mandated to deal with all funds and assets of the community, its members now meet two afternoons a week, discussing an agenda prepared by its secretary who also serves as non-voting chairperson. The members are representatives of various official and non-official working groups, but not necessarily specialists in the topics under discussion. Though much is done by email, none of the members works full-time for the FAMC.

“We realised that meeting just twice a week is not giving them sufficient time to do any creative work,” says Sindhuja. “The FAMC has a large agenda, and of necessity is mostly doing fire fighting and dealing with the incoming mail. There is no time for creative work. But over the years an Auroville economy has developed which is nowhere near the ideal of Auroville.” The two Thomasses, in their presentation in February [see AVToday # 321, April 2016] have been very explicit about the shortfalls of our present-day economy – the insufficient carrying capacity to sustain Auroville’s population; the stagnation of business development; the increasing income inequality; and the increasing monetization of our internal dealings.

Daniel, one of the Council members, drove the idea forward. The Council constituted a subgroup which, after about 6 months of regular work, came up with a solid proposal for a restructuring of the FAMC. “If it works in the way we envisage, in the next few years we will have something which is closer to what The Mother had foreseen, an economy that looks very different from what we have today,” says Sindhuja.

Working groups representation discontinued

According to the new FAMC mandate, the FAMC will no longer consist of representatives of working groups. Members will be selected on the basis of competence through a community process similar to that of the Working Committee and the Auroville Council. A member may simultaneously serve on another working group, such as the Working Committee or the Town Development Council.

The FAMC membership, like that of the Working Committee and Auroville Council, will be staggered to promote continuity and understanding of issues in progress. Unlike the term of office of the present Working Committee and Council, which is three years, an FAMC member may serve two consecutive three year terms after which he or she may not serve again for at least one year. This is to ensure that the FAMC does not become dominated by the same person(s) for prolonged periods of time and to bring in fresh ideas. Also, unlike the mandate of the present Working Committee and Council, the FAMC mandate contains a provision for early termination of membership in case of poor performance or an inability to function in the group.

The selection process has been strongly challenged. Some Aurovilians question if the selection process – which lasted 2,5 days for the members of the Working Committee and Council – will produce a reliable, strong FAMC. Stating that “the only people who swear by the process are those who created it, the few who have participated in it, and everyone who has been selected by it,” the objectors accused the Council of being biased in promoting this particular process. The vote result, however, shows that the majority of the community prefers it.

A full-time FAMC secretariat

A second major change is the FAMC Secretariat, which is proposed to be composed of a minimum of three Aurovilians working full-time. The reason for this is to provide much needed support to the FAMC to prepare and maintain basic documents, answer queries, and do investigations. It is an open question if these competent people can be found.

The last major change deals with planning. To ensure more cohesive financial planning, the new mandate stipulates that the FAMC will approve all budgets, so that at least one group has a complete picture of projects, activities, and plans, and can therefore assist in directing them. The FAMC is also tasked to prepare an Annual Work Plan, conduct an annual review of its work plan, and interact with Auroville residents in General Meetings at least four times a year.

What are the initial costs?

Three months guest contribution: Rs 13,500, 12 months Newcomer contribution (without maintenance): Rs 37,800, Health fund: Rs 5,400, Health check up: Rs 4,000, Health insurance for first 6 months: Rs 5,000, Admin fee: Rs 10,000, Flight ticket deposit: Rs 40,000 (for foreign nationals), Housing deposit: Rs 3,00,000, Total: Rs 4,15,700