The divine discovery from wasteland shrub

Over the decades, Auroville has been a fertile hatching ground for many experiments and visionary projects, and this incubatory spirit sometimes goes hand-in-hand with the spark of romance. When Elen Tsopp and Gowri Shankar each came to Auroville for the first time four years ago, their respective searches for ethical professional and life purposes happily collided with romantic destiny. 

Elen was taking a break from her corporate work in USA, and trying to identify the next steps in creating a more purposeful life. Shankar had left his high-flying job in Chennai’s “vicious” high fashion industry where he felt he had been a “paid accomplice” to harmful practices. He was searching for a way of using his talents for sustainable ends when he stumbled upon the calotropis plant growing wild in the Auroville region, and quickly realised its possibilities for creating sustainable fabrics and natural insect repellent. When he met Elen, he began enthusing her about his research and experiments with the plant. 

One day, as the new couple walked along the path from Visitors’ Centre to Matrimandir, they saw a sign by the path that cited the calotropis plant as ‘bowstring hemp’ along with Mother’s name for it: Courage. Shankar perceived a symbolism connected to Elen’s star sign: “Sagittarius is represented by a bow and arrow, so I realised she is the bow and arrow that pointed me to this place.” They then came across Mother’s writing about the calotropis plant, and felt that her reference to “the great adventure of divine meeting” and other conceptions captured much of the new life and project they were embarking upon together. “It’s so beautifully written,” says Elen, “and Shankar read it and said, ‘Mother has summarized my life in one chapter’. So, Auroville has played a big role in our lives and our project.”

The backstory

Soon after, Shankar and Elen married and established their company, Faborg, in their home near Kuilaipalayam village. The couple is working on three sustainable projects that are integrated with each other: they make vegan wool alternative and insecticide from the calotropis plant; and natural dyeing services through their associated company Natural Dye House (NDH) that operates in the textile hub, Tirupur.

Shankar sees the company’s emphasis on sustainability as something of a “karma” for the practices he was part of, both in his traditional community and as an employee in Chennai’s fashion industry. Born into a weaver village near Tiruvannamalai that is known for its mastery of silk fabric making, Shankar points out that his community played a big role in creating pollution. “When the business started growing in my village, the water canal in my village started becoming sludge from fabric dye. The animals were suffering and dying from drinking the toxic water.”

Craving challenges outside his village, Shankar gained a job as a merchandiser in Chennai’s high fashion and textile industry, where he says he saw “disgusting things”. “I was working with high fashion brands; I’ve seen how unsustainable these are. They sell a jacket for five lakhs, and everything in the jacket is literally synthetic. It was shocking for me when I started to realise what’s actually happening.” 

As part of his Chennai job, Shankar started to do merchandising for organic brands. “But I realised most of it is a scam,” he says. “It’s called organic, but it’s completely a chemical process and a lot of the substances are not natural. I’d say 95-98% of the industry is not sustainable, since the CEOs all have a corporate mindset.”

Shankar concluded that the industry “blindfolds you and makes you into a slave that walks the same vicious circle every day of your life.” After witnessing the harmful industry practices, he felt that people had become numbed to the damaging effects of textile production upon future generations. “My forefathers are part of this big mess. It’s my responsibility to make sure this is corrected in some way.”

When he met Elen, who originally hails from Estonia, she was looking for a change from corporate sales work in USA, which she had become disillusioned about. “I did really well in that job, but it didn’t suit me,” she says. “And I was more into finding out what I’m supposed to do on planet earth.” So when the couple decided to establish Faborg as a company, she was not only aligned with its vision of sustainability; she also brought strong sales and administrative skills to the organisation. 

Vegan wool 

In his early experiments with the calotropis plant, Shankar found that the hollowness of the fibre imbues the yarn with some wool-like characteristics, and it could be transformed into very fine fabric. As a plant fibre, calotropis does not have the same carbon footprint as wool from sheep (which require grazing land and which are ultimately sent to slaughter). Shankar collaborated with two farmers near Tindivanam to plant 20 acres of the crop, so that he could do more research and create test fabric. He wanted to see if the yarn could grow well in arid conditions, rather than in Auroville’s forest area. He developed a vegan wool alternative and named it WEGANOOL and then experimented with natural dying of the fabric.  “I feel good when fabric-making can remove the pesticides from the land,” says Shankar. “We see that WEGANOOL can improve people’s lives. When people choose it, they are choosing not to harm an animal, but to preserve life on earth.”

Shankar also emphasises that a key part of his vision is to create good livelihoods for farmers. “We’re trying to establish methods that work for farmers and are profitable for them. We get rid of the middle man, and deal directly with farmers. We want to create a good interaction, make them understand what we’re doing, and create income for them.”

Shankar points to good interest from “huge brands” in his sustainable yarn. Yet, some labels make tough demands about fabric quality, requesting Shankar to add chemicals to increase yarn strength or to fix the dye colours with chemicals. While Shankar says he understands the mindset of the industry, his technical knowledge enables him to convince brands of the value of his development process and his refusal to add chemicals. “We are firm with them. I have said ‘no’ to some well-known brands. I will not put a drop of chemical just because they’re paying me bucks,” he asserts.

Arka Insect repellent

Shankar and Elen have also used their research on the calotropis plant to develop a natural fertilizer and insect repellent named Arka. They have been actively promoting it to farmers in the region, and it is also popular with a growing number of hotels and restaurants. In contrast to many insecticides which kill other organisms that can be useful to plants, Arka merely repels insects by giving them indigestion. Shankar points to the increased yields that local farmers are experiencing from Arka. “They spray on rice, and the difference can be seen in 24 hours. The leaves are changing colour, and the new shoots are coming really fast.”

During the lockdown, the couple decided to reduce the price of Arka and did a campaign offering it to farmers for Rs 60 per litre, which is half the previous price. “People said, how are you selling at this price?,” recounts Shankar. “But we don’t want to touch the pocket of the farmer. We want to touch their heart. Even farmers wondered why we were offering it at this price. I said, ‘I’m working for you!’ It’s made a big impact.” Even though the drop in price meant that the product became “an expensive hobby” for Faborg for some time, Shankar knows that the compensation will come when enough farmers realise the benefits and the company can scale up. “I wanted to make sure the farmers gain money by going organic,” says Shankar, pointing out that the campaign had “good mileage” with 68 farmers outside Auroville, who had purchased 4000 litres of Arka to use across 4000 acres of land. 

In the Auroville region, about 22 farmers are buying Arka, and Shankar aims to extend the area of local coverage from 138 acres of cashew crops to 1000 acres next year. This will hopefully reduce the debilitating health effects that many Aurovilians experience each year during the cashew spraying season, when local farmers generally use toxic pesticides that are banned in other parts of the world. “My target is to make sure this country becomes organic in ten years. For Tamil Nadu the target is five years.” The KVK in Pondicherry, part of the Ministry of Agriculture, has also been buying and using the Arka product. 

Creating colour sustainably

Shankar has co-founded a natural dying unit, NDH, in order to ensure an environmentally-friendly process and to make it more affordable for more fashion labels. He points out that 99% of the textile industry uses chemical dyes, which have a negative environmental impact, and even some certified organic clothing still contains chemicals. The organic certification is problematic in another way, says Shankar, as the certification process ends at the factory and does not take into account the amount of toxic sludge created in some organic dying processes. “This sludge is dumped in landfill that the government has given to the industry, or it’s put into cement,” he says. “So the ripple effect happens down the lane.”  The dying process at Natural Dye House uses colours from different plants, minerals, roots, berries, bark, leaves, seeds and wood, so that the sludge is able to be turned into manure. “Using natural dyes also helps the farmer who grows the plant. You’re giving that value to that person’s work.” 

Shankar estimates that about 50 brands are now exploring the different natural dying services offered at NDH which, he says, are scalable and can meet the demands of big brands. “Corona has brought a lot of introspection,” he emphasises, linking this to increased consciousness about sustainability, which has led to a rapid increase in inquiries about NDH’s natural dying process.   

Interaction with Auroville

Given the visionary scope of Shankar and Elen’s professional goals, the question remains, why did they decide not to join Auroville and set up Faborg outside Auroville, rather than inside ?

“We love what Auroville stands for,” says Shankar. “We want to be close to Auroville.” “We have a lot of friends inside,” says Elen. “The first trials of Arka were done with Auroville units and individuals – Auro Orchard, Nine Palms, Jasmin, Hervé, Bernard – all these people are so amazing. They all encouraged us to do this and motivated us to take this path. I love and respect them. All of them are doing their karma yoga. We are open to anyone who wants to work for the good of humanity. “

However, like many of Auroville’s neighbours who like to be nearby but not fully ‘inside’, the couple emphasises that being outside Auroville gives them more freedom to shape their project in their own way, without getting entangled in Auroville’s bureaucracy. “If we had to convince people on a board or committee, that would slow our process,” says Elen.

“In Auroville, there’s politics,” says Shankar. “There are good-hearted people doing good service, but they have to accept other people’s opinions for their project to go further. Pleasing everyone would be difficult for us. I’d be tired from fighting. I’m here to do my karma yoga. Auroville plays a big role in the project. But it doesn’t matter if I’m in Auroville or not. Mother doesn’t mind.” Elen agrees, chiming in: “I know Mother is watching over us. I have this connection with the Mother’s writing. I don’t need to know everything Mother said; I prefer to feel it. We have beautiful friends in Auroville and we feel so connected. We don’t feel a difference at all.”

While they both emphasise that they don’t have all the answers, they suggest that Auroville could fund research for projects that are beneficial for the region.  “If this is going to be the future city, research is needed,” says Shankar. “So, encourage the new minds. The younger people should be allowed to be a bigger part of it. Allowing them to think in a different way is crucial.”

They also point to the prevalence of security guards, who are often the first persons encountered by visitors to Auroville. “The guards are the face of Auroville, and the contact does not always have compassion,” says Elen. “It can be a push-off to people if they feel they are not welcomed.” “When I go with Elen, I don’t have a problem,” points out Shankar. “If I’m alone, there is discrimination. People come from a long way to see this dream. If you push them off, they will go away. Compassionate engagement is the better way. No matter what, all human beings deserve respect.” “Maybe we are all here to show each other something,” says Elen. “Everyone should have freedom to flourish.” 

Shaping the Future

Shankar concludes by pointing out that he’s now “in peace with my world as my thoughts and actions don’t harm mother earth. Working on the land is a little tough, but I’m more connected to the world, and creating livelihood for farmers. I had a responsibility to work for change, to address the impact created by my people. I’m on the right path, and there will be a big impact.”