Issue Nº305 – News in brief

Auroville Food Units have been warned that the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has stepped up enforcement measures. All Auroville food processing units have been advised to maintain the highest level of conformity to food safety regulations.

This year’s rainfall stands at around 1180 mm as against the yearly average of 1299 mm.

On November 27, the Korean Pavilion team organized a Korean evening. It included a Korean new wave music performance by the group Noreum Machi, which visited India to celebrate the opening of the Consulate General of the Republic of South Korea in Chennai. Spectacular percussion, haunting shamanistic chants, and enchanting dances mesmerized an enthusiastic audience.

There are two types of mosquitoes in Auroville. There is the large slow Armigeres, which breeds in septic tanks and grey water. Then there is the zippy little striped one, Aedes, which transmits dengue, chikungunya, and filaria. A team from the Vector Control Research Centre in Pondicherry has visited Auroville to teach how to prevent mosquitoes breeding. It was observed that bats do a phenomenal job of keeping mosquito numbers down.

Auroville International The Netherlands reported that its Facebook page is frequently visited, particularly its Trend Watching posting, which contains a report by two Dutch students of the Fontys Academy for Creative Industries (‘International Lifestyle Studies’) who are doing a research project in Auroville. The Centre has also been instrumental in guiding a study tour of eight educationists from the Netherlands through India, exploring various educational institutions in New Delhi, Pondicherry and Auroville, to find out what they can learn from India in the field of education, with a special interest in Integral Education. The Centre has also secured funding for a Sunlit Future project to bring a reliable source of non-conventional power to the remote village of Basgo in the Leh district of Jammu and Kashmir, 13,000 feet above sea level, by harnessing the power of the sun.

In a meeting between members of the International Zone Coordination Team and L’Avenir / Town Development Council, it has been agreed that the Coordination Team prepare a number of applications for approval such as the loop road, the fencing, an urban design plan and a preliminary study for a Detailed Development Plan. The International Zone Coordination Team is an open group of interested Aurovilians, presently consisting of 22 members, who meet on a weekly basis and who work in different subgroups such as development, security, communication and financial accounts.

Due to the weather and the fact that the wood stocks from Cyclone Thane are slowly decreasing, there is not enough dry firewood available for various Auroville units like the Bakery, Tanto Pizzeria and the Visitors Centre. The Forest Group, committed to provide this much needed resource to Auroville units on a priority basis, is facing the problem that due to price differences some stewards prefer selling wood outside Auroville. The Forest Group decided to find a more unified and organized way which still allows the stewards to generate some income while providing the Auroville units with the much needed wood at a reasonable rate.

The Auroville Housing Policy stipulates that if a house steward has left Auroville for longer than 5 years, the stewardship lapses and the asset returns to the community, to be re-allocated by the Housing Service. The Housing Service has experienced, however, that it is almost impossible to ask the steward to release the stewardship even after 5, 8 or 10 years, even when the people have not lived during these years in Auroville or have just come for a few months a year. “There is a lot of pressure from friends and the stewards, and for this reason the relocation of these assets has simply been almost impossible in the last years,” writes the Housing Service. The Housing Service now proposes to change the Housing Policy in two ways. Those who will leave Auroville for good can be offered a repatriation payment. And those who leave temporarily can either give their house for temporary occupation by a Newcomer, in coordination with the Housing Service; or transfer their house permanently while the counter value would be deposited with Auroville to be used for acquiring a house in Auroville later. The proposals are still under discussion.

The Housing Service and the Housing Board have concluded that as at present there are no funds available for housing for Aurovilians without financial means, it is not possible to accept any more new Aurovilians without them having the minimum funds for housing. The Housing Board has created seven options as solutions for permanent housing. These seven options are (1) booking a house or apartment in a housing project under construction; (2) becoming the steward of an existing house through transfer; (3) sharing co-stewardship with another Aurovilian; (4) living in a staff quarter with a commitment to work there for a minimum of 5 years; (5a) building a house in a place where it is possible with community agreement (even temporarily); (5b) building in Auroville communities outside the City area; (5c) building in the Greenbelt with permission; (6) donating Rs 3 lakhs, refundable for future housing options; and (7) having long-term, like a 5-year house-sitting, agreement. An exception can only be made for a few very special cases such as for young Newcomers with certain skills (like teachers or nurses), or thanks to fundraising efforts by the Auroville International centers.

The Governing Board, in its meeting of August 2014, decided on the merger of all land related working groups, such as the Land and Estate Management group, the Land Resource Management Group, the Land Consolidation Committee and the Land Development Group, into one overarching Land Board of seven persons. It directed the Residents’ Assembly to constitute that Board. Five resource persons were chosen: 2 by the Auroville Council, 2 by the Funds and Assets Management Committee and 1 by the Town Development Council, to select the members for the new Board. Its selection of five people was discussed in a turbulent General Meeting of November 3rd. Subsequently, two more members were selected.

The Auroville Council announced that attempts to create a ‘Code of conduct and eligibility criteria’ for members of working groups has failed due to limited community participation and widely diverging opinions on the topic. The Code was expected to deal with issues such as people involved with acting against the ideals of Auroville, acts against protection of Auroville land, violence and violations against person(s) and property, and it would also address the issues of required skills to be eligible.

The Auroville Council has stopped the process, as it feels that “some fundamental questions need to be asked and answered by us as a collective, including the need and implementation strategy of such a document” before the next attempt can be made.

In a group work that for some people was reminiscent of the Matrimandir concretings of the past, the lining of the first of the six tests ponds of the Matrimandir [see AVToday September 2014] was completed early November, just before the monsoon rains. The import of the geotextile fabric and compacted clay from Germany was delayed for about 6 weeks, as these materials were unusual for the customs inspectors and there were also political strikes and public holidays.

With threatening monsoon clouds drifting in, the unloading and laying of the ten centimeters thick clay slabs, each weighing about 80 kgs, was done under the guidance of two engineers from Germany. A vibrator machine then ‘kneaded’ all the joints between the slabs, causing them to form a single continuous, waterproof layer of clay. The clay layer was subsequently covered by another thin geotextile layer to protect the clay from abrasion from above, and a thick layer of granite stone chips to protect it from burrowing crabs. One hour after finishing, the Auroville area was gifted with a tremendous downpour of rain, the first of the winter monsoon season.

Auroville International France, which has had a close relationship with the UNESCO headquarters in Paris through the years, has been collaborating to change the venue of the Sri Aurobindo statue at UNESCO. On October 21st this statue, which is similar to the Sri Aurobindo statue at Savitri Bhavan, found a prominent place overlooking the Garden of Peace, directly adjacent to the UNESCO entrance of Avenue de Suffren. The installation of the statue took place in the presence of Ms. Irina Bokova, UNESCO’s Director-General, Ms. Ruchira Kamboj, Ambassador, Permanent Delegate of India in UNESCO and Dr. Karan Singh, member of the UNESCO Executive Board and chairman of the Auroville Foundation. In her speech, Ms Bokova called the placement of the statue a recognition of the immense spiritual work for humankind done by Sri Aurobindo. She mentioned that Sri Aurobindo’s vision is at the origin of the Auroville project, and that his vision continues to inspire and educate the world. “He represents that which is most precious in India, as did Swami Vivekenanda whose birth anniversary was celebrated last year.”

Dr. Karan Singh then took the floor, retracing the life of Sri Aurobindo the philosopher, revolutionary and visionary, and suggesting that yoga be added to the ‘UNESCO list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity’. He ended his speech by reciting the beautiful ‘Who’ poem by Sri Aurobindo.