Farmers

Annapurna is Auroville’s largest farm. Comprising over 35 acres, it is a mixed farm with cattle, paddy and fruit trees, as well as a dairy and food processing unit.

In the beginning of May, the Auroville farmers published a report in the community edition of the Auroville News and Notes questioning the results of the imposition of the fruit harvest auction by the Auroville Foundation Office (AVFO).

“Enhance Auroville food production to meet the needs of Auroville...” – View point of the Governing Board as recorded in the minutes of the 57th meeting.

On a recent Thursday morning, there were sharing by a number of Auroville farmers related to new and on-going initiatives on the lands they steward, along with the many immediate challenges they face.

Auroville’s development has been intrinsically entwined with the complexities of local cashew cultivation over the decades, so Aurovilian filmmaker Serena Aurora decided to get to the bottom of the story.

Looking at some of the old issues of Auroville Today, it’s fascinating to see how some of the articles could have been written just last week.

Aurovilian Deepika Kundaji was one among 30 women and 9 institutions to be conferred the “Nari Shakti Award for 2017”, India’s prestigious award for women, by the President of India on the occasion of International Women’s Day at a ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the President’s Palace, in New Delhi on March 8th.

Auroville recently hosted a two-day festival to celebrate Tamil heritage and culture, a first of this scale and vision. The brainchild of Balu from Mohanam Cultural Centre, and Meenakshi from Auroville’s Tamil Heritage Centre and Ilaignarkal School, the festival brought together artisans, performers, farmers, VIPs and visitors for festivities on Auroville land.

Food is very much in the news these days. Recently, the Joy of Learning team presented two sessions on farming in Auroville, where the issue of Aurovilians’ food tastes, and how this impacts the farmers by determining what and how much organic food they grow, was an important topic.

Auroville Today met with four local farmers who irrigate their land in the area of Kuilapalayam. Arivasu’s main crop is cashew, but he irrigates coconut trees.

The bioregion was defined as Pondicherry, Auroville, and the surrounding districts of Villupuram and Cuddalore (PAVC), an area of 2500 sq. kilometres that constitutes a distinct ecological bioregion along the Coromandel Coast.

“Compared to many villages in Tamil Nadu, Alankuppam is well-off,” says Moris from Auroville’s Village Action (AVAG), pointing at its clean, pothole-free roads.