Food

Auroville farmers reported that despite the recent setbacks, they sent 3,128 kilos of 46 different vegetables, 3,301 kilos of 24 sorts of fruit, 19,764 eggs, 6,327 litres of milk, 846 kilos of various sorts of rice and 327 kg of polished and unpolished varagu (the latter procured from the bioregion and processed in Auroville) to FoodLink in March to be distributed to the Auroville community.

Antonello comes from Northern Italy and moved to Auroville in 2014, where he now lives with his partner and children. He runs ‘Gastronomica’, an Italian take away gourmet store - sometimes affectionately referred to as the Italian Pavilion - that has gained popularity within and outside of Auroville, thanks to its handmade pasta, Italian takeaway dishes, and imported Italian culinary products.

Auroville has 22 farms, ranging in size from 120 to about 6 acres. Each farm is managed by one or two farmers. Jointly, they run the Farm Group.

On August 15th, the new Solar Kitchen management team celebrated one year in office. Auroville Today asked executives Harishini, Vanitha, Shakthi and Manimaran about their experience.

One of the biggest mysteries, for me, has been the process of change itself. The transformation of one thing into another has fascinated me since a very young age.

Are we ready to coordinate Auroville's food sector?

The rooftop of Akash and Monica’s studio apartment in Maitreye looks futuristic. It is lush and green with lettuce and rucola plants, but they are grown without soil!

The A4A team reports on the results of supporters’ solidarity.

The Solar Kitchen opened in December 1997 and since then has been operating uninterruptedly under different managers. The first were Jaya and Shyama, who were joined shortly after by Andrea.

Money, in any of its forms, stipulates a hierarchy of values, which creates separations between people as well as between humanity and the environment.

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.

In Transition School, one class of 8–9 year olds have been taking part in a wellness programme. Paula, their teacher, explains that it begins with a brainstorming during which the kids are asked to come up with ideas about how they can stay well.

“All of the issues are interconnected,” says Krishna on a sultry summer afternoon, when asked about Solitude Farm’s Circle Garden Project. “The issue of water, the issue of land use, the question of why there is a stockpile of Auroville-grown rice sitting at Annapurna Farm, the question of our relationship to food and where it comes from.

In 2010, the first ‘ONE ASIA’ event was held in Auroville. It brought together artists and tea masters from various Asian countries to explore and strengthen unity between their cultures, as well as introducing the richness of Asian cultures to Auroville.

Tomas and Krishna farm on different scales and in different ways. Tomas manages the 134 acres of Annapurna Farm; Krishna farms six acres of Solitude in the ‘non-till’ Fukuoka style.