Foodlink

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.

Annapurna, Auroville’s largest farm, is in financial difficulties. The managers say it is because the stewards’ maintenances have been cut by the FO FAMC, along with poor management decisions by Foodlink which has outstanding payments of Rs 3 lakhs to the farm, and problems with Annapurna’s dairy.

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.

On March 9th the Auroville Foundation Office (AVFO) tendered and on March 27th auctioned the fruits of the fruits trees of the Auroville Farms, without any consultation with the RA.

“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 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.

Are we ready to coordinate Auroville's food sector?

Many view the disruption caused by the lockdown in Auroville as an opportunity to radically transform our economy, governance, food provision systems etc. and a number of proposals to achieve this have already been made.

Zero waste is the conservation of all resources by means of responsible production, consumption, reuse, and recovery of all products, packaging, and materials, without burning them, and without discharges to land, water, or air that threaten the environment or human health.

In ‘normal’ times, Aurovilians have a great deal of choice when it comes to dining in cafes and restaurants, or buying groceries to cook at home.

Like so many Auroville projects, Annapurna farm started with a simple keet-roofed hut, no money to speak of, not many expectations but with high aspirations.

Mani (G Gnanamani) of Foodlink passed away on the morning of 20 February succumbing to injuries suffered by a car accident on ECR road the day before.

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.

Just as much it fills my heart with joy to see a sapling poke its head out of the ground and slowly grow and unfurl its leaves to the light, so also it gives me immense joy to see a new educational initiative take root and steadily grow each year.

Sunlit Future, a unit offering solar technology expertise and Mason & Co, a unit producing high quality chocolate products, are exploring the possibilities of entering into partnership with non-Auroville organizations.

Aurovilians, guests, volunteers and children of all ages enjoyed three days of the Auroville Farm Festival held 21-22 January. The first day was a celebration on the plot of the upcoming Foodlink site near the Certitude corner and included games and activities for children.

Demonetisation – this brittle word with its short, sharp syllables, gained currency overnight with the draconian move of the Indian Government to invalidate Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 notes.

Recently, Auroville Today brought together some farmers, planners and those involved in managing community finances to look at the present situation of farming in Auroville and to examine options for the future.

I’ve been in Auroville since my marriage 26 years ago. I grew up in Chinnakottakuppam village on the backside of Forecomers, towards Pondicherry.

Like the name, India, it was with some surprise that I learnt that the common south Indian fruit, tamarind, has a Persian etymology. The Persians gave the fruit the melodious name of Tamar-i-hind or the “date of India”, which was subsequently Anglicized to tamarind.

The deeper vision behind Food Link, an activity of the Auroville Farm Group is to create community by linking the residents of Auroville to the farmers through educational initiatives.

From November to March it’s always busy in Auroville, with the community hosting performances, workshops and exhibitions and welcoming the outside world.

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.

Jeff has been managing Discipline Farm for the past 23 years. He is also a coordinator of the Auroville Farm Group. Here he talks about the particularity of Auroville farming, the challenges facing our farmers and how they can be overcome.

Murthy has been running Ayarpadi Farm in Auroville for the last 15 years. He talks to Auroville Today about the challenges and rewards.

Climbing the steps to the roof at Maitreye through a maze of white tiles, one would not expect the lush, verdant explosion at the top. On my first visit in December, there was green everywhere: lettuce seedlings bursting from their small containers, melon plants cascading from horizontal pipes, even a small papaya proudly pushing the other plants out of the way.

Auro-Orchard, one of Auroville’s biggest farms, took the decision to go organic in October 2012. How have they done? And how optimistic are they about the future of food production in 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.