Issue Nº318 – News in brief

After failed land purchase negotiations, and to prevent a landowner to parcel his land in the city area and sell it as housing plots, which is illegal, the road between Surrender and Kalabhumi has been blocked.

Due to the heavy monsoon rains, the keet structure of Auroville’s open-air crematorium collapsed. A temporary but slightly lop-sided structure has been erected.

The second part of the interview with Piero Cicionesi has been released. Both parts have been posted online and can be seen at YouTube. The interviews record for future generations the true history of the construction of the Inner Chamber, from Udar’s first drawing under the direct instructions of the Mother, to the installation of the Crystal. They also honour Piero Cicionesi, who was the Inner Chamber’s engineer, draftsman, consulting architect, ceaseless and sincere worker.

On December 12th 2015, about 20 youth gathered in the Town Hall in answer to an invitation that said, “Ever wondered what’s happening in the Town Hall? Come and join us in this educational journey and see how Auroville functions.” The youth listened to presentations on topics like Auroville’s ideals, Economy, Town Planning, the history of working groups, and the roles of the Working Committee and Auroville Council.

The day ended with the group gathering on top of nearby Citadines, enjoying a calming view of Auroville’s landscape – the Matrimandir, Maison des Jeunes, SAIIER, and the Town Hall, all radiating gently in the sunset.

The experience was a success and an encouraging indicator that youth are indeed interested and eager to learn more and participate in Auroville. Several teachers and parents have requested to be better informed of such programmes in the future, so that more youth can join. YouthLink plan to continue offering such an experience to youth every few months.

The Government of Tamil Nadu has approved a Solar Village Project for Irumbai village which has been promoted by Auroville Consulting. The pilot project will demonstrate that a village can (on an annual basis) produce all the energy it consumes from grid-connected solar PV systems and should / can therefore be exempted from load shedding. The financial outlay is Rs 2.08 crore. Auroville Consulting is now preparing an outline of an implementation plan.

For Auroville’s aquifer recharge, the monsoon rains were a blessing, as all water bodies filled up and even spilled over, thus guaranteeing sufficient water for the dry months. Water statistics, provided by Charlie from Aurogreen, show that this year the rains were a whopping 2084 mm, a figure that exceeded the heavy rainfall in 2010.

All the granite and concrete dams built in the Auroville area functioned well. The newly made earth dams and bunds in Aurodam, in the International Zone, in Hermitage and at other places had some surface erosion and some broke, but there was relatively little damage.

The percolation of the watershed Sukhavati-Aurogreen-Bommaiyarpalayam went faster than expected. The basin near Bommaiyarpalayam filled up after receiving 264 mm in 24 hours and spilled over. The last time this happened was five years ago. Then the dam was raised by one meter to catch exceptional rainfall. Within eight days this water percolated. The village settlement at the end of the canyon was safe.

This monsoon shows very clearly that water bodies are important and should be monitored, maintained and improved where necessary. For Auroville, it means that many water bodies should be cleaned, some bunds and dams raised and spillways widened or deepened.

Total rainfall:

2010 - 1,916 mm

2011 - 1,722 mm

2012 - 899 mm

2013 - 918 mm

2014 - 1,293 mm

2015 - 2,084 mm

The heavy rains took many areas in South India by surprise. Chennai and Cuddalore were flooded and many small villages in our bioregion were also severely affected, some almost washed away. Auroville’s effort to provide flood relief in the neighbouring area brought together three groups, Auroville Village Action, EcoPro and YouthLink, supported by the Working Committee and various other individuals. With limited resources and funds, it was decided to focus on two aspects. One was to spray Effective Microorganisms (EM) in the areas most affected. The immediate benefit of EM is the elimination of foul smells, thereby reducing the spread of diseases via flies. EM also has the capacity to restore the microbial balance in the soil, and, over time, reduce the number of pathogens. The second effort was to distribute water treatment sachets from Auro Aquasafe to help those without access to clean drinking water. The work was done in consultation with the affected panchayats.