Issue Nº331 – News in brief

By a majority vote of 214 ‘yes’ against 23 ‘no’, the Residents Assembly has approved an appeal process. Individuals can now ask an Appeal Body to review and possibly change a working group’s decision. The first year trial period is limited to decisions of the Auroville Council, L’avenir d’Auroville (the Town Development Council), the Funds and Assets Management Committee and the Working Committee.

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. It was followed by a visit to nearby Sustenance Farm, and ended with presentations of different farms and some of their new projects. The second day’s events were held at the Unity Pavilion and included a film, followed by small group participatory discussions, an organic lunch, another film viewing in the afternoon and two more talks on “Our Farms, Our Future” and the “Challenges of Organic Farming in India”. On the afternoon of the third day, participants visited Annapurna Farm where there was a tour and yoghurt tasting. The events ended with a closing celebration at the Foodlink site.

A 45kW rooftop solar PV system was designed and installed by Auroville’s unit Sunlit Future on the French Consulate in Pondicherry. Auroville has collaborated with Pondicherry previously providing rooftop grid-connected solar PV systems for two residences, as well as some buildings of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram. Auroville Consulting also contributed to the design of the Puducherry Solar Energy Policy and the related regulatory framework and implementation guidelines.

A series of workshops were held to explore possibilities in regards to protecting Auroville land. The first two mornings focused on ground realities and provided the outlines of four proposals. After a core group had worked together for a month, four alternative proposals were presented in a third workshop in more detail: creation of a unique statutory land regulation framework; amendment to the Town and Country Planning Act; formation of a New Town Development Authority; remaining under the existing statutory regulations. The participants agreed to recommend the formation of a land protection team that will go further into exploring the merits of each of the proposals.

Auroville’s last monsoon season (Oct-Dec 2016) witnessed the lowest rainfall for over 100 years. Over the previous 12 months, less than half the average amount of rain has fallen in and around Auroville. As a result, several wells are under stress and falling water tables increase the risk of salinization. Residents are advised to avoid wasting water and to be on the alert for forest fires.