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Chapter 6
Keys to the success of Auroville's Industries
It is seen that after 30 years,
Auroville has had a mixed bag of success and failures as far
as the industrial units are concerned. Some are failures in
the sense that only 25% of the units are making extremely good
profits and 25% of the units are just struggling to make ends
meet. However, if we dwell on the success stories of Auroville
and the factors responsible for the same, the following
aspects need to be emphasized.
Human Spirit
A common strand, which runs across all
the units' stories, is the saga of individual spirit and quest
for doing well and contributing to Auroville's success.
Creativity and Innovation through research and development
The experimental character of Auroville
as a site of 'material and spiritual researches' which is
embodied in the Charter of Auroville, has contributed in no
uncertain measure to the innovations and environmental
friendly processes of various products in Auroville.
Certain Auroville products are harbingers of innovation, which
has led to their being plagiarized in the national market.
Maroma, which have a worldwide clientele for its aromatic
products, has reached this stage through sheer dint of
research and innovations. Some products have discovered
potential from wastes or ordinary organic matter that can be
found in anybody's backyard like Aditi (Applique making) or
Shraddanjali (Pressed flower cards) for that matter. Matthias
of Altecs, worked in a German firm's RandD and developed a
design for solar inverters which he transferred to Auroville
and generated his own prototype.
Quality
This attribute has been the hallmark of
all the products in Auroville, noted for their exquisite and
quality products. Most of the entrepreneurs say that quality
is the USP of their product and would not compromise on it at
all, even if it means rewarding excellence or punishing
sloppiness of the workers. Knowledge of the expected quality
of the product is again due to the background of the
entrepreneurs by virtue of their having been brought up in
western countries.
Export Potential
More than ¾ of the gross turnover of
the industries are in the form of export sales. This has been
rendered possible by the networking of Aurovilians with the
markets in the west, mostly Europe and by knowing the
potential existing in these markets for the kinds of products
made. Thus, Auroville has over the years acquired a brand
image of high quality, environmentally friendly products,
which they exploit to the hilt.
Legal Status of Aurovilians
Under the Auroville Foundation Act,
which was ratified by India's Parliament, the Government of
India is obliged to grant residential permits to Aurovilians,
provided they live and work in Auroville as Honorary Voluntary
Workers. Also all the commercial units come under trusts,
which in turn come under the broad umbrella of the Auroville
Foundation. Since all assets under the Auroville Foundation
are income-tax exempt, no unit pays this form of tax. This
coupled with the fact that most of the units are EOUS, they
fall outside of the scope of sales tax. They pay sales tax
only for what is sold in the Indian market. They are required
to pay 33% of the unit's profits to the Auroville Foundation.
These factors have ensured that money to a large extent
remains within the Auroville community and the immediate
region.
Goodwill from the local villagers
Auroville enjoys tremendous goodwill
with the local villagers. This is by no means a smal feat and
has resulted from a sea-change in the physical and mental
makeup of the place and its people. One of the main reasons
has been the social and economic benefits which have accrued
from the massive afforestation program run by Auroville's
pioneers. Secondly, the means of earning a livelihood, which
was primitive in the pre-Aurovilian period, has
metamorphorsized into secondary and tertiary forms of
livelihood like blue collared or white collared jobs. In
addition, many businesses with the help or inspiration of
Auroville, have sprung up in villages. This has led to a
growing mutual understanding notwithstanding huge cultural
differences. From Auroville's point of view, the villages
represent a ready pool of labour that can be imparted with
simple skills such as embroidery or soldering or something
else that is required by Auroville's units. Above all,
Auroville recognizes its interdependency with the local
population and knows that in the long run, both the villagers
and Auroville have to evolve together.
Social Net for Workers
The various perks, salaries and post
retirement benefits which an average worker in the industries
gets, is one of the primary reasons for his/her satisfaction
and motivation. The workers are also conscious of the fact
that their boss cares for them and would like them to be part
of the success. The appreciation of the local workers in what
Auroville is doing may be one of the reasons why there have
been few labour unrest problems.
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