Past students share their experience in Auroville.

[NB: the excerpts from interview records are slightly reworded for easy reading, and the names changed for privacy]

Sharma was a 3rd year student from Chandigarh College of Architecture. He came in 2000 for a 6 months project work.

Leila and Maria came in 1999 from The Netherlands, where they studied Environmental Technologies in HAS Den Bosch.

Benedicte was a French Agri. Engineer student at Enita Clermont Ferrand, who came in 2000 for a 5 months M.Sc. research work..

Bao was also a French Agri. Engineer student, from Vietnamese background, who came to Auroville in 1997 and worked 6 months in bioregion projects.

AVIS: can you tell us about yourself and how you found your internship in Auroville?

Sharma: I found out about Auroville by surfing the net. I sent an email and never got a reply. So I came myself to meet people. I met a Town Planner who helped a lot on whom to contact, and I found a project: the renovation of the Auditorium building in Bharat Nivas.

Leila & Maria: At our college, a senior student had done his 4 months internship here 2 years before. He gave the contact and we sent a letter and resume to the research coordinator of a service in AV. We received information about specific opportunities, and after e-mail exchanges, the subject was "Soil toxicity in land and water, as a result of pesticide use and soil pollutants". Supervision and topic slightly changed afterwards.

Benedicte: A previous student from my agriculture college gave me the contact. I sent an email with bio data and got to discuss the topic of my M.Sc. study: "Fair Trade and Organic Farming". This is a 5 months stay in Auroville and the villages.

Bao: In the Agriculture College in France, I was looking for a placement in South East Asia. Then nothing worked out, and one day a friend came asking if I was interested in water management. She had got a positive answer from Auroville, but it came too late for her to go. I liked the topic. Then I checked the AV website, read the Charter, and this convinced me to come at any cost.

AVIS: how did you work out the practical arrangements?

Sharma: It was difficult! First because of the language barrier with the native Tamilians, and secondly because I had to search myself for everything: lodging, food, transport… Altogether I can stretch from my pocket Rs. 3000 per month for the bare minimum.

Leila & Maria: Each of us spent from our own money Rs. 40,000 for airfare from/to the Netherlands, vaccination, then Rs.100/day in Auroville. We were on a tight budget, so we squeezed the purse by moving around by bicycle - sometimes on moped - and by hunting out the cheapest accommodation and doing house-sitting over the summer months. Thankfully, another service interested in our study covered the expenses for lunch, e-mail, stationary and the guest contribution.

Benedicte: Through the college, I got a sponsorship from the French Ministry of Agriculture of Rs. 60,000. This covered the airfare, accommodation (I lived in a keet capsule, then did some house-sitting and moved to a guest youth accommodation), moped rental, breakfast and dinner, while the host organisation took care of lunch (at the Solar Kitchen), guest contribution, petrol and work facilities (local communications, field assistant, etc.).

Bao: It was too short notice to apply for sponsorship. So I went around all the people I know to raise money. This was enough for the airfare and a little pocket money. To save on costs I camped in the office for a few weeks and had meals in the village. The project manager appreciated my work, and a guest house was ready to support in kind his project. So they made an arrangement: he paid this guest house a minimal fee, and they provided me with proper lodging, food and a bicycle.

AVIS: Please tell us about your experience.

Sharma: The supervision of the internship is satisfactory. The experience made me realise that it is not impossible to have a place where people have mutual understanding, faith and trust and still don't lose their individuality.
I am more calm now, at my profession with better mind: not affected by wrong things happening, with the confidence that trust and faith are keys to life.

Leila & Maria: The supervision was not really good. The supervisor did not know the material/subject enough. He helped keep the project on target, but we would have liked more guidance on what we were doing to make it more useful and relevant.
A high level of initiative was required. So on a professional level this was a very valid experience: this taught initiative, the limits of knowledge from working alone, also about dealing with less than perfect material conditions. It was difficult with computer breakdowns that got us stuck.

Benedicte: The supervision for me was satisfactory, although the supervisor changed in the course of work. I gained more knowledge about agriculture, society, India.
On the personal level I learned to adjust and accept changes in life. More freedom. I learned to share with people and to interact better.

Bao: Looking back at it, I am really happy with the experience I had here. I could understand many of the dimensions of today's challenges mankind is facing. This helped me find what I have to do on myself, in my community, and as a citizen of the world.
During the internship itself, things can never be perfect. But the struggles - with financial matters, with working in a very different cultural environment, etc.- all brought their bunch of seeds. These are now bushes and flowers that make me today a better person. I look forward to coming back, to be able to let them grow fast - here these things grow faster than anywhere else, I find - and contribute to the ideals of Auroville.

AVIS: how would you like to see things improve for students?

Sharma: The host organisation should be able to provide accommodation and food.. or give a stipend for the work done. AVIS should look at providing a camp with communal living or cheaper accommodation.

Leila & Maria: More computers! Given that this is Auroville, do not expect real specialist supervision. Also it would be good to have a system in which people looking for internships can find where they can be done. This meeting is a good start.

Benedicte: More computers too. But most of all security should be increased: some people attacked my friend and me at night on the road, and things were stolen in the capsule twice. Street lights on the roads? Also Auroville is expensive for students. Auroville needs more student community facilities.

Bao: Not only computers, but also a resource centre where to find reference books, CD roms, etc, or at least a centralised database of research materials. There is little, and everything is scattered all around. You need also a special office to look at the improvement of higher education possibilities in Auroville (places to stay, financial matters, discovering AV, etc.). We can take it positively, as a self-assurance exercise, but basically it's kind of unorganised right now.

AVIS: is there anything you would like to add ?

Sharma: n/a
Leila & Maria: Auroville is a healthy place, for one can be open and free to choose how to live.
Benedicte: n/a
Bao: Maybe I sound a bit harsh in my comments on this place. This is because I love it so much. The ideal is beautiful, it resonates deep in my heart: I feel strongly compelled to stay more to work on all these things I do not accept as is.