Biodiversity

Within Auroville, Annapurna Farm maintains experiments with varieties of indigenous and semi-indigenous rice and millet strains that require less water, and interplanting and cover cropping with nitrogen-fixing leguminous plants (both indigenous and exotic). They keep a collection of non-hybridised local seedstock, and network with other organisations on a national level whose activities are focused on the preservation of agricultural biodiversity and preservation of local heritage.

Annadana is based at Revelation Farm and is involved in a two-tier programme of seed-saving. The first is a local programme for the promotion of varietal diversity within the context of food produced within Auroville. The second is an outreach division for promoting seed-saving and local heritage protection in the whole of South Asia. This includes the propagation and packaging of indigenous and climatically well-adapted vegetable seeds for distribution to farmers, home gardeners and women’s clubs in the local surroundings.

The Farm Group also maintains intrinsic ties with the Forest Group (see Greenwork pages), promoting sustainable strategies for land use and cultivation which maximise the diversity of chosen crops and plantations. By creating micro-climatic regions and providing hedges, forested stands and open corridors, biodiversity is served both by the spontaneous dissemination of indigenous flora and by allowing formation of habitats for wildlife and other natural fauna.