KOFPU

Sharanam, an Aurovilian (Spanish) with 10 years of experience in the field of agro-chemistry and food technology in Spain, took the initiative to set up an organic food-processing unit in Auroville under the umbrella of Auroville Village Action. In 1995, Himalaya Trust Italy gave a grant to construct a building in the Auroville Kottakarai settlement (adjacent to the village of the same name) for the production and storage of organic products. However, due to unforeseen delays and increase of construction costs, the funding turned out to be insufficient to complete the building.

Developing new recipes

Meanwhile, Sharanam began to work from her house in Dana. She invented a special recipe for making noodles with the addition of soya. Some time later, Anandi, an Indian Aurovilian with a background in nutrition and traditional food production, joined her and developed new recipes using varagu, a local grain, and millet mix. She also started cooking varagu in a variety of delicious dishes in Bharat Nivas kitchen in order to enrich the children's meals, and making sweet dosais from millet mix. (These recipes are available on the Health Food website.)

Organic food processing unit

Thanks to an additional grant from the Foundation for World Education, USA, and Stichting De Zaaier, The Netherlands, the building became operational in 1997. The Kottakarai Organic Food Processing Unit was finally born!

At present, three village women for production and one village man for deliveries are assisting Anandi in the growing workload.

Aim

• creating a market for organic produce through the purchase of organically grown crops from local farmers;

• researching healthy food and body care products, made from organic produce for the present-day market;

• providing employment to local people.

Our health products

• Noodles: spirulina, ragi, kambu, wheat, and 'butterflies', all having a common base of whole wheat flour.

• Flours: sprouted ragi flour, millets mix and ragi dosai flour.

• Oils: organic sesame oil, skin care oil, hair oil, and basil extract.

• Sauces and spreads: pesto sauce, pesto spread, tomato sauce, romesco sauce, peanut butter, cashew butter.

• Neem leaf powder for internal and external use.

• Energy food: sesame balls, almond balls and vitality bars, which contain organic jaggery as sweetener. All these food items are concentrated with nutrients and are handy for travelling and trekking. They are also ideal during pregnancy, lactation OR convalescence. In general, they are an excellent energy booster for everybody at any time of the day. 

Additional

In addition, we provide healthy snacks and drinks, such as sundal, roasted peanuts, roasted cashews (oil free), spirulina juice, soya drink and kambucha.

We also provide seasonal, solar processed organic vegetables, fruits and food mixtures for children and adults who are trekking and cycling in India.

Where do you find our Auroville Health Products?

Our products are sold under the name of Auroville Health Products in:

• 'Pour Tous', Auroville's main food distribution centre in Aspiration

• HERS shop in Kottakarai

• The Cafetaria in the Auroville Visitors' Centre

• Grinde Sridaran shop in Pondicherry

• 'Naturally Auroville' shop in Chennai.

Healthy snacks are regularly delivered to Udavi School, and to Maroma, one of Auroville's major commercial units.