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Communities in alphabetic order
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Samasti
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Housing & Communities
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| Name of the
community : |
Samasti |
| Number of
houses : |
16 |
| Number of
people : |
34 adults |
| Date of
creation : |
1987 |
| Guesthouse
: |
Yes |
| E-mail
contact : |
srimoyi@auroville.org.in |
More details :
Samasti is a residential community
set up on the outside border of the residential zone. Samasti
in Sanskrit means 'collectivity'. As such, the community
answers to its name. There is a sweet and friendly atmosphere
between its inhabitants, who come from Italy, Brazil, Spain,
France, Austria, Holland, India, Germany and the USA.
The community does not have a collective kitchen though some
of the members like to come together for lunch at the
guesthouse.
A unique feature of this community is that it has the cultural
centre Pitanga within its borders. This centre provides
facilities for physical development programmes, in particular
hatha yoga, dance, massage and physiotherapy.
>> more on architecture
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Samriddhi
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Housing
& Communities
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| Name
of the community: |
Samriddhi |
| Number
of houses: |
7
houses |
| Number
of people: |
10
adults |
| Date
of creation: |
1976 |
| Guesthouse: |
N/A |
| E-mail
contact: |
biggie@auroville.org.in |
More details:
S ituated
in the middle of the Greenbelt, the main activity
of this community is reforestation and farming.
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Sangha
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Housing & Communities
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| Name of the
community : |
Sangha |
| Number of
houses : |
4 |
| Number of
people : |
7 adults and
6 children |
| Date of
creation : |
January 1991 |
| Guesthouse : |
No |
| E-mail
contact : |
aloka@auroville.org.in
or ireno@auroville.org.in |
More details :
 'Sangha' is a typical residential
community. Its name means 'community' in the sense of a
grouping of people with a common aspiration, and we're all
good friends. The residents are mostly Italian, and French and
Korean, active in education, photography, health, filming and
construction.
We have no common facilities at all,
and perhaps that's why we remain such good friends! Many
people who pass through this place, comment on the 'lightness'
of it. We think it may have something to do with the open
spaces in the gardens around our houses.
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Service Farm
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Housing & Communities
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| Community
name : |
Service Farm |
| Number of
houses : |
2 houses |
| Number of
people : |
2 adults |
| Date the
community started : |
1967 |
| Guesthouse : |
No |
| E-mail
contact : |
No |
More details:
This location was another of the
earliest of the Mother's original land acquisitions. It is
located behind Morratandi village, on 12 acres of sandy red
soil. Mechtild (German) is the caretaker, with an all-women
team of village workers, and she has been helped in the
planning and practical running by Walter, a landscape gardener
with many years of experience with plants. Mechtild took over
the management of Service Farm in 1990. She has been investing
in it since then from private funds and with the help of AVI
Germany. The farm is not yet self-supporting because the new
orchards need years of care before returns can be expected.
A wide selection of fruit trees are grown there, though large
parts of the orchard were planted only in recent years and are
not yet bearing fruit. They supply fruits mostly to Pour Tous
and the local villagers, as well as to the AV food processing
units.
The farm has a bore well which
supplies water into three tanks with one conventional plus one
solar submersible pump. The new solar booster pump system
irrigates 6 acres of trees, 600 of which are maintained on an
1800 drip grid.
Here also work has begun to improve irrigation facilities, by
installing drip irrigation, economising water use.
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Sailam
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Housing & Communities
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| Community
name : |
Shailam
(previously known as Sailam) |
| Number of
houses : |
7 houses |
| Number of
people : |
7 adults |
| Date the
community started : |
1995 |
| Guesthouse
: |
Yes, 1
apartment |
| E-mail
contact : |
anton@auroville.org.in |
More details :
 Shailam
is a residential community in the centre of Auroville.
It was constructed with the intention to accommodate
people who are doing a good job, but who have little
or no personal money to build. There is a common
kitchen, although lunch and dinner are obtained
from the Solar Kitchen next door. Shailam is fully
on solar power. There is one guest apartment with
two beds which has, like all other Shailam units,
two rooms, its own shower and (Indian) toilet. Guests
are only taken for a minimum period of one week
(some stay many months). The rate is 300 rupees
a day for single and 450 rupees for double occupation
(in case of longer stay, the amount will be adapted).
In this price are included breakfast, a bicycle,
laundry service and use of telephone.
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Shakti
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Housing & Communities
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| Community
name : |
Shakti |
| Number of
houses : |
4 houses and
2 offices |
| Number of
people : |
8 adults |
| Date the
community started : |
1985 |
| Guesthouse : |
No |
| E-mail
contact : |
walter@auroville.org.in
/ luc@auroville.org.in |
More details :
Shakti started as a nursery and is now a herbarium, which
mainly focuses on the indigenous forest of south India. This
herbarium is open for all interested who want to do research
work in this field. There is also a library of botanical
books, which can be consulted at the office.
>> more
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Sharnga
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Housing & Communities
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| Name of the
community : |
Sharnga |
| Number of
houses : |
12 houses |
| Number of
people : |
24 adults and
10 children |
| Date of
creation : |
February 1977 |
| Guesthouse
: |
Yes |
| E-mail
contact : |
sigrid@auroville.org.in
or
borg@auroville.org.in |
More details :
Sharnga is a fairly large settlement
with lush and lovely natural surroundings. Bernard is the
founder of the settlement, and originally chose the name of
the community, which in Sanskrit is the name of Krishna's bow.
Sharnga guesthouse, a financially
independent guesthouse run by Bernard (French) and Sigrid
(German), can shelter thirty people in different styled rooms,
bungalows or houses. We have one single room, eight double
rooms with bathroom attached, four bungalows with two rooms a
kitchen veranda and little garden, and one family house.
We serve breakfast and dinners every day (French cooking).
There is an outside dining area under trees, and an inside
facility for rainy days. A little swimming pool for guests and
a video room are also available too.
Present occupants
Sharnga hosts quite a wide diversity of interests and talents,
including 4 musicians (guitarist, saxophonist, violinist,
singer), 1 pizzaiolo, 1 solar power specialist, 1 sound
engineer, 1 antique dealer, 3 master tailors, several
teachers, 1 masseur, 1 stained glass window maker and several
teachers.
There are 12 families altogether, whose backgrounds are quite
mixed: French, German, Italian, Tamilian, Canadian, Dutch
and Australian.
Further details
The original well was bored in the north of the community.
Nowadays, 5 families and the guesthouse are connected to it.
In 1996 a second well was bored, catering for the needs of 7
families. No house is fully solar, though there is a great
interest in becoming so. There are currently only a few solar
panels, as it is still a costly matter.
In 1996, three acres of newly bought cashew topes were heavily
planted with indigenous species, from creepers to bushes and
tall trees. They are not watered, as the aim is that they
become self-sufficient, able to recreate in a few years a
forest like it used to be in the old days. This particular
area is called Sharnga Forest. There is also a small farm with
a few cows.
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Siddhartha Farm
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Housing & Communities
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| Community
name : |
Siddhartha
Farm |
| Number of
houses : |
2 houses |
| Number of
people : |
3 adults and
4 children |
| Date the
community started : |
1995 |
| Guesthouse
: |
Yes (but only
for students interested in Farming) |
| E-mail
contact : |
priya@auroville.org.in |
More details :
 Siddhartha Farm is located in the
traditional rice growing region surrounding the Irumbai tank
system situated to the west of Auroville. Herbert, his wife
Selvi and their two children moved to the farm four years ago
and it is they who have been responsible for developing the
farm to its present level of activity. A variety of cereals
and pulses are grown which include rice, ulundu (black gram)
green gram, sesame, varagu and ragi (different sorts of millet
and very nutritious). Other products include bananas, cashews
and the farm also has a number of cows producing milk. Sugar
cane is grown and processed on the farm to make jaggery (whole
palm sugar). A variety of other food products including peanut
butter, bread, biscuits and Indian snacks are also produced.
Priya (British) has recently joined the project, to focus on
vegetable production.
There is a dairy, chickens, and a
bakery on site which produces whole grain bread and biscuits.
The family makes use of biogas for domestic cooking needs. At
present they are growing irrigated rice, peanuts and
sugarcane, and also traditional crops like red rice, samai,
kulu, ulundu, varagu, cambu, ragi and sesame.
Student facilities
On the farm there is a 2-room guesthouse for farm workers,
which is run by the Farm Group office, taking applications
from volunteers and students abroad.
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Silence
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Housing & Communities
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| Name of the
community : |
Silence |
| Number of
houses : |
1 house |
| Number of
people : |
2 adults (Roswitha
& Hans) |
| Date of
creation : |
in the 1970's |
| Guesthouse : |
No |
| E-mail
contact : |
siddha@auroville.org.in |
More details :
Silence is a forest place in the
Industrial Zone. The forest is not a commercial one and has a
sanctuary character. The trees are mostly Casuarinas, Neem,
Work, Tamarind and some Cashew.
Hans lives and works here since 1995 and Roswitha joined him
since 1997. We live exclusively with solar power and also pump
our water with solar.
At the end of 1998 we started the production of the worldwide
known `Zapper` from Hulda Clark, which kills all parasites. We
are working also on other medical and electronic projects like
kirlian photography, alternative energy, traffic proposals and
astrology.
Roswitha is also working with Reiki, Clearings and Light work.
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Sincerity
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Housing & Communities
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| Name of the
community : |
Sincerity |
| Number of
houses : |
10 house |
| Number of
people : |
16 adults and
2 children |
| Date of
creation : |
in the 1970's |
| Guesthouse : |
No |
| E-mail
contact : |
No |
More details :
Sincerity is a quiet community in the
vicinity of Matrimandir. Previously most of Sincerity's
residents worked on the Matrimandir but not any more.
The settlement looks a bit like a park in the sense that there
is a nice blend of trees and shrubs. There are no guest
facilities.
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Solitude
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Housing & Communities
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| Name of the
community : |
Solitude |
| Number of
houses : |
3 houses |
| Number of
people : |
5 adults |
| Date of
creation : |
1996 |
| Guesthouse
: |
Only for
guest that work in the community |
| E-mail
contact : |
No |
More details :
Solitude began in 1996, with the
erecting of Auroville's prototypic 'capsules' (huts made of
bamboo, casuarinas and thatch) on a segment of fallow farmland
surrounding an open well. Still in the first phase of work, 6
acres of land are in use, where they are concentrating on rice
production: 30% for irrigated rice, 40% semi-irrigated and 30%
for dry land crops. The water is extracted with the use of a
solar panel pump set, from an open well at a depth of 11
metres. They keep cows, chickens, and have begun a
demonstration compost project.
Situated opposite Siddhartha Farm on
the Edayanchavadi Road, Vengadesh (Tamil) supports the move to
make good use of this area's potential to provide a healthy
atmosphere for food production in Auroville. He is still in
need of investment in basic infrastructure such as a
storeroom, threshing floor and improved irrigation system.
Very basic accommodation is available there for hard working
guests!
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Sri Ma
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Housing & Communities
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| Name of the
community : |
Sri Ma |
| Number of
houses : |
6 |
| Number of
people : |
10
adults and 1 child |
| Date of
creation : |
1968 |
| Guesthouse : |
Yes |
| E-mail
contact : |
subhasish_n1@rediffmail.com
or judith@auroville.org.in
devaki@auroville.org.in
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More details:
 Sri
Ma is a quiet, restful and recuperative beach community
of six households living harmoniously together sharing
a common infrastructure. Of the three guest rooms,
one is a detached chalet, and two are in a self-contained
first floor apartment. All have a view of the sea,
small kitchen space and bathrooms. Laundry facilities
are available. Guests will be able to experience
life in a small community.
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Surrender
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Housing & Communities
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| Community
name : |
Surrender |
| Number
of houses : |
17+ 4
Newcomer studios + AVToday office |
| Number of
people : |
31 to 35 |
| Date the
community started : |
1998 but 3
persons 1 year before |
| Guesthouse : |
No |
| E-mail
contact : |
No |
More details:
We receive water from a big tank
situated in the residential zone, not very far from the
community, and we recycle our wastewater.
There are no common spaces, such as a communal kitchen,
because we live at only a 10 minutes walk from the Solar
Kitchen. We do share the gardener and the parking lot.
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