Diary of a Veganatrix: Auroville's Sadhana Forest: An Earth-Shattering Concept

Using the diversity encouraged by Jane Jacobs in her acclaimed and repeatedly studied “The Death and Life of Great American Cities,” as well as taking inspiration from Michael Pollan’s “The Botany of Desire” in making choices to live harmoniously with nature, a new breed of Thomas Moore's "Utopia" in South India called Auroville has created a close-to-perfect blue print for an all-vegan community in this day and age, which neglects the Capitalistic qualities of a society discussed in Marx's "Capital."

All aspects of this living community are vegan; all food, resources, clothing, transportation, medication, and beauty and health products. All of these resources are also grown, harvested, and made in the community, as well as a few pre-approved (but always open to contribution or advice) sources across the world, to import products such as exotic fruits and vegetables or oils, etc. etc.

The all-vegan community of Auroville, where not only is a 100% vegan lifestyle promoted, but is lived out amongst every individual that lives there is a great contribution to the world. However, one may think it controversial to create a town which mirrors Thomas Moore's bubble-like and close-minded society in Utopia. But Auroville is no "utopia." Before being concerned with vegan issues, here is a short history of Auroville:

"When it was started in l968, it was hardly a welcoming scene: barren burnt dry red soil stretching to the horizon in every direction, with nary a tree to stand under. Well, there was one scraggly banyan looking rather uncertain of itself, under which was living an old woman who provided water to foot travellers from the inland villages on their way to Pondicherry. She’s the one who told the tale of Kaluvelli Siddha, the ancient legend which predicted that in a distant future “people from far away” would come to transform the cursed wasteland into a beautiful green area."

A"Auroville wants to be a universal town where men and women of all countries are able to live in peace and progressive harmony above all creeds, all politics and all nationalities. The purpose of Auroville is to realise human unity."

Today, the site is still a place in which people from around the world come to visit and work the organic farms and help with experiments in water conservation and tree planting. Once a bountiful, lush place in India, it had become a barren wasteland, but now, with the help of the recently situated vegan community as well as bountiful visitors, the area now has a "green belt" encircling the community; a 5-kilometer area of lush forests now called "Sadhana Forest."

The "Mother" (Bhavana Dee) had a vision to create the community in the shape of a galaxy. Below is one of her drawings of the community from 1966, as well as an aerial view of the community in 1968 on the right.

Much city planning has gone into the construction and organization of current-day Auroville and Sadhana forest. There are 5 Zones:

The Residential Zone

The Industrial Zone

The International Zone

The Cultural Zone

The Greenbelt

These "belts" are very rough and are not strictly contained in exact areas. This is where many of Jane Jacob's principals for city planning from her acclaimed novel, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, comes into play. The entire community is unified and diversified at the same time. Because of the diversity of the people living there, it is a rich place in which people are forced to cross paths every day. The Residential Zone is scattered on one side, however, there are houses built through out the Greenbelt in the forests as well. People are also bound to need to travel across the entire community every day, because to get to work, they must cross the International and Cultural Zones where the schools are located in order to get to the Industrial or Agricultural Zone. Also, with the influx of visiting workers and those who come as a retreat, Auroville is truly a center for cultural diversity and constant change and learning for all who live or visit there.

Karl Marx's Capital: No More!

A quote from a dweller of Auroville:

"Staying at Auroville is totally free and cost of vegan food is 1$ per day only for three times meal. But in return you have to work there for 4 hours. Work is related to maintenance and organic Farming. You can stay and work there for as much time as you wish...... You can live without the constraints of greed and capitalism and all of those trappings. I also long for a serene community where money and ownership have little to do with future security and happiness. I am ready to live simply and reap the rewards of a balanced, simple and Spiritually rich life..."

For those who stay in Sadhana Forest, which is a popular location for vegan vacationers who want to make a difference, by paying only 1 dollar a day, they are given three large vegan meals a day, family-style. In exchange, they must work for 4 hours throughout the day. Jobs include planting or taking care of newly planted trees, in and outside of the city's limits, cultivating the organic garden, or maintaining and fixing buildings, the "pool," cooking and cleaning in the kitchen, or working on the solar-powered and human bicycle-powered energy site. There are a plethora of diverse jobs available for everyone, as well as children. Everyone works not only for the good of maintaing the Auroville, but toward the ultimate goal of replenishing the dried out rural areas of India. Efforts have already restored a 40-kilometer area of land in the Indian plains since the 1970's!