As a part of Sustainable Habitats - architecture programs for professionals, organized by Auroville Green Practices Workshop with Auroville Consulting this morning three speakers addressed aspect of renewable sources of energy. Toine was presenting Sustainable Urban Energy Solutions, Joerg was talking on solar PV installations and from Satprem's office Amanda was going deeper into embodied energy in the buildings Read more

Helen, a volunteer from UK, participates at L'Avenir d'Auroville, and is an expert in decision processes, talks on the guidelines. On Monday 28th of January at Unity Pavilion in International Zone between 4 to 7pm she with Elvira, member of RAS will facilitate the workshop for the community to develop building guidelines. Those should be simple, clear, more transparent yet basic, clearly expressing of what the community wants in the building application processes. That would be the first review of the application process after 25 years.

 

Over the past 7 years Aurovillians have been having problems with the smoke and fumes coming from the Karuvadikuppam dump site located just 3 km outside Auroville. None of the waste has been segregated which make the management extremely difficult. In order to take up this issue with the local government Renu and Bindu has taken action by asking Igor to send a lab technician to take soil and water samples for testing. The place stinks for miles around making the life in some villages and Auroville's communities unbearable. Read more

Alan facilitated a general discussion with speakers and participants raising the questions if all the technological solutions may be enough to actually counterbalance the current rate of destruction of our eco system or if they are actually misleading us. The conclusion was that technologies and even lifestyle adjustments may not be enough but a radical shift in consciousness is the need of the time. Read more

Building Energy. Auditing & Management. Here Dr. Brahmanand Mohanty tells us how to move towards far more efficient use of energy in habitats. 4 areas to implement changes: individual lifestyles, architectural design and planning, use of energy efficient appliances, implementation of renewable energy systems. He shows us how it is possible for us to have comfort for better. To download the presentation click here. - Visiting Faculty, Asian Institute of Technology. www.agp.aurovilleconsulting.com/speakers

In this session Mr. K. Venugopal explains the reasons and root causes for the power crisis in Tamil Nadu and he lists out new power generating capacities that will be added within the next 3 to 5 years which hopefully will resolve most of the short-comings of electricity supply in Tamil Nadu. He also answers some questions posed by participants during a brief discussion.To download the presentation click here. Member, Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission Read more

In this session Herbert Girardet explains how there is a need for governments to link the energy policies to minimising green house emissions. He describes an example in germany of how, over the past ten years, the government has given generous incentives for people to generate electricity using renewable energy, and how this has brought considerable positive changes. To download the presentation click here. Co-Founder, World Future Council. www.agp.aurovilleconsulting.com/speakers Read more

Energy efficiency in the building sector. Globally buildings account for 40% of the energy use. The total energy use in buildings is growing rapidly owing to economic development, increasing urbanization and improved lifestyles. In this talk Mili Majumdar introduces some energy efficient strategies and practices for urban settlements and buildings that are being implemented in India. To download the presentation click here. - Director, Sustainable Habitat, TERI www.agp.aurovilleconsulting.com/speakers

In today's we feature interview with Toine on Sunday, 2nd of September invitation to witness the commissioning of two pilot grid-connected rooftop solar PV installations as part of a collaborative effort of Tamil Nadu State Planning Commission, Tamil Nadu Energy Development Agency (TEDA), Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO / TNEB) and Auroville at Ilaignarkal Education Centre. General Meeting at 5pm at Unity Pavilion on changes to Admission and Termination Regulations. Matri Arpanam at 7pm at Matrimadir. Read more

"Set Fire to the Rain"concert at Pitanga at 7.30 pm presented by Lisa, Holger, Martin, Matt, Jonas and Tina. On Thursday Morning at Multi Media Center in Town Hall Auroville Green Practice starts with three days hands-on workshop, plenary talks and sessions on Energy Positive Habitats with over 70 participants from Auroville as well from outside.Working Meeting of the the Residents on Thursday, 30th at 5pm at Unity Pavilion. The agenda of this meeting will be to work out and agree on specific changes to the proposed document. Read more

When Mishko M'Ba greeted the audience with announcement of repertoire which would pay the tribute to Jaco Pastorious, famous bass player, brought many smiles on the faces. The whole gig was special treat for music lovers. Excellent musicians Mishko M'Ba on Bass, Matt Littlewood on saxophone, Suresh Bascara on drums and Karan Joseph on keyboards played known songs of Jaco Pastorious, Pat Metheny, Miles Davis and Joe Zawinul with technical perfection and with all their love for the. Read more

On Friday workshop at conference Room in Town Hall, participants put on the table the fact that Auroville Township, Viluppuram, Cuddalore districts of Tamil Nadu and the districts of Puducherry are very closely connected to each other through natural resources, climate, historical links, culture, religion, language, tourism, trade or business, population and transportation. This tightly knit connection calls for a Regional Plan that would benefit this region not just in the urban areas but also the adjoining rural areas. Read more

Announcing a 5 day Wind/Solar Hybrid Workshop. A presentation of Bharatnatyam Classical Dance is being offered with images of Ashwini's oil paintings. A salutogenetic communication group will be formed to discuss our total health. The University Of Human Unity Seminar will discuss Transhumanism. Can science heal humanity and conquer death? Will we create super-humans, or monsters? Sri Aurobindo and The Mother advocate Integral Yoga. Science advocates biomedicine and technology. Are we to become Spiritual Beings, or chip enhanced cyborgs? Read more

In recent years, there has much research and experimentation in the field of wind energy, and the production of wind turbines has become one of the leading examples of renewable energy. Jorge, who runs an initiative at Windarra Farm focused on the production of homemade wind turbines, took some time to speak about his own goals and the awareness of wind turbine benefits. His program, centered in education, brings volunteers and students to the farm to learn how to build their own turbines. Read more

When Mishko M'Ba greeted the audience with announcement of repertoir which would pay the tribute to Jaco Pastorious, famous bass player, brought many smiles on the faces. The whole gig was special treat for music lovers. Excellent musicians Mishko M'Ba on Bass, Matt Littlewood on saxophone, Suresh Bascara on drums and Karan Joseph on keyboards played known songs of Jaco Pastorious, Pat Metheny, Miles Davis and Joe Zawinul with technical perfection and with all their love for the music. Read more

To visiting Engineer Without Border Toine shortly explained what Auroville is, how it was originated and what it stands for, and drawing comparison said, that Auroville could be described also as a township without borders because of the connections and openness to the world. To Auroville are mostly drawn people with strong inner need for a change, dissatisfied with the world as it is today. Sri Aurobindo's idea of human as transitional being, in search for inner being , and the Mothers Charter are base of what experiment of Auroville might be

About EWB (Engineers Without Borders) we talked with Jenny and Joss, while the group of EWB members is visiting India, and Auroville. In Australia itself there are 4000 members, students, young graduates and professional, striving for a change, pushing humanitarian engineering, which is more considerate, more social and cultural oriented, and most of all more sustainable. Within the "Challenge" team of EWB members is working on practical solution of toilets, sanitation and alternative energy approaches at Devikulam Village. Read more

You can hear Prya of Buddha Garden (Auroville), and the village head of Morattandi about their reactions to the cyclone Thane. Although separated by only 5km, their way of coping with the storm is quite different. Morattandi, a village of 2000 inhabitants southwest of Auroville, is still struggling to get the electricity and water supply working again. Buddha Garden, a sustainable farm with solar panels, is up and running again. The village head of Morattandi is giving the interview while giving directions to workmen fixing an electricity pole.

Announcements featured in today's news: Christmas Fair: the 'Fair-de-Luck' on Dec. 17th at the Youth Center promised to be an afternoon of fun, games, music, shops, theater, food and art.Volunteers and contributions gratefully accepted. LRM (Land Resources Management) shares some challenges they face. B, for the Cooperatif Cosmique Aura, explains the Aura; a means of exchange vs. money, an energy exchange between those who live in Auroville. Auras can reflect and respect the values for which people have come to Auroville. Read more

On the second day of Auroville International conference in Addis Abbaba at the Red Cross Society Training Institute Carsten introduced to Ethiopian audience renewable energy systems in Auroville - what we have achieved in the past, and what we want to do in the future. Carsten is the leading person behind commercial unit AV Energy Products which provide untis and individuals, home and abroad with electronic components for solar systems. Vision is that we should become energy independent and self sufficient with all our energy requirements.

The community "Luminosity" has started with the wish to create "A temple for living" for its inhabitants. It consists of twelve small apartments, eight offices and big communal areas. David, one of the architects, is explaining the different aspects of the building like the new systems for waste water treatment and rain water harvest. The later will be able to provide enough water for all inhabitants of the building for the whole year. Please open the attached PDF-file in order to follow a series of 17 photos which are referred to in the talk Read more

Pashi made a presentation on possiblilities of growing Bamboo grass using organic fertilizers in Auroville wastelands and shared the experience of cultivating bamboo in different soil and water conditions. He also spoke about biomass being a sustainable source of reliable energy and how bamboo and woody material can be used effectively for generation of energy. He elaborated on the ecological and economic advantages of cloning and culturing Bamboo as against Casuarina which takes far more space and is less productive.

We've met Catherine the Green Group coordinator, and Martanda from the Forest Group to find out about life in the wild. These modern day foresters may live off the main grid but by producing their own energy they maintain an up-to-date lifestyle. In this podcast, they also talk about the beauty and the difficulties of maintaining and protecting the surrounding forest. Read more

Awakening the Dreamer Symposium is a tool developed by Pachamama Alliance to "awake" the participants, and to stimulate changes. Through participation in this program, people are encouraged to find their unique and powerful role as agents of change in creating a new future. Ethan, Bindu and Andrea shortly introduced Pachamam Alliance and its purpose, and what Awakening the Dreamer means to them - either to bring personal transformation, inspire people to the highest, lead to real changes in each one's life... Read more

Earth Week activities are in full swing. This morning in Conference Room in Town Hall was the Awakening the Dreamer Symposium, and in the news we feature short interview with B about it. Tomorrow, on Earth Day, we will start with Earth Day Meditation at the Banyan Tree at 6 am , which will be followed by a collective clean up from 10 am to noon at Certitude. The wacky Earth day Parade will begin from the Youth Centre around 10 o'clock eventually to MahakaliPark where will be a pot-luck picnic around midday. At Visitor Centre at 7pm, after Earth Day vegan dinner, in the ceremony we'll see who's cooking the best food; and Academic Genius Brother will continue with the celebration. Read more

"The Divine plan is always there, all we have to do is open up, and take a next step...keep going..." told us B in an interview about his life, passion for waste management and other projects he's involved in. He came to Auroville in 1974, in its early beginning when town was is the survival mode; saw all the changes and transitions, and yet he feels extremely grateful that he was born at the right time to go trough this incredible adventure, as he named it. B is strongly convinced that Zero Waste Management is and achievable goal, because is something that people can understand. Up to today we managed to come to the point that we recycle 60 percents of the garbage, the rest 40 percents can be slowly chipped away by technology which is already available today.

On Saturday April 9th at 8 pm at the Visitors Centre Genius Incorporated Presents will make us laugh once more with Doppelganger - which they wrote is a scientific fiction of future possibilities with the advent of the dual consciousness. At Sri Aurobindo Auditorium, Bharat Nivas, Pavilion of Indian Culture on Saturday, April 9 at 8 pm Auroville Odissi Dance Group will give the performance Sri Krishna under the Kadamba Tree. Program is dedicated to Anu ben. A devotional dance originating in Odisa, Odissi highlights the beauty of curves and sculpted form in movement. At Widarra Farm Small Wind Turbine Design and Construction Workshop will be held from 9 - 12 April, and the second one in the last week of April to 1st of May. Read more

At the Solitude Farm in Auroville they made a music festival at the 29th of January 2011, called Lively up your Earth. Next to music there was a farm market with locally grown vegetables, books for sale and nice foods and drinks to eat. There was also a place for technology at the festival as several Aurovillian companies presented there products. One of these was Auroville Energy Products, selling Solar Energy products. Carsten tells us about the latest developments in the industry, about the latest improvements in technology, new ways of using energy more suficiant and the harm reduction to environment by producing these products. Read more

On Saturday the first of the kind eco-music festival "lively Up Your Earth” will happen at Solitude Farm with lots of good music, eco products from Auroville, workshops, theater plays, good ecological, and also raw food....throughout that day most of our taste buds should be satisfied. Otherwise city offers for the weekend, as usual, bunch of good movies at Cinema Paradiso in Town Hall, at Sri Aurobindo Auditorium in the Pavilion of Indian Culture, at Eco Film Club at Sadhana Forest, at Cine Club, and on Saturday at Visitor's Centre Video Room will be The Ramayana, a multi media presentation by Rajiv Chanchani. Read more

TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading, and under the theme of "Exploring Transformation", on 6th of February they will present to the world, innovations that have pioneered change in the past and those that are going to change the future. Amongst the speakers will be also Rauf Ali with his innovation of coconut presser. In the news we feature excerpt of interview with him. Tomorrow starts three days long seminar on how to develop sustainable management skills. Lively up your Earth - eco-musical festival it's happening on Saturday 29th of January at Solitude Farm. Read more