“Village Action Group” is taking care of more than 50 villages around Auroville. This organization, which combines Aurovilians and salaried employees, tries to help villagers (especially women and youth) to organize themselves into self-help groups, for personal and economical development (micro-credit) and village development (micro-project). Other activities also supported by Village Action are education, sports, culture, health, ecology… Anbu has worked for 20 years in AVAG; he now directs its activities under a trust of “Village Action Group”.

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Do you create films?  Do you know an Aurovillian who is involved in film-making? Auroville will host it's first film festival this coming September 2009, and preparations are already underway. The following interview speaks with Marco, a coordinator of the event, about what kinds of films one will be able to see.  Also listen for Marco's take on the place of film as an intermediary, or as he says, “the media of dissent.”  Also, following along on AurovilleRadio each month for updates on this upcoming event.

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Right above the Solar Kitchen,the most popular lunching venue for Aurovillians, sits La Terrace, a café quite able to compete. This edition of Towards Sustainability with Marc from La Terrace looks at sustainability through a bit of a different lens. Through investigation of the work environment and unstable history of La Terrace to tracking the food systems which support this café, Marc explains the aspirations and achievements of one of Auroville's favorite restaurants.

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The document presents a conversation with Roger Anger recorded in 1996. The architect talks about   the different evolutions of his career and explains how his research of  harmony in shapes and colors was also related with his spiritual seeking. He also comes back on how he finally got involved in  Auroville project and talks about his encounters with the Mother and the evolution of the city, from the very beginnings to the later developments.

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A major component of Pitchandikulam Forest’s work involves working with communities to empower them towards self-sustainability and involve them in the process of eco-restoration. Currently the Pitchandikulam team works in 25 villages throughout the Kaliveli Bio-Region. Giving the example of Nadukuppam village, Joss talks about planting of Tropical Dry Evergreen Forest, environmental education, establishment of womens; Self Help Groups, awareness programmes, income generation initiatives. The team from Auroville is also involved in the protection and development of local traditional health medicine through the use of indigenous medicinal plants and conducts health camps for people and cattle.

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As usual about 40 people attended the Newcomer Reception at Pitchandikulam forest. Joss, the founder of the community talked about his life experiences and the early days of Auroville. He made a presentation of the Nadakuppam environmental education centre which he initiated and is now fully operational. We also saw a short video of the Adayar Poonga ecological preservation project which is being directed by Joss and in development stage. Click play to listen, or download this program.

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Here some words by Sunder who is in process to apply as New Comer. “I am Sunder from Edayanchavady. I work at Buddha Garden, doing animal care; there are many different things to take care for. Right now I work as a volunteer. I am interested in most of the things I do and love working with animals. I start early morning, around 6 o'clock and work until 9 a.m. It means doing farming in the morning and afterwards I start animal care around 10 a.m. I feel farm work is an important thing in the life. I have done my BBA and after that I got a job in Auroville... so I'm happy to work in Auroville and would like offer fully to Auroville.”

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Have you ever wondered how people party in the village? Tuesday, February 24th marked the end of a nearly week-long festival in honor of the Hindu Goddess Kali. AurovilleRadio attended the festivities of the final evening in the village of Alankupam and caught glimpses of a Tamil festival atmosphere. Play the following selection to learn about the Goddess Kali and hear an interview with Vika asking Shaktivel, a local resident, to explain how the festival unfolds.

mp3/2009_02_24_magazine_kali_festival_english_lite.mp3 Also, click READ MORE to see photos from the event. Read more

“Image is a poetry in itself.” Films are a way of expressing ourselves as well as learning about far off, exciting places. Auroville will host its first official film festival this year. The following interview is with Marco, a coordinator of the event, and he invites all Aurovillians and guests to come and support this effort. A prize will be given to the best documentary covering Auroville produced within the past two years, the best news piece, and the best poem written by Aurovillians. Listen to this interview to find out more and how you can participate!

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Herbert from Siddhartha Farm is here since 1993. After he arrived he started to work with agriculture which was hardly developed at that time. Promoting organic cultures he started Siddhartha Farm where he is trying to develop his ideals of a city producing its own needs. If you want to know more about it click here and listen.

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Dr. Vishal Mehta is a hydrologist and environmental modeler with ten years of experience in water resources, forest conservation and micro-hydropower for rural development. In the talk given by him is presented current work involving the Water Evaluation and Planning (WEAP) software system, a scenario-driven water resources software specifically designed for Planning and Policy evaluation. These modeling tools play an important role in providing a Water Resources Perspective on local and regional planning levels and are particularly vital in Auroville, given India’s largely unplanned growth.

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Jesus, who has been in Auroville since 1993 is in charge of research into eco-friendly discharge in natural ways. He talks in this interview about the ways in which he aims to alleviate the problems of pollution and the excessive use of pesticides in farming methods. He talks about the successes that he has achieved and the problems that he has encountered.

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Sustainable water resource management  is one of the basis of a sustainable community. Tency, from CSR - Center Scientific Research – give details about the programs Auroville is developing based on studies of  the bioregion aquifer done with the cooperation of the Tamil Nadul government. Reforestation, rain water infiltration and  the conscious use of the resource are the bases of this program. He also explains the devices the communities are using to recycle the waste waters system and  the big project that CSR is developing to  recycle all the waste watter of the city of Pondycherry.

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Golus last day is saraswathy pooja. 9 days we pray to ambal. By praying to God this way we get sakthi in ourselves. On the 10 day it is iyida pooja which is for iyadam (weapons). Only in indian culture we pray with weapons, and cows. We thank the cows and weapons because we use them for our uses. We make Golu a interesting day for kids by tell stories and placing dolls shaped like god on shelves. We give prasadam to people.

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For the english magazine of today, a talk about Aurovilles present and future with Tixon. A young Indian, born in Auroville, who tells us how he found his way to Auroville and what made him come back after finishing his school in England. He talks about both: the positive influences of western culture, as well as the positive influences of the surounding villages, giving their piece to the diversity of Auroville. To listen to the whole Interview, you can click here.

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Sathyamurthy and Anbu are from Ediyanchavadi. They both work at Thamarai in the role of social worker. Sathyamurthy also works at the Botanical Garden as an environmental teacher. He explains Thamarai's activities: what they are doing for the people, children and adults. Nearly one hundred children attend, learning different classes such as dance, drama, yoga, pottery, sports, mathematics, and so on. Kathy and Bridget are the two main persons who started Thamarai in Edaiyanchavadi; they have worked hard to develop its activities.

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How to deal with water in a sustainable way? Where to get it? Which is he better way to use it in the city and in the farms? What to do with the waste water? How it can be use? This are one of the questions the Auroville faces. The answers and the way Auroville is dealing with it are given here by Tobi, one of the coordinators of L`avenir the Auroville.

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Raji, from Alankuppam, is a member of the Sri Aurobindo Women's Group. This five year old group is part of Village Action. Their work includes public social work such as helping people clean their village and helping children who attend night school in their village. They receive advice or help as needed from the Village Action Group as well as attending the meeting in village action monthly. They come from several different villages: Kottakkari, Pudhupakkam and Allankuppam, all members of the Village Action Group. Initially they began with one group and increased in number, expanding creatively what they do with the recycled paper.

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Seenuvasan, living in the village Irumbai, presently works in an employment profit-fund office in Auroville. He first came to Auroville in 1989 working in construction at Matrimandir. The following year he found work at Bharat Nivas as an editing assistant in the Secretary's office. Sreenevasan has also worked evenings at Ilaigarkal School. He appreciates that many tourists come here as well as villagers, for the peace and harmony offered in a place like Auroville.

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Last Saturday AurovilleRadio started a new live broadcast program: “Dialogue with a Dream." The first topic:  “Water” specifically the proposed lake at Matrimandir. This discussion among the experts included; Toby, Prashant, Rauf, Suhasini, Chandresh, Aryadeep and Charlie was constructive and positive. We would like to share a few excerpts from the discussion with the community, as a precurser to the General Meeting on this subject on Monday. Please note that we have tried to compress one hour of discussion into 15 min. To listen the whole discussion you can pass by the radio and ask for a CD copy.

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AurovilleRadio is starting a new monthly program of live broadcasts called "Dialogue with a Dream," in which a conversation will be held on current  topics of interest in Auroville. The whole idea is to bring a dialogue into a session where people from different points of view can express themselves,  initiating dialogue with one another. The proposed topic for this first session is about water, specifically the proposed lake at Matrimandir. Listen to AurovilleRadio to hear this live broadcast on Saturday, 4th of October,  5:15 pm.

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Interview with Rita from the Integrated Animal Care Center. It gives a good overview about the beginning of the Animal Care Center, the work they do today and their visions for the future. The project was found by Ann, an Aurovilian who passed away in 2005. The Animal Care Center includes one sanctuary for the homeless dogs they find in and around Auroville.  Also there is one clinic, where the animal doctor, who is in charge of the sterilization of the dogs and cats, is taking care of the animals.

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Puja is an ancient Indian habitual practice  that people from villages  surrounding Auroville still continue in their daily lives. One can learn with two local Indian women, Zerina and Harini, from  Life Education Center (located in Kotakarai) how  people here in Tamil Nadul perform their consecrations, which day is dedicated to each god, and the annual rhythm of the pujas. One can dip into this village custom by asking for a CD copy.  You can also listen to the beginning of the interview (just click the logo play).

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Here is part of the story of the Siva Temple in Irumbai, according to the people's knowledge: It was built approximately 1400 years ago and people have been worshipping at this Siva Temple for the last eight generations. One of the many stories about how this temple came to be; once there was a Maharishi who meditated for many years and suddenly the land became dry, many animals died. The village people wondered what had happened. They discovered that through the Maharishi's meditation, drought had come to the land.

Read more

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Between June and July Auroville's surrounding villages commemorate their annual Temple Festival. This time of happiness, gathering and celebration can last from 2 to 21 days depending on the size of the village. All of these festivals share common faith, gods (Mariamma, Ganesh, Shiva...), ornamentation of flowers, music and women wearing brand new sarees as they cook pongal around the temple. One can dip in the village festivals by asking a CD at the radio or sending an email here . You can also listen to the beginning of the interview (just click the logo play). View photos by clicking on 'READ MORE'. Read more

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In the second program of the series 'Experience Tamil Culture' one can know more about an ancient Indian meditation. The Kolam is a drawing done every day in the space in front of the house. Much more than simple beautiful patterns, kolam is a prayer to welcome the sun god, the good spirits and also the friends. Only women are allowed to do this early morning ritual, the knowledge of which passed from mother to daughter for generations. One can create a lot of different designs, but the tradition requires it to be done bending all the body (as in yoga asanas) and to use white rice powder (a symbolic way to provide food to the ants and insects). Read more

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This week we broadcast part 5, 6, 7 and 8 of this seminar organized by l'Avenir d 'Auroville in  June. After discussing the socio-economic evaluation of the ongoing activities and existing settlement within the township area and  their future development scenarios the participants confronted their ideas with three indian architects K.T. Ravindran (Delhi), Sanjay Prakash (Delhi) and Balakrishnan Balachandran from Bangalore.

To listen you can pass by the radio and ask for a CD.

To listen to the singing of the women of Auroville's neighboring villages, Poothurai and Kottakarai, is like going back to the common origin of mankind... The leader of the songs is followed by the group clapping or singing, creating a sound where the rhythm meets the melody.  Here, in the presence of the ancestor of socialisation, the sound becomes harmony. All the questions have an answer. Thank you Sudakar for this recording.

To listen you can pass by the radio and ask for a CD.

This week's Tamil program features Thiruvengadam, originally from Pondicherry,  He tells the story of his life in and around Auroville. Thiruvangadam's work experience includes time at the Sri Aurobindo Ashram located in Pondicherry and in Auroville as a carpenter. He knows Auroville for forty years; he married a girl from Edayanchavady (a nearby local village) and has both bought and sold Auroville land. Thiru is a man who has grown up with all different kinds of environments.

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A kerosene lamp works in a similar way to a candle. This type of lamp is also known as an oil lamp; smoke from this type of lighting can cause respiratory problems especially if used in enclosed spaces. This week Juli and Marcus speak about their experience and work in Auroville: a project called Mission Tejas which plans to eradicate kerosene lamp usage by replacements with LED lamps. They talk about the new campaign in villages around Auroville.

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