Economics for People and Earth
Today’s book launch at the Town Hall Conference Room attracted a large audience, indicating that the topic of the Auroville economy is of great interest to the community. The authors of "Economics for People and Earth", Henk and Manuel Thomas, were introduced by Harini and Guy, and described the book as giving a detailed account of the Auroville economy during 1968 to 2008. Having taken 15 years to produce, plenty of facts and figures support the text. The book was presented by its authors as a labour of love and a gift to Auroville in support of its progress.
Over the last 15 years, intense work has gone into studying the first four decades of Auroville’s economy. The result is a comprehensive book of 360 pages entitled "Economics for People and Earth – The Auroville case 1968-2008". Written by Henk Thomas and Manuel Thomas it was published by Auroville Social Research Centre. From the Auroville side, Harini was part of the research team since 2006 and was joined by Guy in mid-2012. A research publication on Auroville’s economy, the book investigates: Auroville’s economic principles as envisaged by the Mother; Auroville’s economic history over the first 40 years; Issues of work and maintenance for Aurovilians; Work and employment opportunities for neighbouring villages; Auroville’s economic activities through 17 case interviews; Performance of Auroville’s commercial and service sectors; Central Fund and its "carrying capacity"; Auroville’s sustainability as a model for durable socio-economic development. The project was financially supported by Stichting de Zaaier.
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