Photographer:Gijs | Thomas
10 Feb / 2011Program by:

A Future with Mechanization?

As a kick-off for the presentation of the Auroville Sustainable Agriculture Plan (ASAP), within the next few months, Auroville Radio presents a series of eleven interviews concerning the foods we eat in Auroville. What were the ideas in the old days of Auroville regarding agriculture and sustainable foods? Which agricultural developments did Auroville been through since the first Aurovilians started to change the dusty plains into the forest it is today? How is the present situation in Auroville’s greenbelt and what is it capable of? And, perhaps most important, what are the challenges for the future?….

..Different people, all involved in Auroville’s food sector, give their personal views and opinions on these matters from their own background…In this fourth interview Thomas (Annapurna Farm) tells us how his farm grew from scratch to the only farm growing field crops on a large scale in the surroundings of Auroville. Thomas supplies Auroville with organic grown millet’s and rice and in addition, he developed a significant dairy, producing cheese product like paneer. Thomas shows, in addition to Charlie’s view on the history of farming in Auroville, how the rising economy in Auroville’s region creates challenges for Auroville’s farmers in the future. As labor becomes more and more expensive and agricultural business seems to be more and more out of fashion during the modern rise of India, farmers are forced to think more about mechanization. In relation to the rising prices of plots of lands in the Auroville region Thomas shares his ideas how we might be able to find growth for Auroville’s ideals on self support in the future.
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