Category Archives: Education
Welcome to ‘A Library Of Things’
Alot - A Library Of Things is an initiative taken by Earth&Us, which is an Auroville unit working as sustainability consultants and resource management experts.
We tend to own a lot of things but seldom use all of the things we possess, resulting in clutter in our cupboards and our lives. We want to possess and store things to satisfy the impatience of having things readily available for our use, even it is just a one time use.
Earth&Us have come up with a solution. Alot, which acts as library of things, literally. The idea is to have collective archive of tools and products which can be accessed by the community and returned back to the library, making it readily available for others to re-use. This takes away the huge burden of purchasing, storing and maintaining a lot of our things. Imagine buying a drilling machine, to put few shelves and not finding a need for it for next few years or the toys the children get bored of faster than even seasons can change. Mass consumptions demands mass production and ultimately causes mass destruction of our natural resources. The library of things poses as a hope of not only giving respect to the great tools we invent but also paves way for a community to come closer and relate to each other through the service of sharing. This is an innovative concept which will of course go through its teething process and as a progressive community, who encourages collective sharing, we must take initiative to support this new venture, which promises to bring abundance and a joy of sharing in our lives.
What is Petra?
We were hosting Uma and Torkil this morning in our studio, and the talk was on PETRA. What is Petra, where it came from, where is aiming....
Out of Retreat in 2015 many (working) groups has emerged, and one of them was Integral Entrepreneurship Lab, from which group Petra was born. The group is growing, expanding, merging ... because their member feels the need that Auroville moves from urban village toward sustainable township, offering enough support for the human resources to join.
Petra ( a working name, homage to late Petra) would not only be a gateway or filter, but also a place where economy should become a catalyst to turn things around, and develop the city of Dawn; it aspires to be a meeting pong, borderline with holistical approach with inbuilt possibilities and opportunities for residents and visitors alike.
Auro and Auroville
Yesterday's interactive session on exploration of full scholarship opportunities for further study at Auro University in Surat, Gujarat, and possible exchange between Auro and Auroville schools, and projects alike, brought another possibility for our children who might wish to continue with their academic education. The vision and mission of Auro University is based on the principles of Integral Education, and the ideals of The Mother and Sri Aurobindo. The session was facilitated by Chali, Lalit, Gijs and Mike, with Anoop from Auro University also present. As part of the information sharing we were assured that all students from Auroville Schools, even those who are not graded or given a 'recognized' high school diploma, will have an equal opportunity to enroll in a chosen program https://www.aurouniversity.edu.in/
New Language Lab Building
We've been to a small ceremony of consecration and celebration at the new Language Lab building in the International Zone on Auroville's birthday. Here's a short interview to Mita, one of the two founders, explaining us about their activity. www.aurovillelanguagelab.org
Auroville Dream
A chapter on Auroville can be found on this magical book series of Vladimir Megre encapsulating the life and energy of Anastasia, a Siberian Vedic Avatar. Many are called to Auroville after having read this Megre's encounter with Anastasia.
To Heal Skin Problems
Sarah arrived in Auroville as one of many Weltwaerts volunteers from Germany, and has decided to work with plants, since that is her passion, and maybe her future line of work with environmental science. Most of time here she spent at Botanical Garden continuing with the work of a garden someone started last year., and as she mentions, some one will continue after her ...
Sarah compiled booklet, which supposed to be the first one in the series, on Local Medicinal Plants in Tamil Nadu. That one is focused on healing skin problems with local plants.
So many possibilities, and freedom to chose , would be high on the list of things Sarah like about Auroville, followed by her good relationship with Makachi, a Tamil woman with an enormous knowledge on plants and their uses, who generously shared her knowledge with Sarah.....
AV Women’s Health Survey
Paula Murphy, who has been practicing as a mid wife for many years, conducted a survey here in Auroville regarding the health and safety of women. Two hundred and eighteen women participated in this and the presentation of the results was given in Saiier on the 16th March by Paula and Michiel Mussies.
Yoga Day at Ilaignarkal Centre
On the occasion of International Yoga Day, I went to the Ilaignarkal Education Centre to witness the all day yoga celebration. In this segment, I interview Meenakshi and Anand, the principal organizers of the event as well as two participants. Tune in for the inspiring account of the Centre's efforts to disseminate Indian history and culture to the youth as well as Anand's haunting and beautiful Vedic hymns.
The Manifestation of the Art Dome
A conversational interview between Sankalpa: Art Journeys intern Marichelle Gurski (US) and architect Peter A. (German Aurovilian) on his philosophy behind creating the double-dome structure of the Sankalpa Art Center. Sankalpa is sub-unit of Thamarai, including the center located behind Tibetan Pavilion in the International Zone and the Art Cart parked at Visitor's Center. Sankalpa provides the community with creative spaces for transformation of both inner and outer worlds, by breaking down the barriers that inhibit self-expression, making art accessible to all, and facilitating human unity through art.
This is an open dialogue about Peter's journey to Auroville where he found a fascination with geodesic domes and their application in the community. We are given a rare glimpse into the wisdom of the stories he has to tell and how the structure of these domes bring people together.
AV Education Survey: 1968 - 2013
An in depth questionnaire was formulated by Deepti and circulated to others who had been raised and educated in Auroville. This survey captures the voices of 81 Auroville youth over a span of 40 years of educational experiences.
Suryamayi then studied all of the feedback to bring it together in a cohesive manner for this presentation at Bhavisyate on the 14th March 2017.