An environmental resource and research center enriching and empowering ecological work undertaken in Auroville and the bioregion.

Overview

Since its inception Auroville has been extremely active in many aspects of environmental work and is now mature enough to extend itself to wider audiences. Environmental awareness is possible through education, the accessibility of information and our direct experiences in the fields of ever-growing research and development.

Access to in-depth information and its communication is extremely crucial. The more well-informed individuals there are on this planet, the greater the potential of large-scale qualitative action. And with an environmental sensitivity ingrained in each one of us, not only does the planet get a chance to heal itself, but the world we live in is also enriched.

Mandara will be an accessible resource center for nformation relating to environmental activities in Auroville and its bioregion. We will be able to inform people about the surrounding environment, thus creating a more symbiotic relationship between them and the ecological space they inhabit. Our motive is to communicate and share knowledge empowering people to live sustainably by learning to accept what is.

Goals

1. Student research facilitation and support for visiting students.
2. Linking environmental work centers in Auroville and the bioregion.
3. Contact point for guests, visitors, Aurovilians and locals.

1. Student research facilitation and support

The richness and diversity of the environment in and around Auroville invites research, the more so since to date it has been studied so little. Through direct contact with relevant colleges and universities in India and abroad (email, posters, brochures) and a website that highlights the diverse ecology of the region, students will be encouraged to undertake short-term independent research projects here (laboratory and experimental plot experiments will also be possible). Assistance to visiting students will be given regarding potential research topics, contacts, and all practical aspects of their stay, against a fee which will assist the center in becoming self-funding.

2. Linking

Mandara will link the existing environmental centers in Auroville (including project-based centers such as Palmyra and Pitchandikulam, farms and forests), and the bioregion by maintaining two databases – one of ongoing activities and general environmental information and a second one cataloguing existing library resources. It will make available the large bank of environmental knowledge, materials and experience that has been generated over the years of Auroville’s Greenwork but remains at present dispersed, not recorded and therefore inaccessible. Mandara will enable the environmental work of Auroville to link with that of the surrounding bioregion and India at large, facilitating communication and interaction between the various groups and centers. Support and endorsement for Mandara has already been gathered from many environmental work centers in Auroville (eg. Pitchandikulam, Harvest, Ravena, Shakti, Auroannam, Samriddhi, Aranya, Aurogreen etc.)

3. Contact point

Guests arriving in Auroville or contacting Auroville who are interested in participating in environmental work at present often have disheartening experiences when they try to connect with possible workplaces. Mandara will be a ‘reception desk’ for such people - it will be publicised at the Guest Information Service, on bulletin boards, in guest houses, and on Auroville websites as the outreach contact for Greenwork in and around Auroville. It will provide all the necessary information on available work possibilities and on the environment and Greenwork in general.

Budget

For the first year, a budget of $9,400 is urgently needed. We encourage you to donate as much of this as possible, so that the work may proceed. The full budget is in the project proposal.

Future Perspective

Mandara is envisioned as a center within the Botanical Gardens from which its various functions will be managed, and which will house facilities such as a library, laboratory, meeting room, computer room, and outdoor space for experimental plots. A proposal for the center complex will be submitted during this first year. The library facility will be further developed largely through online subscriptions to relevant journals and a continually updated list of relevant websites. The information available through Mandara will therefore be topical, current and relevant.

Mandara will develop economic independence and become self-financing largely through the fees paid by the students using the research and support facilities of Mandara. The exact level of the fees charged will be calculated taking into account the running expenses and maintenance of Mandara and the resources used by the student (eg. if using laboratory items), and will be realistically affordable for students while also covering the economic needs of Mandara.

Over time further income-generating schemes will be developed, such as running educational programs for students of different levels or initiating independent related projects.

For More Information

For more information please read the project proposal or contact Gemma at gemma@auroville.org.in.