Auroville’s Village Outreach Programs
Auroville is home to dozens of village outreach programs, each with a unique focus. This page features profiles of the many different programs. To learn more or support a program, just scroll down and click the “Learn More” or “Learn More & Donate” buttons next to their profile.
Outreach Schools
Aikiyam School provides a progressive kindergarten, primary, and intermediate education for children from Kuilapalayam and other Tamil villages geographically connected to Auroville. The school’s mission is to maintain a creative and joyful atmosphere, where the uniqueness of each child is respected and nurtured.
Contact: Martin Littlewood
martinl@auroville.org.in
Deepam is a therapy centre for children and youth with special needs. Deepam, meaning light, aims to bring light into the lives of the children that we serve. We provide physio, occupational and speech therapy for children from more than 20 surrounding villages. We also provide basic education, healthcare and healthy food which supports our children to grow and shine.
Contact: Angelika Ehrle
deepam@auroville.org.in
Isaiambalam School is a primary school for children from kindergarten to 8th standard. The school utilizes many alternative teaching techniques including Glenn Doman, Phonics, and Rishi Valley. Isaiambalam believes that children and teachers should together create a collaborative learning community where both the teacher and children are partners in learning and growth.
Contact: Sanjeev Ranganathan
sanjeev.ranganathan@gmail.com
New Era Secondary School (NESS) provides education for students in grades 1st through 8th. NESS strives to achieve higher standards of academic excellence through integral education and to bridge the wide diversity of society and culture that exist in the unique international township of Auroville and its surrounding village communities.
Contact: ness@auroville.org.in
ness.cbse@gmail.com
Oli School was founded in 2011 to offer schooling for the pre-school and kindergarten level. They currently serve 120 children between 2 to 6 years of age from the Kuyilappalayam area and surrounding villages. Oli School caters to children of lower socioeconomic status by having only a symbolic fee. The teachers are trained in the Montessori tradition and offer physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual stability for their students.
Contact: Marie-Claire Barsotti
olischoolsindia@gmail.com
Udavi School offers standard education from kindergarten to 10th grade to over 220 students from the Edaiyanchavadi area. Udavi School utilizes a child centered approach to ensure that learning is joyful. The traditional hierarchical systems in the school have been abolished and about 15 Aurovilians work on a full time or a part- time basis in the school. Udavi’s aim is to create a loving and respectful relationship between the teachers and the students; the feeling that the school is meant to serve the needs of the students is evident to our students.
Contact: Davaselvy
udavischool@auroville.org.in
ENRICHMENT EDUCATION
Arulvazhi Education Center has been catering to the educational and cultural needs of children aged 3 to 18 years from the neighboring village. Over the years it has expanded its scope to include women’s education and also serve as a platform for interaction with the delegates from different parts of Tamilnadu and Auroville. The aim is to provide value-based education in an atmosphere of simplicity, beauty, joy, and harmony wherein the children can develop naturally.
Contact: Varadharajan
arulvazhi@auroville.org.in
AVSRC is dedicated to improving the lives of residents in and around Auroville through sports education. Coordination of regular trainings, coaching camps, friendly & goodwill matches and tournaments are part of AVSRC’s on-going efforts towards human unity through sports and subsequent transformation of the human species. Strengthening the relation between Auroville and its surrounding villages is another goal, which we try to reach through a growing communication based on the bilateral interest in sports.
Contact: Jothi, jothi@auroville.org.in
Auroville Film Festival Educational Outreach Program teaches filmmaking in schools in Auroville and the bio-region, as well as provides free equipment to teachers and students. Students are able to engage in creative expression with the language of digital media, use of digital imagery, and filmmaking.
Contact: aurovillefilmfestival@auroville.org.in
Isai Ragam means “Melody of Music”. Its purpose is to offer a space for kids from challenging family circumstances to come and do their homework, learn basic computer skills, and experiment and express together in the modalities of music and dance. The outcomes of the project are improved skills in English, computer and math. And music and dance support brain development and self confidence.
Contact: Brigitte Vink
isairagam2021@gmail.com
Malarchi is a family-style boarding facility for children from the local village outreach school, Aikiyam, who need more stability and support than their families can provide. Usually they are identified by their teachers as students with great potential who come from a challenging home situation, such as single parent homes, or some other family struggle like alcoholism and/or poverty. The kids stay at Malarchi from age of about 9 until 17, when many of them go to college. Malarchi usually helps its kids apply to college and finds funding for college too.
Contact: malarchi@auroville.org.in
New Colors is a learning and social support center, providing free after-school programs for underprivileged children. As a grassroots organization, it combines education, sustainable community development and individual empowerment. Volunteers are welcome to just come and be as they are, as just their communication with children will give them new perspectives about the future and the world. New Colors values every person’s quality, personality and uniqueness within themselves. Changing, adapting and evolving to meet the needs of the village community, New Colors is a different “color” every day.
Payanam cycling organizes cycle trips and student camps aimed at bringing a change of consciousness through learning the culture, wealth, and the resources of Auroville and the AV bioregion. Payanam is run by Auroville youth and is supported by Auroville Botanical Gardens and SAIIER. Through these trips children develop stamina, will power, and explore the leadership quality in them. They practice team work, adapt to changing conditions (weather) and experience a new adventure.
Contact: Sivaoli
payanamcycling@auroville.org.in
Sankalpa means “intention” or “affirmation” in Sanskrit, which is a powerful tool when combined with art making. Art with intention, and as a bridge between us, provides safe spaces and resources for original self-expression. Sankalpa aims to promote insight, awareness, healing and cross-cultural connection.
Contact: sankalpa.art@gmail.com
Thamarai is part of Auroville Village Action Trust, which aims to empower children, youth, and women of the villages. Thamarai runs an after-school project in two villages (Annai Nagar and Edanyanchavadi) for over 120 children and offers natural health care education, sports, community leadership and capacity development programs. Thamarai aspires to bring well-being through quality education and address inadequate literacy skills, poor health and social issues such as debt, domestic violence and addiction.
Contact: Bridget Horkan
thamarai@auroville.org.in
Udhayam is part of Auroville Village Action Trust, which aims to empower children, youth, and women of the villages. Udhayam runs an after-school project for over 30 children and offers natural health care education, sports, community leadership and capacity development programs. Udhayam aspires to bring well-being through quality education and address inadequate literacy skills, poor health and social issues such as debt, domestic violence and addiction.
Environmental Education
Auroville Botanical Gardens offers Environmental Education on Tropical Dry Evergreen Forest and hosts school visits, as well as adult and teacher trainings. The Gardens receive schools from all over India with the focus on creating happy memories associated with the natural world. Local women’s groups participate in a mutual exchange of plant knowledge, offering their own as their own interest is keen and practical.
Contact: botanical@auroville.org.in
EcoPro offers services and educational programs in environmental health and public hygiene. EcoPro works in schools and colleges, as well as villages and cities, to collaborate with all people towards environment-friendly practices and behavior. Their teaching and technologies emphasize the interconnectedness of the bio-sphere and our lives in the management of soil and water, e.g. in wastewater treatment and re-use, in sanitation and bio waste management, and in farming, nutrition, and health.
Contact: ecopro@auroville.org.in
Lifelong Learning
AIAT seeks to establish a learning environment that provides a broad range of vocational educational choices with access to contemporary technologies and opportunities for a holistic personal development through advanced courses, guest lectures, Extra Curriculum activities and Dual System of Training. AIAT contributes to the development of the bioregion through empowering youth with skills for a better livelihood.
Contact: Principal.aiat@auroville.org.in
Stem Land is a center that works on Science and Math through creating and building, rather than didactic learning. Students learn computer programming, electrical engineering, basic math and physics through experimentation. Through this constructivist approach, students become responsible for their learning, work with peers, and demonstrate the concepts they learned through projects.
Contact: Sanjeev Ranganathan sanjeev.ranganathan@gmail.com
The Sustainable Livelihood Institute (SLI) was created in 2015 with the goal of spreading Auroville’s knowledge of sustainable living to rural communities in Tamil Nadu. SLI has designed, organized, and implemented various educational programs for community members and officials of the Rural Development Department to achieve this goal. Attendees leave these programs with knowledge and hands-on experience in the fields of perspective building, skill building and management.
Contact: sli@auroville.org.in
Ilaignarkal Education Center operates in the field of educational and vocational training, helping village workers and their children around Auroville to learn and enhance their basic skills and knowledge base. The Center provides open classrooms, multi-purpose hall, garden space and anytime learning possibilities.
Contact: tamil@auroville.org.in
Kuilai Creative Center hosts extra-curricular activities, such as Silambam, Bharatha Naatityam, yoga, and music. Evening arts and Craft sessions are provided, as well as physical indoor and outdoor games. The Center aims to develop self motivational skills through such programs in order to strengthen one’s hidden talents and skills. Kuilai Creative Center ultimately works to create a bridge between Auroville and the Bioregion to improve their relationship through its event offerings.
Contact: Selvaraj
kuilaicreativecentre@auroville.org.in
Mohanam‘s kindergarten supports over 70 local children from the Auroville bioregion with high quality subsidized education.
Mohanam Kindergarten offers students a multidimensional learning environment filled with a variety of traditional and contemporary knowledge systems.
Since 2004, Mohanam Kindergarten has been inspiring village children around Auroville.
Contact: Rajaveni
mohanam@auroville.org.in