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Wednesday, February 12, 2003

Probably describes someone from Auroville best! This one is a community called 'Fertile Windmill'

We have a common kitchen. It is used only for the guests when we have any, and to make the tea for the workers. We have two sets of solar panels, now a bit old and not in very good condition. If I use their electricity for the computer nobody else has any electricity at night, so I am forced to charge some batteries with a noisy generator to be able to use the computer. We have hundreds of fruit trees, mainly mangoes and guavas.

However, as the land was pretty dead and without any topsoil when I first came, and because the water level is very low, we don't get all that many fruits. We have just come to see the trees as forest trees, which also give us occasionally some fruits..

For guests we have two capsules (bamboo-thatch structures) for 150 rupees a day, and ferrocement domes for Rs 200 - 250, including three meals a day.

Basically, the Fertile Windmill settlement passed through several stages:

1971 to the end of 1974 - pioneer stage - Mother sends names to plant trees - I lived in a 200 rupees capsule and walked every day to the neighbouring Fertile community to get a pot of water until the Windmill came up. Began joyfully planting a zillion trees.

End 1974 to middle of '76 - I go to Australia to make some money to plant more trees.

Middle 1976 to about 1983 - I came back from Australia with Dee (now Bhavana) and Ann, more and more tree planting, fencing and bunding the land, up to close to the Matrimandir and to Kottakarai, anti-erosion and water conservation works.

1983 up to 1997 - starting the gemstones and jewellery unit to support Fertile Windmill. Various people came to stay declaring their intention to help. Two are still here. We have learned to be careful to whom to open the door, and hope that, one day, the right people will come. Work consists mostly of earning the money to support the forest and the community.

1997 - The direction is now to make here a Healing centre, and, once another way is found to support the forest and the community, to gradually altogether abandon the commercial activity.

Wonder if I too need to seek greener pastures in order to have my plot of land at Auroville?

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