Onward into the 6th Year of Acres for Auroville (A4A)

Auroville is a living example of the unity of East and West, and the Acres for Auroville campaign is one example. On 15th August 2014, we launched A4A as a collaboration of Auroville International, based in the West, and Lands for Auroville Unified, based in Auroville, in the East. Thanks to the solidarity of friends like you, we have achieved significant results for the emergence of a harmonious, green, and inspiring universal township. So, with gratitude for the past and optimism for the future, we step into A4A's 6th year! Here’s a round-up of results of our work, reports from [...]

For 51 years, the City of Dawn has flowered step by step, serving and showcasing the oneness of the Human Family in its rich diversity. For Sri Aurobindo, the unification of mankind was “a necessity in the course of Nature, an inevitable movement”. Auroville was created by The Mother to create a place for the “international spirit and outlook” that Sri Aurobindo said must grow up, in line with his great teaching that “all the nations are essentially one..." and that “Truth lies in union rather than in division”.

Sri Aurobindo began his 1949 message to America by writing: “I have been asked to send on this occasion of the fifteenth August a message to the West, but what I have to say might be delivered equally as a message to the East … East and West have the same human nature, a common human destiny, the same aspiration after a greater perfection, the same seeking after something higher than itself …”. And his message is entirely relevant to Auroville, because Auroville was founded for fostering a united humanity.

Sri Aurobindo’s message on the unity of the West and East continues: “It has been customary to dwell on the division and difference between these two sections of the human family and even oppose them to each other; but, for myself I would rather be disposed to dwell on oneness and unity …. There is a common hope, a common destiny, both spiritual and material, for which both are needed as co-workers.” In our time, we see the complete relevance of his words and the profound need for his inspiring vision!

Thanks to your solidarity, the City of Dawn now hosts 26 new housing units for Auroville’s youth, all built on new Auroville land that was purchased with your donations to Acres for Auroville! Known as the Kriya community, it responds to an urgent need for affordable youth housing, providing 14 single units, 6 family houses, 6 couple units, and a community kitchen for up to 50 residents. Kriya has quickly become a thriving new community, full of energy and youthful enthusiasm. Take a look at what your donations have enabled!

Ed joined Auroville in 1978, and was an innovative pioneer, working at the Matrimandir and then in greenwork at the Forecomers community: “Auroville was then essentially a number of disassociated blocks of land. Settlements were scattered all over the plateau. And, like the land we lived on, most Aurovilians were in basic survival mode. We had to provide shelter, food, water and a social connectivity for ourselves without any form of phone or electronics… eventually I was captured by the utter necessity and delightful challenge of Greenwork.”

"Auroville has been a wonderful new home for me for the last 3 years, a place where practically everything seems possible. Since the joy of creativity is a big part of who I am, Auroville is 'my place' - it gives us immense scope for contributing and self-fulfilment. And there’s the satisfaction of being part of a community. But it’s not just any community! In Auroville, we have an overarching goal. I really feel that we all came here to make a difference for the development of unity…"

For the "Blossoming of Auroville" flower, The Mother wrote: "The more we concentrate on the goal, the more it blossoms forth ..." Our new video clip - with music by Auroville's Nadaka - shows the happy results so far of our collective efforts for Auroville's missing plots!