Summary of 1 - Auroville and The Communities Solution - Creating cooperative communities in South Africa

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00:00:00 - 01:00:00

This YouTube video discusses Auroville, a cooperative community in South India, and its focus on creating a community for unity and developing a sense of oneness where education is child-centric and not just focused on exams. The video explores Auroville's unique approach to money, incorporating ideas such as gift economy, free shops, and volunteering in exchange for accommodation and food. The speaker describes numerous initiatives and projects undertaken by the Auroville community in India, including a town plan based on zones and green practices like permacultures and waste management. Additionally, Auroville has a unique shopping experience called Portuguese where residents can take what they need without any exchange of money, and any surplus goes to help those in need. The video highlights Auroville's emphasis on beauty, with architects drawn from all over the world to learn about their innovative approaches.

00:00:00 In this section, the speaker discusses the idea of communities as a solution to living and offers a brief history of successful intentional communities, including the kibbutz in Israel and Ananda in Italy. The speaker also mentions a research team called Cedar, which studies communities and evaluates the possibility of duplicating successful community models in different parts of the world, particularly in the Western Cape of South Africa. The speaker mentions that having many communities collaborating with each other is easier than having just one and that money should not be the overarching power of life in a community.
00:05:00 In this section, the speaker discusses their experiences living in different communities before arriving at Auroville in 2007. They describe their time in a medieval village in Nepal and in Oregon, where they learned about Auroville through word of mouth. The speaker then goes on to describe their first impression of Auroville, where they were struck by the dynamized water and the unique earth bricks used to build the visitor center. They then discuss their experience living in one of the 130 settlements within Auroville, where they began by cleaning compost toilets and eventually moved on to cooking for thousands of people using solar power. The speaker emphasizes the importance of Auroville's connection to the broader world, noting its immense diversity and thriving community.
00:10:00 In this section, the transcript discusses the clear dream and vision that the creators of Auroville had in mind, which was to create a place on Earth that no nation could claim as its own. The focus was on creating a community for unity and developing a sense of oneness, where education was child-centric and not just focused on exams. Money was not seen as a sovereign law, and work was viewed as an offering for something higher and the community. The goal was human unity, which was reflected in the emphasis on silence and meditation central to Indian philosophy. Ultimately, the aspiration of Auroville was to become a living embodiment of human unity.
00:15:00 In this section, the speaker describes the research and planning aspects of Auroville, highlighting the ease and quality of work due to the community's willingness to contribute and help each other. Auroville's town plan is based on zones including an international, cultural, industrial and residential zone, as well as a center dedicated to peace. The green belt around the city protects it and is a forest buffer with off-grid residents. The crown road is one of the roads going around Auroville, and at the center is a place of meditation open to all with no dogma attached to it. The gardens are thematic and symbolic with one garden dedicated to children and others to different aspects of human consciousness. Auroville has a population of around 3,000 people from 58 countries and 130 communities, with more than a thousand volunteers at any one time.
00:20:00 In this section, the speaker describes the numerous initiatives and projects that have been undertaken by the Auroville community in India. They have over 150 commercial units, 31 international centers, and 400 acres of farmland with 24 farms. A significant aspect of the Auroville community is their outreach programs that provide education and healthcare to underprivileged communities in the area. There are six educational centers, self-help groups, and health facilities. The community is entirely self-sufficient in terms of water, employing a variety of techniques including desalination and windmills. They have also created roads made of earth and use their own homemade bricks for building structures. In addition, there is a strong emphasis on beauty in the community, and architects are drawn from all over the world to learn about their innovative approaches.
00:25:00 In this section, we are given a tour of the various buildings and projects in Auroville, including a library built with rammed earth, a language lab with bio-cooling and a blue zone policy, a free housing project for youth that won international green building awards, and the Nakashima Peace Table, a dedicated space for conflict resolution. The video also explores Auroville's unique approach to money, which involves moving away from money as the predominant force and incorporating ideas such as gift economy, free shops, and volunteering in exchange for accommodation and food.
00:30:00 In this section, the speaker describes the various commercial units in Auroville that contribute to the community, such as organic clothing, metal workshops, and a chocolate factory project that employs women and donates profits to the community. These commercial units pay taxes to the community instead of the government and are run and owned by Auroville. The community also places great emphasis on ecological and green practices, such as fiber optic cables for communication infrastructure, eco-architecture, permacultures, and waste management. Additionally, Auroville has a unique shopping experience called Portuguese where residents can take what they need without any exchange of money, and any surplus goes to help those in need. Finally, Auroville is known for its safety and has a waste-less supermarket called Portus.
00:35:00 In this section, the speaker talks about the level of security and safety in Auroville, which allows for peaceful late-night cycling in the forest. The community has a voluntary safety team and employs security teams to ensure safety for everyone in the community. The speaker also mentions that Auroville has various organic fair trade projects, including a clothing project where the community makes their own clothes. Farming is also a big part of Auroville, and the community aims to be fully self-sustainable. The community eat at the solar kitchen, where they cook with sunlight and offer a vegetarian buffet for free to children and working members of Auroville. The speaker also talks about the diverse food culture in Auroville, where people from different countries offer their cuisine consciously and sustainably.
00:40:00 In this section, the speaker describes the self-initiative mentality that is present within Auroville, citing an example of how they started sourcing organic wheat for their community by getting their bread bakery to source directly from farmers in the wheat-growing area. She also touched on Auroville's mature energy program, which generates a surplus and income from wind turbines, enabling it to be energy negative. In addition, Auroville embraces the spirit of volunteerism, and many people come forward to offer their time and valuable skills, often from high-paying corporate jobs, to help sustain the community. Ultimately, the speaker notes that Auroville's real energy comes from the spirit of giving and outreach, which has had immense benefits for the villagers around Auroville.
00:45:00 In this section, the speaker talks about different projects and initiatives in Auroville which are aimed at creating better livelihoods and upskilling individuals. She discusses a women-only chocolate factory that provides constant training and education while also giving free chocolate to its employees. Additionally, she mentions biospheres which they built to clean water and adoption of parts of the city of Chennai, showing how Auroville is influencing the surrounding areas as well. The community has a botanical garden, seed bank, and farms for rice and millet. The speaker also talks about the celebration of all cultures through international pavilions, as well as numerous sub-communities that exist in Auroville, such as the treehouse community, a group of people who live, build and teach others how to build sustainable and environmentally responsible treehouses.
00:50:00 In this section, we hear about the artistic community in Auroville and how they place a significant emphasis on the arts, which is not commercially driven, making it easier for artists to create without the pressure of commercial success. The education system in Auroville places a premium on lifelong learning and is child-centric, allowing for children to learn in a free and safe environment where they feel secure. The elderly are also well taken care of in Auroville, with many resources available to them, and beautification is an essential aspect of the community's ethos.
00:55:00 In this section, the speaker describes the festivals and facilities within the Auroville community, highlighting the integration of care for the elderly and the support for healing arts. She also explains that because Auroville has already established resources, it can easily host events and conferences without the burden of financial constraints. Additionally, the speaker touches upon the Cedar project, which aims to establish a blueprint for creating communities, and visually represents the abundance of resources available within the Auroville community through an anatomical map.

01:00:00 - 01:15:00

The speaker in the video discusses different models for creating cooperative communities, such as Auroville, Yogananda's model, and the Keirsey model. Auroville is presented as more flexible and open to different ideas, while Yogananda's model had a narrower focus. The speaker also talks about the importance of planning and building a community, including the components needed such as land, food, housing, infrastructure, safety, economy, fundraising, and more. They emphasize the need to establish a clear vision, legal structures, leadership teams, conflict resolution tools, and links with successful communities and expert mentors. The speaker also discusses the feasibility of land use and financial aspects, as well as the importance of choosing safe areas for new communities in South Africa. Finally, they call for properly planned movements with help from successful communities like Auroville.

01:00:00 In this section, the speaker discusses their research into various models for creating cooperative communities, including Auroville, Yogananda's model, and the Keirsey model. They explain that while Yogananda's model had a narrower focus and didn't grow to a large scale, Auroville is more flexible and open to different ideas as long as they align with the broader principle of human unity. The speaker also discusses the idea of creating an interlinked network of communities in South Africa, drawing on different regions' strengths in climate and produce, while remaining mindful of traditional communities' needs and connection to the land.
01:05:00 In this section, the speaker discusses the importance of standing on the shoulders of giants when building a community, and encourages people to visit Auroville in India to gain an understanding of how successful communities are established. The speaker provides an overview of the phases required to establish a community, beginning with establishing a clear vision and guidelines, followed by creating optimal legal structures, gathering people of goodwill, creating leadership teams, developing tools for conflict resolution, and linking with successful communities and expert mentors for guidance.
01:10:00 In this section, the speaker emphasizes the importance of planning and building a community when starting a cooperative living environment. They explain that building a community needs certain components, and it's essential to create a plan that covers all these components like land, food, housing, infrastructure, safety, economy, fundraising, commerce, education, health, outreach, energy, ecology, waste, volunteers, and growth. They suggest having a quarterly review to evaluate and alter plans as needed. Additionally, the speaker talks about the feasibility of land use and financial aspects, which are critical before buying land. Finally, they discuss the growing-up phase, where the community expands, and fundraising becomes more comfortable as donors can see the concrete results of the community's efforts.
01:15:00 In this section, the speaker discusses the importance of starting new communities that are aligned with successful ones like Auroville in South Africa. They also highlight the challenges that come with zoning as well as safety concerns, emphasizing the need to choose areas that are inherently safe and protected. The speaker points out that communities are essential in South Africa due to safety concerns, and calls for a movement that is properly planned with help from successful communities like Auroville. They also note that everyone in Auroville is available to help create a community in South Africa.