Dry Tropical Syntropic Agroforestry
Since 2023, we have been experimenting with syntropic agroforestry in different parts of AuroOrchard Home » Blog » Dry Tropical Syntropic Agroforestry Dry Tropical Syntropic Agroforestry July 2026 · Anshul Aggarwal Since 2023, we have been experimenting with syntropic agroforestry in different parts of AuroOrchard. This work is part of our wider effort to develop integrated perennial horticulture across the farm through new orchards, diversification of existing orchards, irrigation development, nursery work and biomass-based fertility systems. During the first phase, we worked on approximately five acres. The human relationship with productive forests is older than settled agriculture. Archaeological research shows that hunter-gatherers were actively shaping tropical forest ecologies tens of thousands of years ago through burning, plant movement, selective protection and the concentration of useful species. It would be inaccurate to describe all these practices as agroforestry in the present technical sense. Still, they show that humans were managing trees, plants and forest mosaics for food long before fields of domesticated crops became the basis of settled societies. Many Indigenous and traditional systems continue this long history: home gardens, forest gardens, shifting cultivation, mixed orchards, trees maintained within crop fields and animals grazing beneath tree cover. Modern agroforestry has organised these diverse practices into a recognised field of farming and research, but it did not invent the idea of cultivating with trees. Today, the Food and Agriculture Organization defines agroforestry as the deliberate integration of woody plants—trees, palms, shrubs or bamboo—with crops or animals, arranged together in space or through time. While the term is relatively modern, the practice of growing food within wooded landscapes is very old. Syntropic agriculture, also described as successional agroforestry, is a more recent approach within agroforestry, developed through the work of Swiss farmer and researcher Ernst Götsch.Götsch began field experiments in Europe during the 1970s and later continued his work in Costa Rica and Brazil. After settling in Bahia in the early 1980s, he developed cacao-based systems that combined food crops, fruit trees, service plants and longer-lived forest species. His work gradually became known as syntropic agriculture. In Götsch’s use of the word, syntropy refers to the capacity of living systems to generate increasing organisation, differentiation and complexity. We can create syntropy by understanding how plants can be arranged and managed so that each stage helps create the conditions for the next. Syntropic agriculture uses familiar agroforestry elements—trees, crops, succession, ground cover and biomass—but gives particular attention to: the position of each plant within the vertical canopy; the stage of succession at which it belongs; its life cycle and productive period; its function within the whole system; and the timing of pruning, harvesting and removal. It is therefore more than planting many crops together. It is an actively managed process in which the farmer continually observes how the plants are interacting and changes the system as it develops. Some plants produce food. Others are planted mainly to provide temporary shade, occupy space, protect the soil or generate biomass. Some remain for only a few months. Others become part of the permanent orchard. Designing in space and time A syntropic field is planned with two important considerations. The first is space. Plants are arranged according to the amount of light they require and the height they may eventually occupy. A coconut, avocado, papaya, pineapple and sweet potato use different parts of the vertical space. The second is time. Plants are arranged according to their life cycles and their place in the development of the system. Maize, pumpkin, watermelon and rosella may occupy the first few months. Papaya, moringa and lemongrass may remain for several years. Avocado, jackfruit, citrus and cacao form the longer-term orchard. The first appearance of the field is therefore not its final form. Short-lived plants are harvested. Support plants are pruned repeatedly. Some trees are eventually removed as the main fruit crops require more light and space. A papaya, for example, may protect a young avocado from direct summer sun and produce fruit during the first few years. As the avocado develops, the papaya may need to be cut back or removed. Its role was to help establish the next stage of the system. This combination of vertical stratification, different life cycles and planned succession is central to the design. The Syntropic Trend and the Gap Syntropic agriculture is now being explored in different forms and at very different scales. Its best-known examples are tropical cacao, coffee and fruit systems in Latin America, but the approach has also been adapted to market gardens, school gardens, Mediterranean orchards, temperate fruit and nut systems, and larger experiments combining grains, grasses and rows of trees. Scientific research is also beginning to examine syntropic farming more closely. A 2025 review brought together 67 empirical studies. Most were from tropical countries, with almost three-quarters coming from Brazil and Bolivia. Only one study in the review came from Asia, from Yunnan in China; none of the studies listed were from India. The review found encouraging results in areas such as agrobiodiversity, nutritional diversity, soil fertility, carbon storage, water cycling and plant health. Productivity comparisons with other farming systems were mixed. It also identified considerable demands for labour, knowledge, tools and active management. There is, therefore, a growing body of conceptual writing, practitioner experience and scientific study. What we have found less readily available is open, detailed documentation from dry tropical farms showing actual field dimensions, species quantities, irrigation arrangements, planting chronology, pruning, survival and the changes made over several years. This is the context in which we place our work at AuroOrchard. AuroOrchard has sandy soil, intense summer heat and long periods without significant rain. Young fruit trees require irrigation during establishment, and the plants grown for shade and biomass draw from the same limited water. These conditions shape decisions about density, spacing, species, succession and pruning. Through our trials, we hope to develop and share some practical examples of dry tropical syntropic agroforestry. Design Process Before planting, we began preparing a working species database. It currently
Initiating the Centre for Mango Conservation…
We get asked this question quite a lot! As Permaculture becomes more and more popular and perhaps projected as a wonderful solution for diversity and abundance, it is a general perception that “being a Permaculture farm” is the next big innovation in farming. Home » Blog » Initiating the Centre for Mango Conservation & Research Initiating the Centre for Mango Conservation & Research July 2026· Anshul Aggarwal & Charan GP This year’s abundant mango harvest has felt like an auspicious beginning to the work of establishing a Centre for Mango Conservation & Research at AuroOrchard. The orchard has offered mangoes in a remarkable range of shapes, colours, fragrances, flavours and textures. Some are well-known varieties, while others are local, distinctive or still unidentified trees that have grown at AuroOrchard for many years. The harvest has brought renewed attention to the diversity already present here and to the importance of documenting and conserving it. India has one of the richest mango traditions in the world. Across different regions, hundreds of varieties have been selected, named, cultivated and shared over generations. Each carries its own flavour, use, growing characteristics, cultural associations and relationship with a particular place. Yet this diversity is becoming less visible as markets increasingly favour a smaller number of standard commercial varieties. Over the next three years, we hope to develop AuroOrchard’s existing mango orchard into a living collection of more than 100 varieties. This will include local, heritage, rare, regional and traditional mangoes, along with important commercial varieties and promising seedling selections. Our mango orchard currently contains 210 trees and more than 15 known varieties. The main orchard blocks were first surveyed and mapped and the trees were numbered in 2022. We have again surveyed the orchard and the existing records are being updated. This year’s harvest has also allowed us to begin observing and recording the flavour, fragrance, texture, colour and ripening period of the different fruits. The project is being developed in collaboration with Shyju Machathi and the Nattu Manchottil Educational and Indigenous Fruit Plants Conservation and Research Trust in Kerala. Shyju and the Nattu Manchottil community have played an important role in identifying, conserving and propagating indigenous mango varieties. In recognition of this work, the community received the Plant Genome Saviour Community Award in 2021. Their experience in identifying varieties, collecting scion material, grafting, nursery development and community-based conservation will help guide the work at AuroOrchard. The proposed Centre will include a living mango diversity collection, a professional nursery for grafted plants, a research and documentation programme, and a learning space for farmers, students, volunteers, researchers and visitors. We also hope to organise mango walks, tastings, exhibitions, grafting workshops and other programmes that allow people to experience mango diversity directly. Through this Centre, we hope AuroOrchard can become a home for mango varieties that may otherwise be forgotten, and a place where this diversity can continue to be grown, tasted, studied, propagated and shared. Previous Article Featured Articles Initiating the Centre for Mango Conservation & Research 29 Jul 2026 Grateful for Abundance of Mangoes | 2026 29 Jul 2026 Initiating the Centre for Mango Conservation & Research 29 Jul 2026 Grateful for Abundance of Mangoes | 2026 29 Jul 2026
Grateful for Abundance of Mangoes | 2026
Over the course of the season, we harvested and distributed approximately 12 tonnes of mangoes Home » Blog » Grateful for Abundance of Mangoes Grateful for Abundance of Mangoes July 2026· Anshul Aggarwal This year, the mango orchard offered us one of its most abundant harvests in recent memory. Over the course of the season, we harvested and distributed approximately 12 tonnes of mangoes. The orchard contains more than 15 known varieties, each arriving at a slightly different time and with its own particular shape, colour, aroma, flavour and texture. Among them are Banganapalli, Sindhoora, Neelam, ImamPasand, Totapuri, Rajapuri, Malgova, Dilpasand, Kalapadi, Redigola, Kader along with several old and distinctive trees whose varieties are still being identified. A likely part of this year’s abundance could be just the right sequence of the weather. Good rains before the flowering period followed by a relatively drier period allowed appropriate moisture at the right time for flower and fruit setting. However, it seems that several conditions would have come together, and the orchard responded with extraordinary generosity. Of the total harvest, 11.6 tonnes, nearly 97%, were distributed within Auroville! Together with the fruit supplied to the Ashram, practically the entire harvest remained within Auroville and its neighbouring community. This season also renewed our appreciation of the diversity already present at AuroOrchard and strengthened our intention to document, conserve and care for these trees for the years ahead. We want to thank the entire community for helping in distributing these mangoes, for using as much as they could, for their understanding feedback when the mangoes were not good, and for enjoying this abundance with us. Previous ArticleNext Article Featured Articles Initiating the Centre for Mango Conservation… 29 Jul 2026 Grateful for Abundance of Mangoes | 2026 29 Jul 2026 Initiating the Centre for Mango Conservation… 29 Jul 2026 Grateful for Abundance of Mangoes | 2026 29 Jul 2026
Monthly Updatesㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ
They are now drinking lemon juice from the farm and occasionally some buttermilk to keep cool. The Humane Home » Blog » Monthly Updates Monthly Updates July 2026 · AuroOrchard Poultry The summer has been tough on the birds. We somehow managed with lime water and buttermilk but clearly the heat was a big stress for the birds. We are now installing large exhaust fans in the coops, to help with ventilation and some temperature regulation. In the last months, we also started working with Egle at Aurora to process the chicken meat into forms that are easily usable by people since the meat from older free-range chickens is tougher and cannot be used like the tender broiler meat that is available in the market. Also grateful to the Auroville Bakery for receiving AuroOrchard eggs during summer when the consumption in Auroville was very low. Vegetable garden Through the summer, we have been harvesting Brinjal, Lady’s fingers, Cucumber, Cluster beans, some pumpkin, Drumsticks, spinach of different kinds. Most beds are under Sunnhemp which is now being cut and left on the bed. As we enter the Aadi Maasam, planting has intensified. Soon, we will be planting Sweet Potato, Tapioca, Peanut among the usual vegetable crops. Grateful to all the long term and day volunteers who have helped tend the garden even under the scorching sun Orchards The last months have been overwhelmingly busy with the mango harvests, collecting, storing, sorting, and distributing. This season has also been exceptionally good for Jackfruit and we distributed about 6 tonnes of Jackfruit within the community. We have also had good Pomelo and Lime harvests. The much anticipated Avocados harvests have also started and we are expecting a good season. For the young orchards, we have been pruning, composting, and mulching. We have a wonderful new team which is paying more attention to the details, and helping in developing our new orchards for the years to come. Seeds & Nursery We have extended some parts of the nursery to accommodate the growing number of saplings that we make now. As we bring newer areas under cultivation, and add more diversity, the nursery is becoming more busy and dynamic than before. We also have a new team member, Usha, who brings a lot of dedication to this work. Despite our best efforts, we are still losing a lot of our saplings to rodents, squirrels, rabbits, etc. There is almost 50% loss every morning. We have managed to prevent some of it with meshes and mosquito nets. However, it does bring up the question of the increasing conflict between human and nature in our agricultural systems. Abundance This has been the busiest time for our Abundance team since last year. The team has been completely occupied with peeling, cutting, slicing, pulping, drying, freezing, sorting, packing etc. of mango, jackfruit, lime, herbs, leaves, turmeric, cashew, vegetables, and so on. We also had some help from people who came during some afternoons at the farm and at PTDC to help with processing. This was also a good activity for our garden team later in the mornings, when the sun was too hot to work outside. Gratitude to everyone who helped preserve the abundance of this summer for the rest of the year. Research & Education Our natural beekeeping and conscious technology projects are going as per plan and we will share some interesting updates as longer blog posts. We have also had a heartening response both from facilitators as well as participants for the Friday/Saturday sessions every week. We have hosted sessions around food, health, agriculture, systems, with the intention of nurturing a learning community around these topics. These sessions are not charged and are open to everyone to attend. May 2026 Poultry The health of the birds has been better this month. We installed an exhaust in one of the rooms to see if that helps in keeping the room cooler. The exhaust does seem to help, and we plan to install more in the other coops. We also started experimenting with chicken meat. Until now, the birds were sold off to the villages around once they were about two years old and are not laying as many eggs. Besides the obvious ethical challenge of continuing to raise more birds only till their laying age and then sending them off to be butchered, we were also not killing the birds ourselves and just selling them off. At the same time, Aurovilians continue to consume chicken meat available locally which is full of antibiotics. We are being helped by an Aurovilian to process the chicken meat into sausages and the response to this has been good. While we continue to question how animal farming must evolve in the context of Auroville, we feel it is better that the birds are at least killed by us and provide food within Auroville.http://auroorchard.auroville.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/1000168671.mp4 Vegetable garden We continue to plant beds with green manure and prepare for July planting. We have also been weeding and mulching, returning enormous amounts of biomass from fast growing trees to the soil. This season we are using a green manure mix of sunnhemp, cowpea, black velvet bean, sorghum, peart millet and sesame. The irrigation systems are now even more crucial and running on full capacity. The garden is abundantly producing brinjal with moderate quantities of ladies fingers, cucumbers and beans. Orchards This is the best time to prepare for orchard plantation during summer rains. We are currently preparing soil by planting green manure for planting Papaya, Kumquat, Lime and Cacao. Ginger and Turmeric have been planted in the existing orchards. Our young mango trees planted in 2023 are now beginning to fruit and it is no longer possible to cultivate vegetables in between these trees. We are planning to mark more sections within the mango orchards for pruning and preparing land for diversification and annual cropping. Seeds & Nursery We are extending the nursery to accommodate the growing need for saplings and seed saving on
Nutrition comparison of AuroOrchard eggs with…
There are many assumptions around organic food, ethical food, farm eggs and free-range eggs Home » Blog » Nutrition comparison of AuroOrchard eggs with other eggs in the marketㅤㅤㅤ Nutrition comparison of AuroOrchard eggs with other eggs in the marketㅤㅤㅤ July 2026 · Anshul Aggarwal There are many assumptions around organic food, ethical food, farm eggs and free-range eggs. It is generally believed that these labels must also indicate better nutritional quality. The converse is also common- if the nutrition is the same across different kinds of produce, why pay more for organic food or free-range eggs? We have been actively participating in these conversations for the last few years. We feel that one useful way to understand this is through nutritional testing and comparison. While a one-off test cannot serve as an absolute reference, individual tests can begin to show us a pattern and add more information to the discussion. Food composition varies according to the season, feed, age of the birds and other conditions. Any meaningful comparison would require regular and repeated testing. We also hope that sharing these results will create greater understanding and support for this work, and perhaps help us continue testing periodically, since comprehensive nutritional testing is expensive. After the work undertaken for our animal-welfare certification, and the many improvements made in our poultry system, we wanted to see how AuroOrchard eggs compared with the eggs that Aurovilians otherwise have access to. We sent three samples to Chennai Mettex Lab for comparative nutritional testing: white eggs purchased from Pour Tous Distribution Center; commercial brown eggs marketed as free-range, sold in packs of six and commonly available in stores in and around Auroville; AuroOrchard certified free-range eggs. The full test report can be found here.The following is a comparative summary of the results. All values are given per 100 g of edible egg, excluding the shell. Nutrient per 100 g Pondy White Pondy Brown AuroOrchard Energy 150.89 kcal 152.59 kcal 154 kcal Protein 13.04 g 13.13 g 13.74 g Total fat 10.61 g 10.71 g 10.62 g Saturated fat 3.96 g 3.96 g 3.87 g Carbohydrates 0.81 g 0.92 g 0.81 g Cholesterol 316 mg 273.3 mg 265.8 mg Sodium 120 mg 131 mg 115 mg Omega-3 fatty acids 158 mg 179 mg 196 mg Omega-6 fatty acids 1,183 mg 1,297 mg 1,151 mg Omega-6:omega-3 ratio 7.49:1 7.25:1 5.87:1 The differences in calories, carbohydrates and total fat are very small. All three eggs have broadly similar amounts of these nutrients. The clearer differences are in protein, omega-3, cholesterol and sodium. Among the samples tested, the AuroOrchard egg recorded: the highest protein; the highest omega-3; the lowest cholesterol; the lowest sodium; the lowest saturated fat; the lowest omega-6; the lowest omega-6-to-omega-3 ratio. The AuroOrchard sample contained around 5% more protein than the two Pondy eggs. Its omega-3 content was approximately 10% higher than the Pondy brown egg and 24% higher than the Pondy white egg. Its cholesterol was approximately 3% lower than the Pondy brown egg and 16% lower than the Pondy white egg. What does one egg contribute to our daily nutrition? The laboratory results are reported per 100 g, while an egg normally contains around 50 g of edible material. Egg sizes vary, so the following figures use 50 g as a simple illustration. For daily comparisons, we have used FSSAI’s reference values for an average adult diet: 2,000 kcal, 67 g total fat, 22 g saturated fat and 2,000 mg sodium. WHO describes approximately 50–75 g of protein as generally sufficient for an adult of healthy body weight consuming around 2,000 kcal. These are broad population references; an individual’s requirements depend on body size, activity, age and physiological condition. Approximate contribution from one 50 g egg Nutrient per 100 g Daily recommendation (FSSAI & WHO) Pondy White Pondy Brown AuroOrchard Energy 2,000 kcal/day 3.8% 3.8% 3.9% Protein 50–75 g/day 8.7–13.0% 8.8–13.1% 9.2–13.7% Total fat Up to 67 g/day 7.9% 8.0% 7.9% Saturated fat Up to 22 g/day 9.0% 9.0% 8.8% Sodium Less than 2,000 mg/day 3.0% 3.3% 2.9% The mid to late June showers bring some relief from the heat and life to the parched soil. During this time, we can start growing crops the same as Pin-Pani but also some other crops like cluster beans, flat beans etc.- its still a bit early for these crops but we can still do it. Of course, within this period falls the Aadi masam (mid-July) with heavy winds, when Papayas break and we have an abundance of green papayas in Auroville. Post-Aadi masam is really good for planting a diversity of crops. This is an interesting season because it is post-summer rain but it is not as cool as the post-monsoon season. So, it is in some ways similar to Pre-Summer and that is reflected in the kind of crops we can plant. We can start to grow some arugula in the shade, some greens, and prepare for planting yams and sweet potatoes. What can we conclude? Among the three samples tested, AuroOrchard eggs showed the strongest overall nutritional profile. It combined the highest protein and omega-3 results with the lowest cholesterol and sodium values. It also has a healthier omega-6 to omega-3 ratio. The test does give us some evidence towards how our attention to the birds, their outdoor access, fresh greens and the quality of their food is accompanied by a strong nutritional result in nutritional enhancement. We hope to repeat this testing periodically, across different seasons and flocks, so that we can understand how consistent these results are and how our farming practices influence the food we produce. Previous ArticleNext Article Featured Articles Initiating the Centre for Mango Conservation & Research 29 Jul 2026 Grateful for Abundance of Mangoes | 2026 29 Jul 2026 Initiating the Centre for Mango Conservation & Research 29 Jul 2026 Grateful for Abundance of Mangoes | 2026 29 Jul 2026
Natural Beekeeping and Apiary Project
An exploration of grains through history and the relationship between body and land Home » Blog » Natural Beekeeping and Apiary Project Natural Beekeeping and Apiary Project July 2026 · Erik Jansegers & Anshul Aggarwal Between August 2025 and April 2026, AuroOrchard’s natural beekeeping project made significant progress towards developing a larger, resilient apiary and creating opportunities for learning about bees and small-scale honey harvesting. The project began in August 2025 with two main aims: to gradually expand the farm’s apiary to 100 hives, with the possibility of eventually reaching 200, and to offer workshops for farmers, students and people interested in natural beekeeping. Learning from experienced beekeepers In January 2026, Erik spent six days at MadhuSree Honeybee Farm in Kerala. The farm has over 45 years of experience and manages more than 2,000 colonies of the Indian hive bee, Apis cerana, and the stingless bee, Tetragonula iridipennis. The visit offered valuable practical learning in hive design, colony management, honey production, multiplication of colonies and the organisation of a professional beekeeping operation. It also helped inform the next stage of hive development at AuroOrchard. New hives and growing colonies Almost 30 new hives have been made using three designs developed and adapted by Erik: One Kenyan top-bar hive Five Warré hives Twenty-two stingless bee boxes designed for honey production These designs build on research and experimentation at AuroOrchard since 2015, together with Erik’s earlier beekeeping experience in France. The dimensions, ventilation, entrances and internal organisation of the hives are designed around the needs of the bees and the conditions of our region. The stingless bee boxes include a separate honey chamber, allowing honey to be collected with minimal disturbance to the brood area. The number of Apis cerana colonies at the farm has increased from three in 2025 to seven. The number of stingless bee colonies has grown from around fifteen to more than forty. The colonies are healthy and developing well. We are currently placing particular emphasis on stingless bees, which have shown themselves to be highly resilient in our local conditions. Expanding the apiary In February, the existing roofed apiary structure was extended and an old shed was repaired. Together, these spaces can eventually shelter between 100 and 200 stingless bee colonies. Honey harvesting is expected to begin in January 2027, during the main flowering season from December to March. The coming months will continue to focus on strengthening the colonies, observing the new hive designs and improving them through experience. Sharing the learning On 18 April 2026, AuroOrchard hosted a new three-and-a-half-hour workshop titled “The Secret Life of Honeybees: An Introduction to Natural Beekeeping.” Twenty-five people participated in the workshop, which introduced the lives of honeybees, the differences between bee species, hive design and the principles of working with bees in a respectful and attentive way. The response was very positive and encouraging. Natural beekeeping has been an area of exploration at AuroOrchard for more than ten years. This project is helping us deepen that work, create a strong home for bees at the farm and share what we are learning with a wider community. Previous ArticleNext Article Featured Articles Initiating the Centre for Mango Conservation & Research 29 Jul 2026 Grateful for Abundance of Mangoes | 2026 29 Jul 2026 Initiating the Centre for Mango Conservation & Research 29 Jul 2026 Grateful for Abundance of Mangoes | 2026 29 Jul 2026
The Story of How AuroOrchard Started…
In December last year, I wrote about the dilemmas of agriculture with animals. Home » Blog » The Story of How AuroOrchard Started Offering Meat The Story of How AuroOrchard Started Offering Meat July 2026 ·Madhuri Kadam & Anshul Aggarwal In December last year, I wrote about the dilemmas of agriculture with animals. In this post, we would like to share a little more about how these dilemmas play out in the context of the farm, and what we have been doing with our chickens. Inevitably, during any conversation about the activities of the farm, the question of chickens comes up. Do we need them on the farm? Aren’t Aurovilians supposed to avoid eating meat? Is this appropriate within a conscious community? Is it ethical to keep animals for food production? How is Auroville different if we also participate in animal farming, however well-managed it may be? Our sincere answer involves the following points: A large number of Aurovilians consume milk, eggs and meat for different reasons. At present, they have few sources of animal protein whose production conditions, feed, antibiotic use, animal welfare and traceability can be properly verified. As farmers, we feel responsible for engaging honestly with what the community is already eating and for trying to improve how that food is produced. If farms within Auroville withdraw completely from animal-food production, it does not necessarily mean that consumption will stop. Much of it will simply continue through outside systems over which we have very little knowledge or influence. Our poultry also currently generates around half of the farm’s income and contributes significantly towards supporting vegetable and fruit production. If we stopped poultry within our present system, we would need to considerably expand horticultural production, increase prices, develop another dependable source of income, or reduce the activities of the farm. Auroville is meant to be a field for exploring solutions that may have relevance for the wider world. Animals remain integral to the land, livelihoods, nutrition and farming systems of millions of households in India and elsewhere. If our agricultural solutions completely exclude animals, we may resolve one ethical contradiction while leaving many other agricultural realities unexplored. Expecting farmers to keep domesticated animals indefinitely without receiving food or livelihood from them is also economically unrealistic in many contexts. Our exploration is therefore not simply about whether animals should be present on farms, but about how these relationships can be transformed: how animals are cared for, what conditions they live in, how the food received from them is valued, and how responsibility is taken for their entire lives. Surely, there are counterpoints to each of these arguments. Auroville has a substantial vegan community, as well as many vegetarians by birth or by choice. For many people, this issue is deeply sensitive. For some, the ethical objection is fundamental: animals should not be used or killed for food under any circumstances. We take these objections seriously, even when we arrive at a different practical position. Our position has emerged from the particular realities of food production and consumption within Auroville. We do not claim that better animal welfare resolves the ethical contradiction of using and killing animals. We do feel, however, that as long as animal foods continue to be consumed, there is value in producing them locally, transparently and with greater care. Poultry has been part of AuroOrchard for around 45 years. During this time, it has moved from cages to deep litter and eventually to free-range systems, with the standards improving continuously. Free-range is not the panacea of poultry farming. It is the most responsible system that we currently know how to operate at the required scale within our present conditions. Can it be improved? Of course. We are trying every year to first come up to the best international standards within free-range, and hopefully then surpass those standards. Standards are minimum requirements, not the highest goals. This brings us to the question of what the goal should be. We feel that farmers cannot answer this on their own. As a community, we need to ask- What do we want our food to be? How do we want it to be grown? What standards are we prepared to support, even when they require more labour, infrastructure and money? In the last few years, we have made good progress in understanding the global free-range poultry ecosystem and connecting with people who can help us improve our work. We buy one-day-old chicks from a large commercial hatchery. This itself raises many questions and remains an unresolved part of our system. We have limited influence over the breeding system, the parent flocks and the wider hatchery process before the chicks arrive at the farm. Once the chicks arrive, however, we care deeply for them. They have enough time and space to move, scratch, forage, dust-bathe and express many of their natural behaviours. They are protected from predators and provided with appropriate shelter, feed and care. The difficult question arises when their egg production declines significantly, usually when they are around two years old. At this stage, we need to make space for a younger flock if the poultry activity is to continue. Until last year, we would announce that the older birds were available, and people from the neighbouring villages would come and take several birds at a time. Some would keep them for a while and receive the few eggs they continued to lay. Eventually, however, almost all the birds would be killed for food. It felt wrong to care for the birds for two years and then, once their role on the farm was over, hand them to someone else and distance ourselves from what happened next. We were outsourcing the killing while avoiding the consequences of our own farming decisions. We felt that if we chose to keep birds for eggs, we also had to take responsibility for what happened when we decided to cull the flock. We also felt that if people in
Interview with Christian Tarpin, 2019
Following is an English translation of the French interview with Christian conducted by Emilie Ponceaud Goreau and Anthony Goreau Ponceaud and published in Open Edition of Journals, a French platform for the humanities and social sciences. Christian worked on the farm from 2012-2019, and was the key driver in Home » Blog » Interview with Christian Tarpin, 2019 Interview with Christian Tarpin, 2019 May 2026 · Anshul Aggarwal Following is an English translation of the French interview with Christian conducted by Emilie Ponceaud-Goreau and Anthony Goreau-Ponceaud and published in Open Edition of Journals, a French platform for the humanities and social sciences. Christian worked on the farm from 2012-2019, and was the key driver in transitioning the farm to fully organic. In this interview, he describes how he began his work at AuroOrchard and reflects on his ideas about agriculture, consumption, and creating a new relationship with the soil. Reference: Emilie Ponceaud-Goreau and Anthony Goreau-Ponceaud, “Entretien avec Christian Tarpin. Ferme AuroOrchard, 12 décembre 2019,” Les Cahiers d’Outre-Mer [online], 281 | January–June, published online January 1, 2022. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/com/11323 DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/com.11323 Photograph 1: Christian Tarpin, originally trained as a civil engineer and urban planner specializing in mobility systems, is now a farmer at AuroOrchard, the historic farm of the Auroville community, founded by Gérard and Bithi in 1969. Photograph 2: The “Groundnut Field” and the First Cowshed of AuroOrchard What were your impressions upon arriving here? I discovered the farm on February 15, 2012, shortly after Cyclone Thane had passed through (December 31, 2011). It was devastated, yet I fell in love with it. Forty years of conventional agriculture had damaged it; the cultivation practices, maintaining the soil bare and clean, ready to receive new crops, had destroyed its fertility. This is true in general, but even more so in this climate. On top of that, the cyclone had passed through and caused major damage. I still remember Gérard1 standing in front of the four hectares where there are 300 large mango trees, extending his hand and saying: “and there, the mango orchard”… and I could see nothing, the trees were so entangled, broken… The road entering it was not even visible anymore! But I also saw that Gérard had done incredible work. To what extent does the farm at AuroOrchard fit into the evolution of the local landscape? Hmm… To understand that, we will have to take quite a few detours… In fact, the climax ecosystem of this region is the Tropical Dry Evergreen Forest (TDEF)2. This country experiences intense sun and intense rains; only trees are strong enough to withstand and protect the soil from these aggressions. The region is also described as arid because evaporation exceeds precipitation. In reality, it is bistable: either one strips and damages the land and moves toward desert, or one protects and cares for it and moves toward forest. Agroforestry is therefore unavoidable… agriculture must navigate, oscillate between these two “temptations”: desert or forest. The history of this place is linked to that of Pondicherry. The city was built mainly out of wood, which explains the deforestation. It was also burned and rebuilt several times because of the quarrels between the English and the French. In the eighteenth century, the inhabitants also cleared a ten-kilometre “buffer zone” around the city to protect themselves from leopards and elephants. Auroville was established in this place, intentionally desertified by humans. The landscape evolved toward desertification, especially because cattle are left free to roam here; it is a local tradition. At the beginning of Auroville in the 1970s, the plateau was desert-like, though it nevertheless became green during the rainy season… The inhabitants had developed a rainfed agricultural system consisting of enclosing the fields at the end of spring in order to protect them from cows; they sowed as soon as the first rains of the small monsoon arrived in June, and harvested one or two crops. Afterwards, they opened the fields again, the animals ate the stalks, trampled the soil, deposited their excrement… This ecosystem was fragile; the older Aurovilians experienced sandstorms. Today only 2% of the original forest that once covered the eastern coastal strip of the Indian subcontinent remains. Most often, only the sacred groves around temples survive; when entering them, the presence of these old trees is striking, one can breathe there… It would take centuries to recreate this forest! The history of the landscape here has been deeply marked by human beings. It was once an extremely rich, wooded landscape, but today we continue moving toward the desert. When I arrived at AuroOrchard eight years ago, I had difficulty outlining the farm on Google Maps because the surroundings were still green. Today the green form of AuroOrchard emerges like an island of resistance, green amidst the red of exposed earth! We are still pushing the cursor toward desertification because this is an “economic development” zone, highly coveted along the highway… How did you come to take responsibility for the farm? I always had gardens; I was self-sufficient in vegetables, cultivating more than 1,000 square meters of land to feed my family. It was part of my life, but I had no training as a farmer, even less in tropical agriculture. At first, I considered myself an apprentice; I listened to Gérard, conducted small experiments, and continued the BRF3 approach that he had started in 2011. It was a very good direction, which I developed extensively. Bernard and Deepika4, the founders of Pebble Garden, the seed-conservation vegetable garden where I volunteered, encouraged me. I began here in February 2012, initially one day per week. I observed what was being done, learned their methods, and gradually became more and more involved. By October 2012 I was full-time, responsible for the vegetables… One day, because of an excess of potassium, a field bloomed with green, slimy, foul-smelling algae, like the green tides in Brittany, and I really became angry: “either we switch to organic farming or I leave.” Gérard received this very
What Did Auroorchard Produce & Where It…
This is an overview of the distribution of food from AuroOrchard during April 2025 to March 2026 and its comparison to the previous years. Home » Blog » What Did Auroorchard Produce & Where It Went | 2025-26 What Did Auroorchard Produce & Where It Went | 2025-26 May 2026 · Anshul Aggarwal This is an overview of the distribution of food from AuroOrchard during April 2025 to March 2026 and its comparison to the previous years. This year, our production focus was on fruits and bringing the poultry to a certifiable standard. The work in poultry also shows the increase in production of eggs this year. Similarly, fruit production was higher comparatively. The work with the orchards has certainly diverted some space, energy and attention from the vegetables and we can see a small drop in production for some vegetables, greens and herbs. This is in line with our long term strategy of strengthening the fruit orchards more and more and maintaining the vegetables at a significant yet limited production level. The choice of keeping the vegetables limited is due to lack of demand for local vegetables within Auroville, the distribution challenges that it brings with it as well as the high amount of labour and energy required to consistently produce vegetables in large quantities. Overall, over the last eight years, farm production is rising significantly (see charts below). The following analysis outlines our major production and distribution trends. Overall production trend 2017-2026 Fruits, Nuts & Vegetables The drop in the nut production (cashews) reflects the loss of trees due to land exchange. Last year, we were able to collect some fruit from the lost trees. However, in 2025-2026, we only collected fruit from trees still left at AuroOrchard. The drop in vegetable production, as explained above, is a sign of shifting attention to fruits, and the increase in production of fruits is encouraging. Trend for Vegetables, Fruits and Nuts Six most produced vegetables (figures in Kg) Six most produced fruits (figures in Kg) Eggs In terms of our infrastructural capacity, this is the peak egg production that we can expect. With around 1500 laying birds around the year, we get around 800-1100 eggs per day. While this is still much lower than the daily egg needs of Auroville, expanding this system further has multiple challenges. Therefore we will maintain this scale for the years to come and bring more innovation, better practice within this system progressively. Though the figure of 2025(-2026) looks only a bit higher than 2017(-2018), the quality of the eggs and poultry practices has significantly improved since then. Food preservation/ Abundance This year our food preservation work gained some momentum. We were able to develop multiple recipes and distribute certain products consistently. Distribution The majority of the food produced went to PTDC followed by Auroville restaurants and units like Auroville Bakery, Taste of Korea, La Terrace, Coffee Ideas, Naturellement, Nowana, PTPS, The Right Path Café and The Sprout. Roughly one-fifth went directly in baskets to Aurovilians, Newcomers and volunteers. 96% of the food produced is distributed within Auroville. The remaining 4% is distributed mainly in Pondicherry with the Sri Aurobindo Ashram community through baskets. Solar kitchen remained the lowest consumer (only 1%) and Foodlink’s share has dropped significantly over the last year. Financial sustainability Our main source of income continues to be the eggs. The proportion of income from fruits and vegetables is more or less the same compared to the previous year(s). We had some small income from the preserves distributed through ‘Abundance’ as well as a very small income from sapling sales. The current situation remains concerning as it is not sustainable to depend heavily on only one income source-and that too on the poultry. We are hoping to gradually expand the income shares of fruits and abundance products. You can access the data from 2024-25 here. Previous Article Featured Articles What Did Auroorchard Produce & Where It… 28 May 2026 Monthly Updatesㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ 29 Apr 2026 What Did Auroorchard Produce & Where It… 28 May 2026 Salt: How a Tiny Crystal Took Over Our Meals 28 Apr 2026
The Six Seasons of Aurovilleㅤㅤㅤㅤ
Does Auroville only have one long summer season? That is how it feels. But even the subtle differences make a lot of difference in farming. When I came to Auroville in 2019, I had only farmed in the mountains. I was used to four distinct Home » Blog » The Six Seasons of Auroville The Six Seasons of Auroville April 2026 · Anshul Aggarwal Does Auroville only have one long summer season? That is how it feels. But even the subtle differences make a lot of difference in farming. When I came to Auroville in 2019, I had only farmed in the mountains. I was used to four distinct seasons- of course with their own subtleties, but still the distinction between summer, autumn, winter, spring was quite pronounced. It took me about two years to understand that Auroville actually has six seasons! We have been planning our crops based on this understanding since 2022. Only much later, and recently, I found out that ancient Tamizh literature like Tolkaapiyam, also identifies six seasons for Tamil Nadu. This system of six seasons is called Paruvangal. Each season lasts exactly two Tamizh months, beginning with the Tamizh New Year in mid-April. Interestingly, my observations align perfectly with this age-old system. I will first describe how I observe seasons. The typical cycle of seasons is based on the position of the Earth in relationship to the Sun. The four main events in this yearly cycle with the Sun are- the two equinoxes, where the Earth is in perfect alignment with the Sun and the two solstices, where the Earth is tilted closest or farthest from the Sun. Since we are very close to the equator (12 degrees North) in Auroville, we don’t see the pronounced effects of these movements, and yet there are subtle changes. We can use the visual of breathing in and out- the most fundamental cycle that we experience. As the Earth moves in her cycle, it too breathes in and out. The beginning of the in-breath starts with the Autumn Equinox (September 21st)*. This is the period of going inwards, the year is winding down, we begin to reflect on the activity so far, some have the need to retreat into contemplation and silence, the land starts to cool down after summer and the rhythm of life becomes more relaxed. The peak of this in-breath comes at the Winter solstice (December 21st), the longest night of the year. In-breath, the period of inner activity continues until Spring Equinox (March 21st). We then move to the out-breath, where life starts to wake up from its slumber, flowers bloom, the land and air start to get warmer, microbes and insects multiply, and there is an impulse for external activity. The peak of this cycle is reached at the Summer solstice (June 21st) and this period itself continues until the Autumn Equinox (September 21st), after which it repeats itself. While these periods and patterns don’t apply as per dates and months in the same way to all locations on the Earth, the principles apply to all places and people. Even if not coordinated with seasons, we can easily observe these cycles in our own life. This is the template on which Auroville’s six seasons are based. The breathing cycle of the Earth * These descriptions apply to all of us in the Northern hemisphere of the planet. These patterns will be the exact opposite for people living in the Southern hemisphere. In the case of Auroville, or perhaps larger Tamil Nadu, the two extreme points are Summer and Monsoon, and, in my scheme, they become the reference for all the other seasons. And due to our location close to the equator as well as our proximity to the oceans, our seasons are not only influenced by solar cycles but also by oceanic and wind phenomena. The correlation of these seasons with the calendar months and the Tamizh Paruvangal is as follows: English calendar Solar event Breath cycle Paruvangal Tamizh calendar Pre-Summer Mid-Feb to Mid-April Spring Equinox Out-breath Pin-pani (Late dew) Masi & Panguni Summer Mid-April to Mid-June – Out-breath Ila-venil (Tender heat) Chittirai & Vaikasi Post-Summer Mid-June to Mid-Aug Summer Solstice Peak of out-breath Mudhu-venil (Mature heat) Ani & Adi Pre-Monsoon Mid-Aug to Mid-Oct Autumn Equinox In-breath Kar (Dark clouds) Avani & Purattasi Monsoon Mid-Oct to Mid-Dec – In-breath Kulir (Cold) Aippasi & Kartikai Post-monsoon Mid-Dec to Mid-Feb Winter Solstice Peak of in-breath Mun-pani (Early dew) Margali & Tai I will now describe what these seasons mean to us and how we organise our work based on them. Pre-Summer Paruvangal: Pin-pani (Late dew) | Tamizh calendar: Masi & Panguni | English calendar: Mid-Feb to Mid-April I will put this as the first as this is right after the Pongal festival in mid-January. The first season of a new cycle, and I will call this Pre-Summer. The days are still a bit short and the mornings and evenings are still cool. During this season, we continue planting summer crops like pumpkins, cucumbers, and gourds from the late previous season. We could continue planting some winter crops like spinach, lettuce etc. but the quality of those in this season is not that great due to hot days. The flavour is different and the texture is harder. During Pre-Summer, life is blooming, we can see a diversity of flowers on crops and trees. This is also the best time to save seeds. This season is closely associated with the Post-monsoon season, the last in the cycle (Mun-pani). Summer Paruvangal: Ila-venil (Tender heat) | Tamizh calendar: Chittirai & Vaikasi | English calendar: Mid-April to Mid-June Then, the sun starts to rise in the sky and the days as well as the nights are warmer. This is what I would call the real Summer. The production during this time starts to be limited to a few crops. It’s not so much due to heat but due to limitation of water and pressure from pests. Like many places
