Experiments with Syntropic Agriculture
In the last few years, we have observed that the consumption of Auroville vegetables is going down within Auroville. The five most consumed vegetables in Auroville- Potato, Tomato, Onion, Cauliflower and Carrot don’t grow here locally. The demand for locally grown vegetables is low in our international city and even then, we are competing with produce available in Pondicherry and around at very low prices. Considering all this, we have consciously decided to grow more fruits as there is a lot that we can grow and that is still is being bought from outside- Papaya, Banana, Pineapple, Chikoo, Guava, Citrus, Coconut, Jackfruit, Custard apple, Ramphal, Avocado, and so forth. Home » Blog » Experiments with Syntropic Agriculture Experiments with Syntropic Agriculture July 2025 · Anshul Aggarwal In the last few years, we have observed that the consumption of Auroville vegetables is going down within Auroville. The five most consumed vegetables in Auroville- Potato, Tomato, Onion, Cauliflower and Carrot don’t grow here locally. The demand for locally grown vegetables is low in our international city and even then, we are competing with produce available in Pondicherry and around at very low prices. Considering all this, we have consciously decided to grow more fruits as there is a lot that we can grow and that is still is being bought from outside- Papaya, Banana, Pineapple, Chikoo, Guava, Citrus, Coconut, Jackfruit, Custard apple, Ramphal, Avocado, and so forth. We are now either densifying the existing orchards or reorganizing some orchards towards more efficient and productive plantations. Main design objectives: Increase fruit production in the next 2-5 years. Employ syntropic methods to increase density and use biomass to feed the soil. Try new plants like Coffee and Cacao- create microclimate to support these species. Entropy, Negantropy and Syntropy The idea of entropy originated in the late 19th century in thermodynamic studies. Entropy is the measure of disorderness of a system, a measure of its chaos (Clausius, 1865). The conventional understanding suggests whenever a system goes through any transformation, the entropy of the system increases, giving us the famous axiom that the universe is increasingly moving towards chaos. While this may be true for theoretical models and isolated systems, we, in fact, observe a completely opposite phenomenon in living systems that are transforming all the time. Later scientists observed that what we see as chaos in living systems over time, is in fact, higher forms of natural order, spontaneous configurations that make the system more and more stable. A seed releases its energy to germinate, to grow as a plant, as a tree towards higher complexities of life and order. Human beings learn over time to develop a more and more complex consciousness. This leads us to the idea of a decreasing entropy of systems, a negative entropy, or negentropy (Schrödinger, 1944). While negentropy gives us a new perspective of what is happening in nature, it still doesn’t tell us why it is happening-why is disorder moving to more order. Syntropy fills this gap. It adds a teleological aspect to the transformation of systems. Syntropy suggests that we become what we become not only because of what we were, but also because of what we could be. A tree unfolds from a seed not only because of the nature of the seed, but the potential of becoming a tree that is inherent in it. This understanding highlights a goal, a pull from the future towards higher orders, as much as a push from the past foundations. We can also relate this idea to Yoga, a movement towards a complete union, a path of progress, development and unfolding of a harmony in greater complexities. What is Syntropic Farming? The concept of Syntropic farming method was developed by Swiss farmer and researcher Ernst Götsch, who settled in Brazil in the 1980s. Originally trained as a geneticist and plant breeder, Götsch became disillusioned with conventional agriculture and began experimenting with natural regeneration processes in tropical ecosystems. His approach, outlined in his influential paper “Breakthrough in Agriculture”, proposes that human cultivation can regenerate rather than deplete ecosystems. At its core, syntropic farming is based on ecological succession and stratification, mimicking the structure and dynamics of natural forests. Instead of combating nature, it works in harmony with it by planting a consortium of species—pioneer, secondary, and climax—across different light strata and life cycles. This method emphasizes high biodiversity, minimal external inputs, and a continuous process of pruning and biomass management to accelerate soil fertility and system evolution. How is it different from Permaculture’s Food Forest? It is important to make this distinction as a syntropic forest is significantly different from a food forest. Firstly, the goal of a syntropic forest is ecological restoration and not necessarily to provide food. It works on the principle of ecological succession and stratas which translates to light requirements and life cycles. In a food forest, however, the goal is to fit as many edible species into one consortium based on vertical spacing/layering as possible. There is emphasis on ‘support species’ in Syntropic farming to support soil fertility and main crop. In a food forest, edible crops are privileged over other crops. Also, syntropic systems are way more dynamic than a food forest. A syntropic system changes form with the completion of the life cycle of each plant. On the other hand, the idea in a food forest is to put together a system that will stay in the same consortium for as long as possible. In a syntropic system, Papaya may be grown as an initial species to use light and will be cut down after a couple of years to allow the main fruit crop under it to grow further. The goal in the food forest, on the other side, will be to preserve the Papaya and perhaps increase the spacing within the main fruit crop to allow for Papaya to continue growing. We will talk about the benefits of the syntropic approach over food forest in the following sections. Site Selection
The hydrological cost of growing our food
In my last note, I shared about the economic paradigm that is taking us towards a ‘world without agriculture.’ I would like to explore this economic paradigm a little more by isolating the costs of the food that we grow. Let’s take water as the first one. As per several studies, agriculture accounts for about 70% of all freshwater use globally. This number is more than 80% in a country like India where over 50% of the population is still engaged in agriculture. Within Auroville, farms (perhaps along with Matrimandir) are the biggest users of freshwater. The challenges of groundwater depletion, rampant use of free electricity borewells in the bioregion for non-edible crops like casuarina and other fast-growing timber, the beginnings of salination of groundwater and so on offer an opportunity to us to reflect on the hydrological cost of growing food and how can we not only reduce our water consumption but, perhaps what I think is more important to focus on, optimize the use of water in agriculture. Home » Blog » The hydrological cost of growing our food The hydrological cost of growing our food Mar 11, 2025 · Anshul Aggarwal In my last note, I shared about the economic paradigm that is taking us towards a ‘world without agriculture.’ I would like to explore this economic paradigm a little more by isolating the costs of the food that we grow. Let’s take water as the first one. As per several studies, agriculture accounts for about 70% of all freshwater use globally. This number is more than 80% in a country like India where over 50% of the population is still engaged in agriculture. Within Auroville, farms (perhaps along with Matrimandir) are the biggest users of freshwater. The challenges of groundwater depletion, rampant use of free electricity borewells in the bioregion for non-edible crops like casuarina and other fast-growing timber, the beginnings of salination of groundwater and so on offer an opportunity to us to reflect on the hydrological cost of growing food and how can we not only reduce our water consumption but, perhaps what I think is more important to focus on, optimize the use of water in agriculture. There are different ways of thinking about what we should grow and what we can grow depending on people’s preference and the weightage we can give to the ecological and social costs of growing food. Should something be grown only because it’s easier to grow, or because it is more water efficient, or because people really ask for it, or it is less labour intensive and so on. The answer to these questions is never black and white and they change from situation to situation and from time to time. For instance, farmers cannot impose water efficiency over people’s preference for a certain kind of food. At the same time farmers cannot simply chase what the market demands, prioritizing it over its ecological costs. Flood irrigation Flowering Avocado tree A classic case for this is Avocado. It is common knowledge that Avocado is a water guzzling crop. AuroOrchard received its first Avocado seeds from the Mother herself in the early 70s. These we now call the Mother trees. From these trees, many more trees have been planted at AuroOrchard as well as outside. These Avocados are some of the best that we can find in the region, some would say anywhere. There is a huge demand for these Avocados in Auroville and also the Ashram community. Should we be planting more Avocado knowing that we can grow them well? Or should we turn our heads and let people buy Avocados from Pondy market which are nowhere near as good and definitely have a higher ecological cost. Again, the answer is not straightforward and we need to find a balance. We have planted more Avocado trees in the last year but we are exploring how Avocados can be grown with other fruit crops so that water can be used optimally. In such a scenario, the hydrological cost of Avocado gets distributed to many other crops that are growing with it. However, such a solution would then add to the management costs of the system and perhaps the management is even more costly since water for the moment is free. Therefore, if farmers are delegated with the responsibility of conserving our natural resources while farming, there are costs associated with conservation as well and these are to be borne collectively. The hydrological costs of water must not be seen only as the cost of water used to grow food but also the cost to the farmer to be water-wise, to protect the water-source, to optimise farming within the water resource they are entrusted with. Avocados growing with Papayas Previous ArticleNext Article Featured Articles Abundance Product of the Month 22 Oct 2025 Monthly Updatesㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ 22 Oct 2025 Lessons from Auroville Farm Assessment 2023 22 Oct 2025 Recipe Alert!ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ 22 Sep 2025
A World Without Agriculture
I arrived at AuroOrchard in the summer of 2023, intending to help farms produce more food for Auroville. Mostly I wanted to be closer with people passionate about the same. Home » Blog » A World Without Agriculture A World Without Agriculture Jan 31, 2025 · Anshul Aggarwal AuroOrchard saw some great shifts in 2024 with the land exchange, the massive loss of productive orchards and infrastructure, the financial difficulties due to the orchard being leased and finally the cyclone as the year came to a close. Through the commitment of the team and encouragement and support from friends within and outside Auroville, the farm managed to (is managing to) get through these difficulties. These moments of crises have also been moments of reflection, self-assessment, even self-criticism. Mother said to Gerard, “Grow food for Auroville”. It is a simple statement but its context has changed radically. Auroville has changed, the ecosystem has changed, farming has changed, the farmers have changed. As we move towards a new chapter in AuroOrchard’s journey, we are confronted with the same simple question, ‘What does it mean to grow food for Auroville?’. Is growing 8 tonnes of Mango enough? Is growing enough for all the kitchens enough? What does agriculture of the future look like when we are hardly able to manage on the farms? When nature is pictured as abundant and generous, why are our farms always in scarcity? Farms are now being pushed to be financially sustainable. This, in my opinion, is not a bad thing. A healthy farm is not just healthy ecologically. It creates value also socially and economically. Especially if we want young people to join farming, we need agriculture solutions that can support their livelihood and can show that farming is not a profession of poverty. To address this, AuroOrchard is experimenting with new ways of diverse perennial plantations taking inspiration from Syntropic Farming (a technique developed in Brazil by Ernst Gotsch, a swiss farmer and researcher)(Gotsch, 1995). We have also been changing our poultry practices and have introduced a new breed of birds since last year which is more resistant to diseases and well-suited for free range. We continue to push the boundaries of successive planting and harvesting in our vegetable garden, always having something to offer to the community throughout the year (we consistently harvest 6 days a week from Feb-Nov and 3 days a week for Dec-Jan) . All this good work must translate into not just higher quantities of food, but better quality of food (nutrition and consciousness). All this work must translate into better incomes for the farm workers. The world population engaged in agriculture has dropped from 70% to 25% in the last 100 years. In India, the number was 75% a hundred years ago and is now down to just about 45%. Researchers conclude that our goals of development are taking us towards a ‘world without agriculture’ (Timmer, 2009) as the agricultural workforce gradually moves out from the rural landscapes towards more developed sectors of the economy. As Auroville ‘develops’, are we also moving towards an Auroville without agriculture? Who will farm here in 20 years, 40 years? Where is the new generation of farmers of Auroville? Why would anyone join farming if it cannot pay for their sustenance? This is a question in front of all the farmers. Mother said to Gerard, “Grow food for Auroville.” Our work at AuroOrchard is not limited to growing tonnage of food. We need to find solutions to be able to continue serving the land and the community by cultivating food of the highest quality, by cultivating farmers of the highest consciousness. These solutions will not only be ecological, but will also address the social, economic, and even personal and spiritual dimensions of agriculture. We welcome all Aurovilians, newcomers, and volunteers to join us in this exploration. Next Article Featured Articles Monthly Updatesㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ 19 Sep 2025 Abundance Product of the Month 18 Sep 2025 Recipe Alert!ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ 22 Sep 2025 Food and Agriculture in Auroville, India 18 Sep 2025
