Open Learning Sessions at the farm

For the last many months, we have been organising learning sessions on the farm every week, opening up the space for people to share their ideas around ecology, agriculture, communication and life Home  »  Blog  »  Open Learning Sessions at the farm Open Learning Sessions at the farm September 2026 · Charan GP For the last many months, we have been organising learning sessions on the farm every week, opening up the space for people to share their ideas around ecology, agriculture, communication and life. Our intention is to create a welcome space for dialogue and collaborative action, which are fundamental to developing a conscious food system.  The sessions are hosted on Friday or Saturday afternoons for a couple of hours. They are open for the entire community and bioregion, volunteers, guests and visitors. There is no charge for the sessions but people can contribute voluntarily. So far, around 350 people have participated in these sessions over the last six months.  Some of the recent sessions were: Mapping Biodiversity This was facilitated by Andres Acosta, bringing together citizen science, biodiversity observation, and climate resilience. Participants learned the basics of the iNaturalist app and explored the DPSIR framework to understand the relationships between human activity, environmental change, climate impacts, and possible responses. A guided walk around AuroOrchard provided an opportunity to observe and document the diverse plants, insects, birds, and other forms of life found across the farm. The workshop was a hands-on exploration of the biodiversity around us and a reminder of how everyday observations can contribute to a deeper understanding of our ecosystems. This workshop also marked the introduction to a larger study  being conducted at AuroOrchard by Andres and Anshul, on the impacts of climate change on agriculture and how the farm practices respond/could respond to them. Conscious Animals This session with Jasmine and Vivekan opened a conversation about our relationships with animals and the role they play in our lives. Drawing from their own journeys of living and working closely with animals, they shared observations from the farm, encounters with farmers, and experiences that have shaped their understanding of care, coexistence, and responsibility. A recurring thread was how animals can become our teachers. Through being with them, observing them, and caring for them, we are invited to slow down, pay attention, and notice qualities that often go unseen in our daily lives. The conversation moved through farming, food, sanctuaries, animal welfare, and the many ways animals have traditionally been part of larger living systems connecting people, land, and community. Conscious Technology and the Future of Farming In this session by Azha, we explored if and how technology can support agriculture while remaining connected to nature? With Artificial Intelligence, the Internet of Things, sensors, automation, and data increasingly entering agriculture, the session explored how these tools can support farmers and ecological stewardship, alongside reflection on human consciousness. At the Lab, we are experimenting with smart irrigation, automation, sensors, and data-driven farming practices to reduce water wastage. The session introduced this ongoing work and offered space to learn, question, and reflect on the relationship between technology, ecology, and the future of farming. Low-Tech Mushroom Cultivation In this workshop with Ishan, participants explored simple, low-cost ways to grow mushrooms using locally available farm residues and household waste. From understanding fungi and preparing substrates to making mushroom buckets, the workshop offered practical ways to bring fungi into farms, gardens, and backyards. We also explored how spent mushroom buckets can be transformed into fungal beds, helping improve soil health and close the nutrient cycle. Each participant prepared a bucket for growing pink oyster mushrooms to take home and continue experimenting with this simple, replicable system. Thinking Like an Ecosystem: From Metacrisis to Regeneration A two-hour workshop with Rahul Tola brought several threads together through whole systems thinking. The session explored the interconnected ecological, social, and economic challenges of our time. Drawing inspiration from nature and the principles of permaculture, Rahul invited us to think like an ecosystem: to notice relationships and patterns, and to consider how these shape resilience and regeneration. Through interactive discussions and reflection, participants explored how a systems perspective can help us understand complexity and inform the ways we design and work. Watch the recording We are grateful to the facilitators and everyone who joined us, bringing their experiences, questions, and willingness to learn. The Secret Life of Honeybees  Erik Jansegers offered us an introduction to honeybees and natural beekeeping. Drawing on more than a decade of working with bees in France and India, he shared experiences of different species, habitats, and hive designs, and ways of keeping bees in greater harmony with their natural behaviour. We explored four species found in our region: Apis dorsata, the giant rock bee; Apis florea, the dwarf honeybee; Apis cerana, the Asian honeybee; and Tetragonula iridipennis, a native stingless bee. Each has its own way of building nests, raising young, storing food, and adapting to its surroundings. The session offered a glimpse into life within a colony, from the roles of queens and workers to swarming and the organisation of brood, pollen, and honey within the hive. Erik also shared practical experiences of hive design, swarm management, harvesting, and feeding, encouraging us to observe bees closely before deciding how to intervene. A central theme was looking beyond honey as the main reason for keeping bees. For an orchard, pollination is an important contribution bees make. We reflected on the flowering plants, suitable habitats, and food resources they need through changing seasons, and how the farm can create conditions where bees and orchards thrive together. Rooted in Health  Dr. Anurag offered an engaging session on Health, Nutrition & Lifestyle Medicine at Pebble Garden, Auroville. The session explored how soil, food, movement, and our environment influence human health, and what it means to shift our focus from treating illness towards prevention. We looked at the modern health burden and the role of food and nutrition, with a deeper exploration of micronutrition and the

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 ArticleNext Article Featured Articles Dry Tropical Syntropic Agroforestry 30 Jul 2026 Initiating the Centre for Mango Conservation… 29 Jul 2026 Dry Tropical Syntropic Agroforestry 30 Jul 2026 Initiating the Centre for Mango Conservation… 29 Jul 2026