Auro Orchard
AuroOrchard: Growing food for Auroville
AuroOrchard is the oldest and second-largest farm of Auroville, started by the Mother in 1968 to grow food for Auroville. Today, after several decades of tireless work, Auro Orchard provides over 50% of the fruits and vegetables grown within Auroville. After turning completely organic in 2012, the farm now employs research in all aspects of agriculture towards the goal of discovering what agriculture means for a community for future humanity. The farm can broadly be described through the integrality of these dimensions:
Ecological
The farm practices a mix of permaculture design, agroecology, syntropic agroforestry, and traditional and indigenous methods to develop soil health and enhance the biodiversity of the farm.
Social
The farm continues to experiment with collective yoga of work with a large team of over 30 people who come from diverse cultural and social backgrounds and bring expertise and experience across many fields of agriculture. The farm also aims to develop a new generation of farmers by offering a space for volunteers, new Aurovilians and young local farmers to participate in the further development of the farm’s methodologies.
Spiritual
The farm offers a space for connecting with the land and the community working on it. Through work and service to nature, farmers can learn, grow and know more about themselves.
Contact & Whatsapp Number: 9882685365
Orchard Management
Syntropic Farming: Develop layered, diverse crop ecosystems, promoting resilience through natural crop relationships. Successional Agroforestry: Manage plants according to natural succession, enhancing biodiversity and soil health.
Care: Maintaining and caring for old orchards that are either more than 60 years old or have developed over decades since the farm started. Soil health: Employing new techniques and tools for biomass management and growing food for the soil.
Vegetable Gardening Year-Round Harvesting: Intensive vegetable cultivation for a continuous supply of fresh vegetables to Auroville. Integrated Practices: Implement methods like raised beds, composting, green manure, and crop rotation to build soil health and support ecosystem diversity. Breakthroughs with conventional implements: Developing new techniques of working with the tractor for minimal disturbance to the soil and the possibility of large-scale cultivation.
Free-Range Poultry Management Poultry Evolution: Shift from traditional battery cages to free-range systems that emphasize ethical poultry keeping. Hyline Brown Chickens: Focus on brown egg production with breeds adapted for free-range conditions. Ethical Farming Standards: Embrace humane practices that balance animal well-being with community food needs.
Research & Documentation Participatory Research: Collect and analyze data from farm experiments to improve practices. Outreach and Publication: Share findings through research papers, blog posts, and technical reports.
Food
Space to learn and explore Mentorship
Technical guidance
Research interns
Student exchange