Auroville is an experimental city founded in February of 1968 by Mirra Alfassa, known in Auroville as the “Mother.” Alfassa was the spiritual partner of Sri Aurobindo who was heavily involved in the Indian nationalist movement and struggle for freedom. Based on Aurobindo’s and her own spiritual beliefs, the Mother desired to establish Auroville in order to create a community dedicated to human unity. She envisioned Auroville as a self-sufficient community where work was seen as a service and not as a means of livelihood. Today Auroville is an alternative community run by Aurovillians, but the city has been overseen by the Indian government since it took over the project in 1980. One of Auroville’s achievements is its emphasis on sustainability and being environmentally conscience. These areas of focus are observed through the projects going on at the Earth Institute and Upasana.
The Auroville Earth Institute was founded in 1989 and emphasizes the research and development of earth-based technology as well as the promotion of the use of raw earth as a building material. The research at the Earth Institute focuses on the use of local raw earth found at the building site as the building material, with minimal use of steel and cement in order to provide a technology that is sustainable and environmentally friendly. Additionally research at the Earth Institute has resulted in the development of hollow interlocking compressed stabilized earth blocks that can be used to build disaster resistant housing.
The aim of the Earth Institute is to promote raw earth as a building material that can be used in conjunction with other renewable energies and sustainable technologies to encourage environmentally friendly development. The production of compressed earth bricks consumes about four times less energy and is four times less polluting than fired bricks; therefore the earth based technology promoted by the Earth Institute is energy and cost effective.
Another objective of the Earth Institute is to educate people on how to build with material from the earth. The training courses offered here have spread the use of earth as a building material to numerous people from all over the world. Since these courses began in 1990, 6,908 people from 69 countries have undergone training. The institute offers theoretical and practical courses in making the bricks and using them in construction projects.
These blocks are made from local soil containing either 5% cement or lime to provide stabilization and are not fired. Cement is used to stabilize sandy soil, while lime is used to stabilize clayey soils, although the use of lime lengthens the amount of time necessary to allow the block to harden. The stabilized earth is slightly moistened and then compressed using a steel press. Various shapes and sizes of bricks can be produced. The brick press used to create these blocks was designed and produced in Auroville and is now sold all over the world. The press uses 15 tons of pressure to make the blocks, which are given a three day initial covered curing and then spend one month drying uncovered in the sun. The blocks are water resistant and various types of blocks can be made including interlocking earthquake resistant bricks and ferrocement - bricks reinforced with steel mesh and rebar.
The use of compressed earth bricks is environmentally friendly in several ways. The use of local material and production of such bricks on site will reduce production and transportation costs because there is no need to import materials over long distances, which leads to a higher cost of building. Additionally the material is biodegradable. Cement is the only additive to the soil and this is broken down by the biochemicals of the topsoil within ten to twenty years. The production of these bricks also avoids the use of firewood, thus slowing the rate of deforestation. Finally the sustainable nature of these bricks is contingent upon the good management of resources at the building site and effective monitoring of the brick-making process.
Upasana is a design studio and social business located in Auroville that represents another aspect of Auroville’s commitment to sustainability. Upasana began in the 1990s because the founders felt the need to give back to the community in South India. Upasana conducts several projects designed to promote social responsibility or to provide livelihood to the underprivileged, while also preserving an aspect of Indian culture. A few of Upasana’s projects also address the need to promote sustainable practices. The Tsunamika project provides trauma counseling to victims of the 2004 tsunami by having women make tsunamika dolls. These dolls are made using materials from industrial waste and provide livelihood to the women who make them. In the Small Steps project, village women construct fabric bags with the goal of making people more conscious of their usage of plastic bags. This project coincides with the Tamil Nadu government’s initiative to reduce plastic bag usage by charging extra money for them.
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