Volunteering at “Namkhan permaculture eco-farm”, Luang Prabang, Laos In this article, we try something new. We use our professional experience and newly gathered knowledge to establish a diagnostic / report of the Namkhan eco-farm project. We refer to permaculture ethics and principles. We also look at the key permaculture domains, i.e. domains that require transformation to create a sustainable culture. Based on those references, we reflect upon our personal experience as volunteers for the “Namkhan Permaculture Eco-Farm” project near Luang Prabang, Laos. First, we want to inspire from David Holmgren’s “Permaculture Principles and Paths Beyond Sustainability” and recall that permaculture can be seen as “Tools to Assist in Ethical Decisions: In attempting to lead an ethical life we need conceptual tools that will allow us to find what is appropriate, is practical for the situation and context, and yet will have some enduring value in chaotically changing times. Permaculture, and especially permaculture design principles, are conceptual tools which many people are finding useful in this journey (…) [of] ethical adaptation to ecological realities.”. With our analysis, we want to provide objective feedback and suggest some ideas. We also want to better understand our feelings about this project and eventually justify them.
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Ready for the supramental evolution? As stated on the Auroville website: “Auroville wants to be a universal town where men and women of all countries are able to live in peace and progressive harmony above all creeds, all politics and all nationalities. The purpose of Auroville is to realise human unity.” The purpose of this article is to share some of our impressions, stories and thoughts after our short-term stay in the City of Dawn. Abstract I tend to write (too) long articles. This abstract gives you an overview of the content and the key messages from this blog post. Feel free to read the complete post 😊
In this article we describe Auroville both as Auroville describes itself as well as how we discovered it. The main lesson is that there is the theory, the words on the paper, and there are the facts, what we really experienced. Auroville is a concept in action, it is a living project, which is not achieved, and which is evolving. Some of the objectives are met, others are far from being met. This article is not a cold critic of Auroville, it is our personal examination of what the town aims to be, what it has achieved, which challenges it is going through. We detail our observations regarding the town’s structure and architecture, the relation to money, the relation to spirituality, and much more. We acknowledge that Auroville is a creation of people. From the initiators, the charismatic Mother and Sri Aurobindo, to the current heroes of the multiple projects in Auroville, everyone brings its stone to the edifice. Finally, Auroville is about spirituality, and one thing we cannot deny is that the city is full of vibrant energy, from the Matrimandir to the gardens, the streets, the projects’ sites, the hearts of the people… Many come to Auroville for a unique spiritual experience, all will find it! |
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October 2018
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