It was founded by Mirra Alfassa, The Mother, who in her first public message about the township, stated: ”Auroville is meant 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 realize human unity.” 

During the inauguration ceremony that took place on 28 February 1968, The Mother gave Auroville its 4-point Charter, setting forth her vision of Integral living: 

1. Auroville belongs to nobody in particular. Auroville belongs to humanity as a whole. But to live in Auroville, one must be the willing servitor of the Divine Consciousness. 

2. Auroville will be the place of an unending education, of constant progress, and a youth that never ages. 

3. Auroville wants to be the bridge between the past and the future. Taking advantage of discoveries from without and from within, Auroville will boldly spring towards future realisations. 

4. Auroville will be a site of material and spiritual researches for a living embodiment of an actual Human Unity.

Due to its unique environment and structure, Auroville is a place that fosters and welcomes learning and research through its multiple and diverse organizations, which in turn, strive to support sustainable development in the small communities and the surrounding villages. 

Compiled by Auroville OutreachMedia with the help of Chrystal Vavouldis, a student from the American University of Paris, this catalogue features a list of projects, commercial units and services in Auroville* and the Bioregion** that either support or have as their main mission sustainable development, generally defined as: development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs in return.

* All Projects, Units and Services are registered under the Auroville Foundation. 

**Main sources: Auroville website (http://www.auroville.org/categories/23) Auroville Green Practices Portal (http://www.green.aurovilleportal.org/) SAVI, Auroville Volunteer/Intern Service (http://auroville-learning.net/)