The short answer I believe is, ‘no’. The long answer will take 500 words more. To start with, we need to define “economy” as not just counting coins, but running our collective household (“oikos” – the root of the words eco-nomy and eco-logy). In this case, we can’t rely on our current model of using income from tourism, foreign remittances and government grants to fund individualistic lifestyles. Instead we will need to re-focus on the foundations of human life: clean water, food, health care, resilient social relations, and trust. All of these are dwindling in Auroville, or at best stagnant.
Water tables are sinking fast and aquifers are turning salty. The groups concerned can’t see eye-to-eye which makes it unlikely we will swiftly shift to catching and using the only other source: rainwater.
Food security has not been a priority in the last decade. In 2010 we grew 15% of our food. Today we don’t know our level of food sufficiency because nobody measures it.
For serious health...
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1 Comments
Maybe it is time for an Auroville reality check?
Water and (regional) food supply are fine; health care not. Health center Sante in Auroville central doesn't even have a blood analyze so any sample has to be send to Pondy and its result returns two days later instead of twenty minutes.
With some exchange of available outlying lands we could minimize the missing central pieces of the land puzzle but takes a mind chance for some. The latter is also needed for our building permissions: recently an AV organic cotton weaving unit wanted to build in the Industrial zone but got questioned only because of one sideways involved executive: more need for change of local minds.