Real life volunteer experiences

It was, quite simply, terrific fun

Written by Arnrid Wood

This place is pure magic. You take a scary Indian bus from Pondicherry to Auroville, and ride on a scooter down a sandy path to the homestead, in the middle of the forest. There, a community of volunteers from all over the world stay from a few weeks to a few years, living sustainably, while planting and growing a forest of endangered dry tropical evergreen trees. It is the brainchild of Aviram and Yorit Rozin, who came to India from Israel in 2003, and have transformed 70 acres of bare earth to young green indigenous woodland. With skilled water management techniques, they have even managed to raise the water table 6 metres, much to the joy of neighbouring villagers.

We did manual work, nurturing the trees, for four hours a day in exchange for our accommodation, and paid a nominal amount for our vegan food. We lived in wooden thatched huts and cooked on wood burning clay stoves. We used solar panels for electricity; we pumped water from the ground and showered using buckets of cold water, in cubicles open to the sky. We used dry compost toilets and cultivated a spirulina pool. The philosophy was about caring for the earth and non violence. Every aspect of life was thought through to harmonise with these aims. We were encouraged to share our skills in a series of informal workshops, and during our time off, we could bike to the local town of Auroville, or go to the beach.

It was, quite simply, terrific fun. Everyone was welcoming to new volunteers coming, and it was grand to mix with people from all over the world. While you don’t get to experience “real India” – this project is off-the-wall unique – it does challenge your normal lifestyle. I have carried home with me eco lifestyle changes – like becoming a vegetarian, only using biodegradable soap and shampoo, and getting rid of my car.

I cannot recommend this project highly enough.

About the placement

For more information, visit the placement page for Reforest South India.