Southern Forests
The Southern and especially Forecomers forest lands were some of the first lands purchased by Auroville in the 1960s. Since then Auroville has slowly bought more land in this area, which is now around 200 acres and represents the largest section of contiguous forest in Auroville. It is made up of 5 different stewarded areas which go by the names of Newlands, Mango field, Ravena, Forecomers, and Success.
Acreage: 200 acres
In Ravena, a nursery supplies around 6000 TDEF species per year to various Auroville forest communities. The southern forests are situated towards the end of one of Auroville's watersheds, and they play a large role in percolating excess runoff from higher up the watershed. Huge canyons were formed in this area during the years when the Auroville plateau was barren. Bunds were made higher up on the watershed and check dams were built inside the canyons. Now the canyons and surrounding areas are covered in dense vegetation, but it was not easy. The ground was basically rock when the first Aurovillians began this impressive adventure.
Acreage: 53 acres | Steward: Jaap
New Lands emerged out of the original lands of Forecomers and Success. The main goals in those early days were to work on rainwater conservation, tree planting, soil regeneration, and basic infrastructure to settle. Today, there is a small nursery as the land has been mostly reforested. The seasonal planting continues but the focus is on rare indigenous trees. New Lands is a supportive and thriving community. It has a variety of fruit trees, and small vegetable gardens, all the community members participate in the upkeep of the work. The community uses only a windmill for their water needs and every household has solar power as the only source of electricity. One of the many accomplishments achieved through over 30 years of work is the consolidation of the once-isolated forest plots into an almost continuous forest.
Acreage: 51 acres | Steward: Phillip
Contact: newlandsregina@gmail.com, flip_av@yahoo.com
Pages of Mango Field and Success Forests can be found below:
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