Sunday, November 30, 2014

Times nearly up

My time living in a vegan community its almost up. I've had some amazing experiences and met some great people but I feel that it is time to move on.

Auroville is an interesting place. They have a lot of money (not sure where it comes from) but they are constantly putting on free shows and concerts which is a part of the system I do appreciate. Most activities on auroville are free and of a really high standard. They all build on great principles but I'm not sure how many of those principles work in reality. I think the idea of auroville, that each person can own land and farm it and work it the way they would like to is wonderful and that everyone supports each other in their endeavours. However, i have to wonder if such a community is feasible without the vast amounts of money the indian government pumps into it. It seems that people somewhere in the world have to do the dreadful jobs in order for the happy community of auroville to survive. One of the big things that comes to mind is the clothing. There are no cotton farms in auroville so fabric and clothing have to be brought in, fabric spun by factory workers well out of sight of the regular aurovillian. But wearing nice clothes doesnt seem to weigh in on their consciences. Also auroville is a completely flat town, yet very few people cycle here with most happy top jump on ancient pollution spewing motorbikes to get around. I would think such a place would value a cycling community and although cyclists are respected on the roads, they are few and far between.

I think this post is very cynical because I think people like modern day luxuries and when honestly given the choice tend to convenience over environment. If not even the hippies can do it, how can we expect the rest of the world to do it?

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