Very often, we associate the idea of a home with four walls and a ceiling, bricks slathered with paint and cement, while doors and windows frame our perception of what it means to have a shelter. We have spent decades designing these shelters to fit as compactly as possible within the framework of exponentially crowding cities – while, of course, being careful not to have any two structures within the requisite 4.5 meters of each other, for the sacred concept of ‘space’ is one we undoubtedly hold very dear to our hearts.
Amidst the great migration of small towners flocking to metro cities in the hopes of leading better lives, there is a small tribe of individuals with bindles slung over their shoulders who seem to be heading in the opposite direction. No, it’s not that didn’t get the memo or had their GPS fail midway. Their reason for abandoning perfectly decent urban homes which they have been born and brought up in is not that different from the motivation behind the migrants: to lead better lives. The only difference is their new address for building a home is a barren land.
Sadhana Forest comprises 70 acres of barren land tucked away in the regions of Auroville, Tamil Nadu, in the South of India. What used to be one of the only places in the world, apart from Sri Lanka, to house an indigenous Tropical Dry Evergreen Forest (TDEF) is now miles and miles of severely eroded land as far as the eye can see. As close to complete extinction as the TDEF is, the remaining 0.01% of this region is enough for the Sadhana Forest community members to grab on to in their fight for reforesting this land whilst making it their home.
Their efforts in saving the forest – something which they believe is akin to each of our homes – include tree plantation, building check dams and contour trenches on sloping soil, and bunding to conserve the heavy rainwater which otherwise runs off in vain. However, what is most commendable about their sixteen years of work is not the manual labor that they have put in but the sense of community they have created in the process.
Their policy for accepting all volunteers and guests is based on needing no prior notice of their arrival – guests are welcomed with open arms and beaming faces at any time of day. Accommodation within small, makeshift huts in the depths of wilderness is available for nothing in return except their willingness to help regrow the forest. Members of this community have not only devoted their labour for the betterment of nature but also their lifestyle by following a simple vegan diet with as many raw elements as possible. This voyage into simplicity transcends all spheres of their lifestyle, leaving no stone unturned when it comes to living sustainability. Drinking water is collected through manoeuvring hand pumps instead of regular taps as an extension of their water conservation strategy, and most food is grown locally as a result of their own plantation and reaping what they sow.
This mix of Indian and foreign travellers traipsing around the lands of Auroville make this community what it is as they cultivate an atmosphere of companionship and acceptance. They support others to participate in their weekly Open Stage (or what they famously call their ‘non-talent hunt’) where everyone is encouraged to put themselves out there without the pressure of meeting any performance standards, and children are often seen immersed in group games that focus on collaboration instead of competition as a way of life.
When a volunteer ends their stay helping out at the Sadhana Forest, they don’t just leave having learned the meaning of hard work and with a new respect for the environment. On the way back to each of their houses, they glance outside longingly at the diminishing number of trees and ponder what it really means to build a home.
Amidst this sudden onslaught of urbanization as we work towards creating more places of "shelter", it is easy to lose track of what exactly we are seeking shelter from. Is the great outdoors that much of a danger for us that we must tear down its trees and vegetation, and what happens to be the habitat for thousands of species, to make space for our own? Or could this alternate lifestyle of abandoning our cement houses and concrete jungles to live within natural ones catch on in the future years?
The definition of ‘Home Sweet Home’ is for us to decide.
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