it was a moment to cherish when last week we had the MOU signed between the Tamilnadu Corporation for Development of Women (TNCDW) as the nodal agency and Integral Rural Development (IRD) unit of Auroville for the execution of this project, known as SEDAB (Sustainable Enterprise Development in the Auroville Bio-region).
the project over the next three years will aim to create over 50 community based enterprises in over 11 eco-friendly domains including earth block production, herbal cosmetics, creating village botanists, etc. through the community outreach units of Auroville. over 10 Auroville based units are combining forces, bringing their expertise, knowledge and skills for the purpose of villages in the area. The project (about 9 Crores) is being funded jointly by Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India and the state government of Tamilnadu apart from contributions from the community and financial institutions. The project aims to impact the lives our 2000 families in the region directly. More information on the project and its launch will be available soon.
For us at Samanvaya,it has been a great learning experience working with the Auroville team of amazing people including Joss Brooks and Bhavana. We have benefited immensely through their wisdom, insights and humility. I was in the internal launch meeting at Auroville yesterday and deeply missed the physical presence of Bhavana...one of the visionaries who contributed towards this project through her presence, blessings and ready wit!
In the pic above (1) Uma Haimavati,Executive signing the MOU with Alain Bernard, Trustee and (2) Joss Brooks, in the background.
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