This survey is a first attempt to make visible the various home garden projects at Auroville. It does not claim to have recorded 100% of the vegetable home gardens currently established in Auroville. Fruit trees or banana plantations were not considered in this survey as this was beyond the project’s scope.

1.
URBAN
AGRICULTURE
&
HOMEGARDENING
GROWING
A
FUTURE
AUROVILLE
2015

2.
1
DISCLAIMER
This
survey
is
a
first
attempt
to
make
visible
the
various
home
garden
projects
at
Auroville.
It
does
not
claim
to
have
recorded
100%
of
the
vegetable
home
gardens
currently
established
in
Auroville.
Fruit
trees
or
banana
plantations
were
not
considered
in
this
survey
as
this
was
beyond
the
project’s
scope.
Aurovilians
that
have
a
vegetable
garden
and
are
not
captured
in
this
report
are
invited
to
send
an
email
to:
martins@auroville.org.in.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We
would
like
to
thank
all
the
Aurovilians
that
supported
this
initiative
by
sharing
information
and
more
importantly
their
passion
for
vegetable
gardening.
A
thank
you
to
all
the
committed
organic
farmers
in
Auroville
that
have
supported
individual
gardeners
with
technical
advice,
seeds
and
other
input
materials
in
the
past
and
that
inspired
many
to
take
up
cultivation
of
a
little
vegetable
plot.
This
paper
has
been
made
possible
through
the
dedicated
work
of
Katt
Grant,
Segar
Duraikannu,
Vimal
Bhojraj
and
Martin
Scherfler.
A
special
thank
you
to
Krishna
from
Solitude
Farm,
Tomas
from
Annapurna
farm,
and
Riccardo
from
Auroville
Urban
Farming
City
Center,
that
encouraged
this
initiative.
Project
Execution
by

3.
2
EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
Today
there
are
around
47
home
vegetable
gardens
in
Auroville.
They
are
distributed
over
39
communities
and
make
up
a
total
cultivated
area
of
about
11,627m2
(2.87
acres).
The
majority
of
home
gardens,
in
terms
of
square
meters,
are
currently
situated
in
the
green
belt
area.
Although
small
and
medium
sized
vegetable
gardens
within
the
city
area
and
in
some
outside
laying
communities
are
bigger
in
terms
of
numbers.
Not
all
of
the
home
gardens
are
organically
cultivated.
From
the
Aurovilians
interviewed,
the
motivation
for
gardening
varies
between
an
interest
in
trying
it
out
and
learning
new
things,
to
the
fact
that
they
always
did
it
and
that
it
became
a
lifestyle
choice.
Many
gardeners
felt
inspired
to
take
up
vegetable
gardening
by
initiatives
started
in
the
past
by
some
of
Auroville’s
organic
farmers
and
other
individuals.
Home
gardeners
expressed
that
they
would
like
to
see
more
Aurovilians
starting
vegetable
gardens,
having
a
support
of
people
that
can
help
in
setting
up
gardens,
a
platform
to
exchange
experience
and
growing
techniques
and
to
have
an
increased
gift
economy
of
sharing
surplus,
seeds,
seedlings
and
other
garden
input
materials.
At
the
end
of
this
report
urban
agriculture
case
studies
from
around
the
world
are
presented
as
an
attempt
to
start
a
conversation
around
opportunities
and
to
provide
multiple
right
answers
for
future
urban
farming
initiatives
in
Auroville.
The
questions
that
we
would
like
to
ask
include:
Can
we
double
the
area
of
home
vegetable
gardens
by
2020
and
have
an
area
of
25,000m2
under
organic
cultivation?
What
do
we
need
to
put
in
place
to
achieve
this?

4.
3
CONTENTS
GROWING
IN
SIZE
........................................................................................................................................
5
GROWING
WHERE,
HOW
&
WHAT
..............................................................................................................
6
GROWING
(IN)
KIND
....................................................................................................................................
7
GROWING
PEOPLE
.......................................................................................................................................
8
GROWING
CONNECTEDNESS
.......................................................................................................................
9
GROWING
MOTIVATION
............................................................................................................................
10
GROWING
FUTURE
....................................................................................................................................
11
GROWING
IN
NUMBERS
............................................................................................................................
13
GROWING
SUSTAINABLY
...........................................................................................................................
15
GROWING
AS
IN
SCALING
..........................................................................................................................
16
INDIVIDUAL
URBAN
AGRICULTURE
CASE
STUDIES
....................................................................................
18
COMMUNITY
URBAN
AGRICULTURE
CASE
STUDIES
..................................................................................
20
INCOME
GENERATING
URBAN
AGRICULTURE
CASE
STUDIES
...................................................................
22
RECOMMENDATIONS/LEARNINGS
............................................................................................................
23
CONCLUSION
.............................................................................................................................................
25
DIFFERENT
OPERATIONAL
MODELS
FOR
AUROVILLE
............................................................................
26
LIST
OF
TABLES
Table
1
Growth
medium/technology
used
..................................................................................................
6
Table
2
Location
of
vegetable
gardens
........................................................................................................
6
Table
3
Top
vegetable
crops
........................................................................................................................
6
Table
4
Source
of
seeds
...............................................................................................................................
9
Table
5
Source
of
compost
..........................................................................................................................
9
Table
6
List
of
the
communities
currently
participating
in
home
gardens
in
Auroville
.............................
13

5.
4
LIST
OF
FIGURES
Figure
1
Number
of
home
gardens
by
size,
Auroville
2015
.........................................................................
5
Figure
2
Area
of
home
gardens
in
m2
by
category,
Auroville
2015
..............................................................
5
Figure
3
Length
of
time
gardens
haven
been
in
operation
..........................................................................
5
Figure
4
Surplus
production
.........................................................................................................................
7
Figure
5
Garden
work
..................................................................................................................................
8
Figure
6
Reasons
for
having
a
home
garden
..............................................................................................
10
Figure
7
Havana,
Cuba:
food
consumption
................................................................................................
18
Figure
8Auroville:
food
consumption
........................................................................................................
18
Figure
9
Amount
spend
on
food
(USD)
per
day
per
person
in
the
U.S.
.....................................................
19
Figure
10
Case
study
behaviour
changes
after
starting
a
community
garden
project
..............................
21

6.
5
GROWING
IN
SIZE
The
total
number
of
home
vegetable
gardens
in
Auroville
was
found
to
be
47,
making
an
accumulative
total
area
of
cultivated
land
of
11,627m2
(or
2.87
acres).
Figure
1
indicates
the
distribution
in
numbers
of
three
different
sizes
of
vegetable
gardens:
a)
Small
–
15
m2
or
less,
b)
Medium
–
between
15
and
50
m2
c)
Large
–
greater
than
50
m2
.
It
was
found
that
there
is
an
equal
distribution
in
terms
of
numbers
between
the
three
size
typologies.
Small
gardens
may
also
include
small
initiatives
on
balconies
and
terraces.
Figure
1
Number
of
home
gardens
by
size,
Auroville
2015
14
15
18
47
small
medium
large
total
‘We
are
all
interested
in
the
Future,
because
that’s
where
we
will
spend
the
rest
of
our
lives.’

7.
5
Although
each
size
category
has
similar
number
of
gardens,
the
‘large’
garden
size
category
makes
up
the
vast
majority
of
the
total
vegetable
home
garden
area
as
shown
in
Figure
2.
Many
of
the
larger
vegetable
gardens
are
situated
in
the
green
belt
area,
making
up
8,784m2
of
the
‘large’
category.
Figure
2
Area
of
home
gardens
in
m
2
by
category,
Auroville
2015
The
survey
results
indicate
that
about
one
third
of
the
vegetable
gardens
(13
gardens)
have
been
started
in
the
last
year
only.
Roughly
another
third
(16
gardens)
have
been
set-­‐up
in
the
last
three
years,
whereas
the
other
third
(18
gardens)
have
been
there
for
more
than
3
years.
The
new
addition
of
29
home
gardens
in
the
last
three
years
(8,957m2
)
is
a
truly
positive
sign
for
the
future
of
urban
gardening
in
Auroville.
(See
Figure
3
below).
Figure
3
Length
of
time
gardens
haven
been
in
operation
118
482
11,027
11,627
small
medium
large
total
28%
34%
38%
<
1
year
1
to
3
years
>
3
years
‘We
are
all
interested
in
the
Future,
because
that
where
we
will
spend
the
rest
of
our
lives.’

8.
6
GROWING
WHERE,
HOW
&
WHAT
The
majority
of
the
vegetable
home
gardens
use
soil
as
a
growing
media.
There
are
a
couple
projects
using
hydroponic
systems
and
aquaponics
systems,
adding
a
healthy
diversity
and
experimentation
to
the
home
gardening
landscape
of
Auroville
(see
Table
1).
The
majority
(86%)
of
vegetable
gardens
in
Auroville
are
located
on
the
ground
around
the
buildings.
Balcony
gardening
and
rooftop
gardening
are
still
small
in
number,
accounting
for
7
gardens
only.
Table
1
Growth
medium/technology
used
Technology
soil
45
96%
hydroponics
1
2%
aquaponics
1
2%
Table
2
Location
of
vegetable
gardens
Location*
ground
44
86%
balcony
4
8%
rooftop
3
6%
*
as
some
gardeners
have
gardens
on
the
ground
and
rooftop/balcony
gardens,
the
total
number
of
the
garden
location
and
the
total
number
of
vegetable
gardens
in
Auroville
differ.
The
main
five
crops
cultivated,
in
terms
of
the
number
of
gardeners
listing
these
vegetables
in
their
top
crop,
are
shown
in
table
3
below.
Table
3
Top
vegetable
crops
Vegetable
tomato
32
long
beans
19
lettuce
15
brinjal
13
basil
12
‘Everything
has
beauty,
but
not
everyone
sees
it.’

9.
7
GROWING
(IN)
KIND
More
than
70%
of
gardeners
said
that
they
give
away
their
surplus
production
as
a
gift
to
friends
and
neighbours
(as
Figure
4
shows).
This
indicates
a
vibrant
gift
or
in-­‐kind
economy
around
home
vegetable
gardening.
10%
of
gardeners
are
selling
their
surplus
vegetables
and
13%
are
giving
it
in-­‐kind
and
selling
it.
The
selling
of
surplus
production
is
primarily
done
through
Foodlink,
and
one
gardener
sells
from
home.
Figure
4
Surplus
production
77%
10%
13%
give
sell
both
‘Growing
food
was
the
first
activity
that
gave
us
enough
prosperity
to
stay
in
one
place,
form
complex
social
groups,
tell
our
stories,
and
build
our
cities.’

10.
8
GROWING
PEOPLE
The
majority
of
people
do
the
garden
work
themselves
as
they
enjoy
working
with
the
soil
and
observing
the
growth.
About
45%
have
gardeners
that
help
in
the
vegetable
garden
and
only
two
people
do
not
do
any
work
in
the
gardens
themselves
(see
Figure
5).
Figure
5
Garden
work
51%
4%
45%
self
pay
for
work
both
‘We
may
have
all
come
on
different
ships,
but
we’re
in
the
same
boat
now.’

11.
9
GROWING
CONNECTEDNESS
Auroville
vegetable
gardeners
get
their
inputs
from
various
sources,
connecting
with
the
Auroville
Botanical
Gardens
and
existing
Auroville
farms.
The
majority
of
gardeners
get
their
seeds
from
Botanical
Gardens
and
a
good
number
of
gardeners
produce
their
own
seeds
for
cultivation,
while
the
rest
of
seeds
come
from
a
variety
of
sources
(see
Table
4).
More
than
half
the
gardeners
also
make
their
own
compost,
whereas
the
others
get
it
from
different
sources
as
shown
in
Table
5.
Table
4
Source
of
seeds
Seeds
from:
Number
Botanical
34
Own
14
Overseas
11
Friends
9
Solitude
7
Pondy
6
Pebble
4
Buddha
garden
4
Table
5
Source
of
compost
Compost
from:
Number
Own
29
Village
10
Baraka
5
Matrimandir
4
‘The
true
sign
of
intelligence
is
not
knowledge
but
imagination.’
‘Life
can
only
be
understood
backwards,
but
it
must
be
lived
forwards.’

12.
10
GROWING
MOTIVATION
When
asked
the
question
of
why
they
have
started
a
vegetable
garden,
the
answers
fitted
into
three
main
categories
as
shown
in
Figure
6:
a)
Lifestyle
–
have
been
brought
up
with
a
garden,
and
always
had
one,
b)
Research
&
experimentation
–
enjoy
trying
something
new
and
making
a
model
that
other
people
can
use,
c)
Inspired
–
something
or
someone
inspired
them
to
start
a
garden.
Figure
6
Reasons
for
having
a
home
garden
The
lifestyle
group
doesn’t
have
much
room
for
growth
–
if
you
have
been
brought
up
gardening,
you
already
have
a
garden.
The
people
with
the
skills
and
dedication
to
research
and
experiment
are
only
a
few.
The
group
that
has
the
most
potential
for
growth
is
the
group
of
people
who
get
inspired.
They
usually
lack
the
skills
and
knowledge
to
start
their
own
garden
and
this
is
where
more
support
should
be
in
place
to
enable
the
people
who
are
inspired
to
start
a
home
vegetable
garden.
47%
11%
42%
lifestyle
research
&
experimentaoon
inspired*
‘The
true
sign
of
intelligence
is
not
knowledge
but
imagination.’
*gardens
have
been
inspired
from
Solitude,
Auroville
Urban
Farming
City
Centre,
Pebbles
Garden,
and
Buddha
Garden
‘The
true
sign
of
intelligence
is
not
knowledge
but
imagination.’

13.
11
GROWING
FUTURE
What
do
I
want
to
see
in
Auroville
for
urban/
home
garden
food
production
in
the
near
future?
The
following
three
main
points
came
up:
1. Would
be
nice
for
everyone
to
have
a
home
vegetable
garden
2. For
gardeners
to
grow
different
things
and
share
the
surplus
under
a
gift
economy
3. Promote
and
have
help
to
set
up
the
vegetable
gardens
‘Doing
nothing
is
hard,
you
never
know
when
you’re
done.’

14.
12
Other
suggestions
received:
-­‐ Give
seeds
to
free
store
and
have
a
community
collective
seed
bank,
and
have
a
place
to
exchange
seedlings
and
surplus
produce
-­‐ Grow
hardy
varieties
that
are
easy
to
maintain
–
success
provides
encouragement
to
people
-­‐ Information
available
to
everyone
on
when
to
plant
what
and
have
advice
on
dealing
with
diseases
-­‐ Need
to
deal
with
the
logistics
of
overstocking
of
some
produce
and
what
to
do
with
the
surplus
-­‐ Schools
need
to
concentrate
on
vegetable
rather
than
ornamental
gardens
and
use
the
space
productively,
share
produce
and
knowledge
between
schools,
and
mobilise
the
kids
who
can
then
take
knowledge
to
build
gardens
at
home
-­‐ Have
gardens
scattered
all
through
Auroville
with
edible
landscapes
everywhere
and
make
use
of
the
sunlight
on
rooftops
for
gardens
-­‐ There
is
space
available
to
grow
much
more,
we
need
to
know
who
is
involved
to
share
tips
and
ideas
and
knowledge
between
the
existing
community
-­‐ Urban
gardening
should
be
encouraged
through
friends
and
the
community
–
needs
to
start
from
the
inside
-­‐ Need
to
teach
people
what
to
do
with
local
vegetables
so
people
can
grow
their
gardens
more
efficiently
using
local
varieties
-­‐ Want
home
gardens
to
be
an
important
factor
in
the
Auroville
development
plans
and
have
mandatory
rainwater
collection
in
building
plans
-­‐ For
Auroville
to
have
a
vibrant
culture
of
urban
food
production,
beautifully
and
elegantly
integrated
in
our
built
environment,
supplying
25%
of
our
fruit
and
vegetable
demand
-­‐ For
people
to
start
understanding
that
urban
agriculture
is
an
essential
part
of
human
habitat,
we
can
be
self-­‐sustainable
with
food
if
we
make
smart
decisions
with
our
infrastructure
‘Whether
you
think
you
can
or
you
can’t,
you’re
right.’

15.
13
GROWING
IN
NUMBERS
Table
6
List
of
the
communities
currently
participating
in
home
gardens
in
Auroville
No.
Community
Name
1
Adventure
Vimal
&
Paula
2
African
Pavilion
Eric
3
Anusuya
Aikya
4
Aurodam
Gillian
5
Auromodele
Vikram
6
Azhagu-­‐bhoomi
Balu
7
Baraka
Gabi
8
Center
Field
Aha
Kindergarten,
Joy
Guest
House,
Nandanam
School
9
Citadines
Luigi
10
Dana
Claudine,
Isabelle,
Taranti
11
Deepanam
School
Kristen
12
Evergreen
Bastiaan,
Tamar
&
Amir
13
Existence
Forest
Jeremy
14
Fertile
Johnny
15
Gaia
Maya
16
Gaia's
Garden
Rene
17
Grace
Jinhee
&
Michael
‘Growing
your
own
food
feeds
not
just
the
body,
but
also
the
heart
and
soul.’

16.
14
18
International
House
Bogi
19
La
Maison
Des
Jeunes
Riccardo
20
Madhuca
Anadamayi,
Matilde
&
Mark
21
Maitreye
Akash
&
Monica
22
Mitra
Usha
23
Nursery
John
24
Prarthna
Tejaswini
&
Rishi
25
Reve
Greg
&
Mamota,
Aurosylle
&
Sukrit
26
Ritam
Michael
27
Samasti
Kumar
28
Samriddhi
Biggie,
Shona
29
Solar
Kitchen
Solar
Kitchen
30
Sri
ma
Daniel
31
Sukhavati
Rakhal
32
Surrender
Martin,
Prasad
&
Tomoko,
Sara
33
Swayam
Isha
34
Tibetan
Pavilion
Kalsang
&
Namgyal
35
TLC
school
Isabelle
36
Transition
Samata
37
Udumbu
Jessaminj
38
Udyogam
Naturellement
39
Verite
Dhanya

17.
15
GROWING
SUSTAINABLY
Urban
agriculture
presents
the
unique
opportunity
to
make
use
of
vacant
land
and
rooftop
spaces
to
produce
healthy,
pesticide-­‐free
food.
The
food
is
local
-­‐
people
have
access
to
fresh
produce
that
has
no
transportation
emissions
linked
to
it.
To
be
more
sustainable
human
settlements
can
close
the
resource
loop
as
locally
as
possible.
Urban
agriculture
invites
us
to
close
some
of
these
loops
-­‐
it
gets
people
to
use
kitchen
waste
as
an
input
back
into
their
gardens
through
composting,
recycling
this
'waste'
as
nutrients
back
into
their
food.
Urban
agriculture
will
contribute
to
an
increased
plant
and
animal
biodiversity
in
urban
and
semi-­‐urban
areas,
providing
shelter
and
food
for
pollinators
and
birds.
Often
urban
agriculture
methods
are
intensive,
and
produce
high
yields
per
unit
of
space.
If
properly
managed
urban
agriculture
can
conserve
water
by
using
water
efficient
irrigation
technologies,
it
can
contribute
to
better
storm
water
management
by
providing
better
water
percolation
surfaces,
and
it
may
use
grey
water
from
residential
homes
contributing
to
an
efficient
use
of
water.
Multi-­‐cropping,
a
practice
common
in
urban
agriculture
reduces
the
soil
depletion
that
is
common
in
monocrops.
There
are
many
beneficial
aspects
of
urban
agriculture,
and
it
is
a
big
part
of
growing
cities
sustainably
in
the
future.
‘Growing
food
is
a
philosophy
–
it’s
my
way
of
life.’

18.
16
GROWING
AS
IN
SCALING
Global
food
supply
is
threatened
from
environmental
degradation,
climate
change,
the
dependence
on
food
imports
and
urban
development
trends.
Local
food
and
sustainable
agriculture
movements
are
occurring
around
the
world
due
to
the
increasing
threat
on
food
security
and
also
address
various
issues
such
as
availability
of
healthy
and
organic
food,
diversity
of
choice,
health
and
wellbeing,
education
and
community
wellbeing
and
vibrancy.
This
section
presents
global
case
studies,
separating
them
into
three
operational
models
–
do
it
yourself
(individual),
do
it
together
(community),
and
do
it
for
others
(income
generating),
shown
below
–
to
understand
the
different
operating
models
for
urban
garden
projects.
It
is
an
attempt
to
start
a
conversation
around
opportunities
and
to
provide
multiple
right
answers
for
future
urban
farming
initiatives
in
Auroville.
Do
it
for
others
Do
it
together
Do
it
yourself
‘I
try
to
convince
my
friends
by
showing
them,
telling
them,
and
giving
them
my
fresh
food.’

19.
17
Urban
agriculture
has
many
homes
-­‐
it
can
be
found
on
rooftops
and
balconies,
in
public
parks,
empty
plots,
in
backyards
and
school
yards.
Different
farming
methods
are
used
including
small
plot
intensive
(SPIN)
farming,
permaculture,
natural
farming,
biodynamic
farming
and
hydroponic
and
aquaponic
systems,
to
name
a
few.
It
can
be
done
alone
as
an
individual
practice
either
out
of
necessity
or
out
of
passion
and
conviction;
it
can
be
done
in
collaboration,
creating
intentional
communities
around
healthy
food
production
and
a
peer
learning
environment
based
on
an
in-­‐kind
or
gift
economy
model;
it
can
also
be
structured
as
an
income
generating
project
providing
a
fair
livelihood.
Auroville
has
a
lot
of
potential
to
expand
the
individual
urban/home
vegetable
gardens
as
there
is
plenty
of
potential
garden
space
available
in
its
community
set-­‐ups.
Community
gardens
have
a
huge
education
potential
and
could
be
a
great
knowledge
resource
where
more
experienced
growers
can
support
others
with
less
experience.
Additional
income
generation
or
at
least
cost
savings
through
home
vegetable
gardening
can
add
an
extra
incentive.
But
not
every
project
in
urban
agriculture
may
have
the
aim
to
be
financial
self-­‐sustaining
or
profit
making,
some
may
just
do
if
for
the
joy
of
doing
it.

20.
18
INDIVIDUAL
URBAN
AGRICULTURE
CASE
STUDIES
There
are
many
examples
of
individual
urban
agriculture
models
–
the
ones
analysed
in
the
case
studies
include:
•
home
terrace/rooftop
gardening;
•
sharing
backyards
for
vegetable
production;
and
•
small
plot
intensive
farming
in
urban
places.
The
case
study
of
Havana,
Cuba
shows
that
it
is
possible
for
the
majority
of
a
cities’
food
consumption
(57%
in
this
case)1
to
be
produced
within
a
city.
This
can
be
seen
in
Figure
7
below,
showing
a
comparison
with
Auroville
in
Figure
8.
1
Quirk,
V.
(May,
2012).
Urban
agriculture:
What
Cuba
can
teach
us.
Arch
Daily.
Retrieved
from,
http://www.archdaily.com/237526/urban-­‐agriculture-­‐part-­‐i-­‐what-­‐cuba-­‐can-­‐teach-­‐us/
57%
43%
Internal
food
consumed
External
food
consumed
15%
85%
Internal
food
consumed
External
food
consumed
Figure
7Auroville:
food
consumption
Figure
8
Havana,
Cuba:
food
consumption
‘People
need
to
start
understanding
that
urban
agriculture
is
an
essential
part
of
the
human
habitat.’

21.
19
8
2
U.S.
average
Urban
Homestead
example
Small
plot
intensive
(SPIN)
farming
methods
have
the
potential
for
a
sustainable
income
from
the
production.
Using
these
methods
and
depending
on
the
amount
of
land,
it
is
also
possible
to
produce
enough
for
the
majority
of
a
family’s
vegetable
diet,
decreasing
reliance
on
the
outside
food
system.
SPIN
methods
can
greatly
reduce
food
costs
within
a
household,
to
less
than
$2
per
day
per
person
in
the
U.S.2
,
as
shown
in
Figure
9
from
the
Californian
case
study.
The
Urban
Homestead
in
California
is
able
to
grow
90
percent
of
their
families’
vegetable
diet
in
their
yard.
Through
sharing
of
backyards
and
making
use
of
empty
terrace
and
rooftop
space,
it
is
possible
to
produce
vegetables
throughout
urban
areas,
and
when
done
by
many
people
this
can
greatly
reduce
the
reliance
on
food
imports
from
outside
the
city.
2
http://urbanhomestead.org/about
‘We
are
all
interested
in
the
Future,
because
that
where
we
will
spend
the
rest
of
our
lives.’
Figure
9
Amount
spend
on
food
(USD)
per
day
per
person
in
the
U.S.

22.
20
COMMUNITY
URBAN
AGRICULTURE
CASE
STUDIES
Community
gardens
are
any
piece
of
land
gardened
by
a
group
of
people,
using
individual
or
shared
plots
on
either
public
or
private
land.
The
case
studies
looked
at
include
community
gardens
in
the
following
spaces:
• city
terraces;
• schools;
• unused
plots
of
land
in
the
city
centre;
and
• city
parks.
Community
gardens
are
a
great
way
for
people
to
engage
with
other
interested
gardeners
and
for
knowledge
to
be
shared
between
fellow
gardeners.
This
is
shown
in
Mumbai’s
Urban
Leaves
community
garden
project
that
has
over
500
volunteers
learning
in
the
community
gardens,
taking
these
skills
to
start
their
own
projects3
.
Community
gardens
have
been
used
in
a
very
educational
manner
–
in
the
urban
garden
in
New
York’s
Battery
Park,
many
educational
workshops
are
held
to
educate
people
on
having
and
starting
home
vegetable
gardens.
Gardens
in
schools
are
a
great
way
to
reconnect
kids
with
where
their
food
comes
from,
and
hopefully
pass
on
this
knowledge
and
enthusiasm
to
parents,
which
has
been
working
successfully
in
the
Edible
Schoolyard
Network
throughout
the
U.S.
3
Gokhale,
O.
(Oct,
2014).
Mumbai:
Organic
is
the
way
to
grow
for
these
organic
farmers.
Hindustan
Times.
Retrieved
from,
http://www.hindustantimes.com/mumbai/mumbai-­‐organic-­‐is-­‐the-­‐way-­‐to-­‐grow-­‐for-­‐these-­‐urban-­‐
farmers/article1-­‐1277564.aspx
‘We
already
have
gardens
–
now
all
we
need
to
do
is
use
the
space
productively
to
make
food.’

23.
21
A
community
based
participatory
research
project
on
community
gardens
showed
that
the
frequency
of
vegetable
intake
of
‘several
times
a
day’
increased
67
percentage
points
when
people
got
involved
in
a
community
garden.
The
frequency
of
worrying
about
running
out
of
food
after
their
involvement
in
a
garden
dropped
28
percentage
points4
,
as
shown
in
figure
10
below.
Figure
10
Case
study
behaviour
changes
after
starting
a
community
garden
project
4
J
Community
Health.
(Aug,
2012).
Impact
of
a
community
gardening
project.
Retrieved
from,
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22194063
18%
85%
31%
3%
before
aver
before
aver
individuals
consuming
vegetables
several
omes
per
day
individuals
worrying
about
being
low
on
food

24.
22
INCOME
GENERATING
URBAN
AGRICULTURE
CASE
STUDIES
Income
generating
urban
agriculture
is
when
someone
is
earning
money
from
the
vegetable
production
of
an
urban
garden
-­‐
there
are
overlaps
with
the
above
two
categories,
but
the
case
studies
looked
at
here
are
run
like
businesses
rather
than
gaining
some
extra
money
on
the
side.
The
case
studies
looked
at
include
the
following:
•
homeowners
paying
someone
to
start
and
maintain
a
vegetable
garden
for
them
(and
these
people
running
a
business
from
it);
and
•
small
plot
farms
being
run
as
a
business
within
the
city
boundaries,
including
on
vacant
land
and
using
greenhouses.
The
financial
sustainability
of
these
businesses
is
not
always
certain;
people
paid
to
start
gardens
can
be
sustainable
if
there
is
high
enough
demand,
the
greenhouse
in
the
city
of
Singapore
is
profitable
due
to
its
large
production
levels,
but
the
examples
of
using
small
plots
of
land
in
the
U.S.
cities
of
Detroit
and
in
Texas
are
sometimes
a
financial
struggle,
depending
on
the
amount
of
land,
volunteers,
and
the
structure
of
the
business.
‘The
future
depends
on
what
we
do
in
the
present.’
‘Gardens
are
a
step
forwards
in
consciousness
and
self-­‐sufficiency.’

25.
23
RECOMMENDATIONS/LEARNINGS
1. Creating
a
platform
that
matches
up
people
who
don’t
have
land
and
want
to
garden,
with
people
who
have
excess
space
and
no
desire
to
garden,
can
create
an
efficient
use
of
the
yard
space
in
Auroville.
For
those
in
apartments,
terrace
and
rooftop
gardening
is
a
great
way
to
make
use
of
this
mostly
empty
space.
2. The
recently
released
land-­‐use
plan
of
Auroville
has
indicated
land
within
the
cities
master
plan
area
that
is
valuable
land
for
food-­‐production
and
that
should
be
earmarked
for
urban
agriculture
initiatives.
Initiating
projects
on
some
of
these
plots
will
be
good
way
to
increase
the
culture
of
urban
food
production
in
Auroville
and
to
make
it
an
essential
part
of
any
future
urban
planning
exercise.
3. Workshops
will
be
needed
to
further
build
urban
farming
capacity
and
skills
of
Aurovillians.
Awareness
campaigns
to
create
a
broad
understanding
of
the
benefits
of
urban
farming
may
greatly
help
in
mobilizing
the
community.
Auroville
Urban
Farming
City
Centre
is
similar
to
the
urban
garden
in
New
York’s
Battery
Park
from
the
aspect
of
its
central
location,
and
has
the
potential
to
be
a
main
educational
space.
This
could
be
enhanced
by
putting
on
urban
gardening
workshops
for
people
to
come
and
learn
the
basic
skills
to
build
and
maintain
their
own
home
gardens.
4. The
potential
seasonal
surplus
issue
of
certain
vegetables
and
fruits
needs
to
be
addressed
by
new
modes
of
management
of
the
supply
and
demand
chain.
Farming
and
urban
farming
should
not
be
seen
as
a
competition
but
rather
as
complementary
approaches
that
both
aim
at
healthy
organic
food
production
for
the
community
and
environmental
well-­‐being.
‘The
future
depends
on
what
we
do
in
the
present.’

26.
24
5. Community
gardens,
while
being
used
as
an
educational
space,
could
also
be
used
as
a
place
for
seed
exchange,
providing
access
to
local
and
organic
seeds
for
people
starting
their
own
gardens.
6. Incorporating
vegetable
gardens
and
cooking
classes
more
holistically
into
the
Auroville
school
curriculums
would
provide
children
with
the
knowledge
to
be
able
to
start
their
own
gardens
at
home
and
provide
children
with
a
connection
to
their
food
as
well
as
healthy
eating
habits.
There
is
a
lot
of
potential
in
expanding
the
school
gardens
and
incorporating
cooking
classes
to
teach
recipes
for
local
food,
which
a
lot
of
Aurovillians
are
unfamiliar
with.
All
of
this
knowledge
could
be
brought
home
to
encourage
parents
to
get
on
board
with
home
vegetable
gardens
and
cooking
more
with
local
foods.
7. There
are
people
in
Auroville
who
want
the
benefits
of
fresh
home-­‐grown
produce
but
are
not
motivated
or
don’t
have
the
time
to
do
the
work.
People
with
yards
can
pay
someone
to
start
and
maintain
their
vegetable
garden
to
get
around
this
problem.
People
could
also
be
paid
to
start
up
a
community
garden
if
there
is
a
lack
of
interest,
ensuring
that
there
is
a
space
for
others
to
come
and
learn
the
required
skills
to
start
their
own
gardens.
People
could
also
start
a
community
style
garden
as
a
business,
selling
produce
for
a
profit,
but
still
being
a
place
volunteers
can
learn
the
required
skills
of
gardening.
8. If
there
is
a
lack
of
initiative
in
starting
community
and
home
gardens,
but
there
is
a
demand
for
the
benefits,
paying
others
could
be
a
good
way
to
start.
Once
Aurovillians
are
more
comfortable
and
familiar
with
the
idea,
more
people
are
likely
to
take
up
the
work
themselves
especially
when
educational
places
are
set
up
that
provide
easy
access
for
them
to
learn
the
required
skills.

27.
25
CONCLUSION
In
Auroville,
approximately
10
to
15%
of
the
food
consumed
is
produced
from
Auroville
Farms.
It
seems
that
logistical
issues
and
cultural
food
norms
may
be
adding
to
this
low
figure.
Firstly,
there
are
strong
seasonal
variations
in
local
food
production
due
to
climatic
conditions
and
natural
restraints
on
the
variety
of
crops
that
can
be
grown
in
Auroville.
During
the
main
harvesting
season
there
is
often
a
surplus
of
vegetables
and
crops
from
Auroville
farms
that
do
not
find
a
market
in
Auroville.
This
may
be
due
to
the
fact
that
Auroville
food
processing
units
and
restaurants
work
closely
with
food
suppliers
from
outside,
so
they
do
not
have
to
deal
with
seasonal
variation
both
in
terms
of
quantity
and
variety
of
vegetables
available.
There
may
be
the
need
to
improve
communication
and
coordination
among
various
stakeholders
in
the
food
value
chain
to
address
the
seasonal
surplus
issue
of
Auroville
farms.
Secondly,
many
Aurovilians
do
not
know
how
to
prepare
local
vegetable
varieties
such
as
gourds
and
rather
demand
vegetables
known
to
their
cooking
culture,
which
adds
to
the
food
demanded
from
outside
of
Auroville.
The
number
of
home
vegetable
gardens
in
Auroville
is
growing,
as
shown
by
the
increase
in
numbers
in
the
last
three
years.
When
asked
what
people
want
for
the
future
of
home
vegetable
gardens
in
Auroville,
many
stated
the
need
for
more
help
to
set
up
gardens
and
for
knowledge
on
growing
gardens
in
the
local
area
to
be
available.
If
more
support
is
provided
for
the
movement,
then
it
will
be
easy
for
the
people
who
get
inspired
to
have
a
garden
to
be
mobilised
to
start
and
maintain
one.
Support
can
be
provided
in
different
ways,
as
shown
in
the
various
case
studies
analysed.
‘If
you
impose
a
garden
on
people,
it
won’t
happen
–
it
has
to
come
from
the
inside.’

28.
26
DIFFERENT
OPERATIONAL
MODELS
FOR
AUROVILLE
There
are
various
methods
that
home
gardening
can
be
done,
including
do
it
yourself
farming,
paying
someone
to
do
the
work,
and
through
community
farming,
to
suite
the
different
motives
and
inclinations
of
Aurovilians.
This
can
be
done
on
various
spaces,
including
sharing
backyards,
on
rooftops
and
terraces,
in
schoolyards,
and
on
currently
unused
Auroville
land.
One
of
the
challenges
will
be
the
availability
of
water
on
some
sites
and
the
fencing
of
land
if
this
is
required.
Community
gardens
haven’t
been
successful
in
Auroville
so
far
because
they
have
been
formed
in
very
small
communities
where
there
hasn’t
been
enough
interest
to
maintain
them.
If
a
community
garden
is
made
for
the
whole
of
Auroville,
attracting
only
the
people
who
are
truly
committed,
then
maintenance
should
be
less
of
an
issue.
Community
gardens
are
a
huge
resource
potential
for
urban
farming
education
-­‐
they
are
a
place
where
new
gardeners
can
learn
from
experienced
gardeners.
Community
gardens
are
important
for
creating
a
community
sense
and
an
educational
space
in
all
the
case
studies
looked
at.
Using
central
locations
to
put
on
workshops
has
also
been
a
key
educational
element;
there
is
the
possibility
for
Auroville
Urban
Farming
City
Centre
to
use
its
central
location
to
do
the
same.
People
still
need
help
in
starting
up
their
home
gardens,
so
having
some
trained
people
to
help
with
the
starting
process
will
fill
this
gap.
The
use
of
community
gardens,
providing
workshops,
and
having
help
with
starting
gardens,
together
can
provide
the
support
needed
to
carry
the
momentum
of
the
urban
agriculture
movement
in
Auroville.
There
are
some
logistical
issues
that
need
to
be
looked
at
on
dealing
with
the
surplus
of
some
produce,
and
cultural
food
norms
that
need
to
be
overcome
as
well.
But
once
this
support
is
in
place,
individuals
will
be
able
to
seek
out
the
skills
and
help
they
require
to
have
their
own
gardens,
whether
they
are
in
their
own
backyard
or
someone
else’s,
on
their
rooftop
or
terrace,
as
part
of
a
community
garden,
or
on
other
unused
land
in
Auroville.