Last Friday was Brazil night at the Eco Film Club, to start February the festive month of carnival. Our day began early, 6:15 AM like every day of the week. Together in a big circle singing a Brazilian song that woke us up in alegria, joy. Today you’re in Brazil, you have to be happy, said Tiago. There was no need for the command, I think I can say that most of us kept on smiling until late in the night. Because there was joy in the morning work, joy in the preparations, excitement also, joy in the music and the dance shared in the afternoon, capoeira vibes, joy in the movie we watched with all the guests crowded in the main hut or even standing outside because there was no place to sit anymore (these Friday nights have become very popular!). And there was joy in the wonderful vegan Brazilian dinner. You should have seen the chain of plates passing through the hut to serve all the friends of Sadhana Forest. You should have heard the serving crew singing and singing while filling hundreds of plates. And you should have tasted the sweetness and the colors of the dinner.

Then was the time for a nice performance. A live illustration of the history of capoeira, the second national sport of Brazil (after soccer). But much more than a sport, capoeira is actually a way of living, a philosophy. Back to the smile and the joy that I mentioned first: capoeira came to the African slaves in Brazil as a way of freeing themselves. Because capoeira is a training in physical strength, concentration and balance. It’s full of positive energy and sharing. Fighting and dancing at the same time. Making music and singing. Smiling. Alegria.

Led by our long term volunteer Reza, the work in the forest has taken on a very intense energy. Volunteers have been digging water conservation holes that are over 2 meters deep and building bunds that are high, wide, and strong. This will enable us to hold much more water on this important area for forest growth.

Mulch is being harvested from all corners of our land and placed on the newly planted trees. The trees and the forest will greatly appreciate all of this hard work once the next rains come.

Thank you to all the bunders!!!

Photo by Jeremy

Over 400 volunteers, guests, and friends joined us for the evening. Sadhana Forest was decorated with traditional Korean lights in the main hut and along our main path. The evening’s program included an environmental film about Korea, calligraphy and chopstick workshop, a dance performance, a Korean drum circle and an amazing vegan Korean dinner.

Many people helped support Korean night – over 20 people helped make the meal which included vegan kimchi, soya stir fry, sweet and salty peanuts, and 1000 vegetable pancakes!

Photo by Jeremy

It was a very special Friday night – thank you to the Korean Pavillion group and all who helped bring Korean Heritage night to Sadhana!!!

Laundry – often overlooked as a part of life in the west – but we wear clothes and they get dirty and we’d like to wear them again…so we clean them. Sadhana had a small table for volunteers to wash the forest debris from their garments but when we jumped up to 120 people this December, our long term volunteer Sebastian (also known as Tobin’s Hygiene Assistant) had the gumption to give the area an overhaul.

The trouble with the previous laundry area was seating, drainage and workspace. Seb started by removing the small table and stone seats and leveling the area. He created a slope towards a deep trench that takes excess laundry water as well as the shower water. In this trench we’ve planted reeds and banana plants to absorb and clean the used water.

Once a flat area was created he laid a border of bricks to hold the floor. Sand was spread out as a foundation. On top of the sand he laid Kadapa stone (a local black lime stone) as a floor that would not get muddied and would allow the water to flow off of quickly. Around the large flat slabs of stone he put small stones as a border to catch any stray water or dirt.

He replaced the stone seats and decided to try out using the floor instead of a washing table to wash one’s clothes. A broom hangs in the middle so that users can scrub the floor before and after walking and washing on it.

So far it both looks nice and works well. Clothes are clean, water goes where it is supposed to and we now enjoy using the space. Well done Seb, many thanks.

It is wonderful to have so many families as part of the community. The energy of the children is an integral part of our community life.

The growth of Children’s Land and all of the families who are part of the Sadhana community are making each day here even more special!!

On Monday, the families joined together to make lunch for the community with the help of Chef Osher – it was a very tasty meal!

Thank You Families!!!

On Monday, January 4^th, we had our new year yatra. A group of 20 guests from Latin America and 10 volunteers joined our long term volunteers Raja and Tiago in Kasipalayam, a village near Sadhana Forest.

The visiting group practices holistic education. Along with Tiago, they shared music, dancing and non competitive games with many children in the village. Raja continued his jewelry making workshop from reusable materials – which brought more joy to many of the children.

The Eco-Cycle yatra continues every Monday at 4 p.m. All are welcome to join us!!!

The focus of the group is to learn more about sustainable living within the environment of Sadhana Forest. The students are working on various topics ranging from vermicompost, veganism, communal living, and spiritual development. We are very happy to have their spirit and energy with us and look forward to learning more about their research.

Welcome Living Routes!!!

Within the forest theater many different actors created a welcoming environment that was themed towards cleansing and renewal. Following the evening forest walk, there was a musical bonfire and a New Year’s chanting countdown.

There was a special midnight vegan snack including organic passion fruits. The community shared the celebration until late in the evening.

Happy end of 2009 and happy beginning to 2010!!!

Photo by Jamey

Last Sunday, December 27, we inaugurated Sadhana Forest Children’s Land!

Photo by Nina

This new project is led by Ana and Tiago with the help of Maja, Reza, Niki, David, Aviram and Yorit. The day’s program was packed with a permaculture course for children, a deep ecology session, joyful non-competitive games, music and singing, a special Thali lunch, and a refreshing group swim in the mud pool. We would like to give a special thank you to John Button and John Seed for their help with the program!

Photo by Nina

Over 250 children and 150 other guests from our neighboring villages and Auroville joined us for the day. Swami, our forest watchmen, conducted the Puja which started off the events.

Photo by Nina

Every member of the Sadhana community and many other friends helped with the Children’s Land events. Various long term and short term volunteers were working with the children during the game portion of the program and many others helped in the preparation of the food and facilities. It was a wonderful team effort.

Photo by Mina

We were very happy to welcome so many children and guests to start this special project. Stay tuned for more exciting news about Children’s Land!!!

Photo by Nina

Dirt and bunds, acacias and bananas, humanure piles and compost pits.  Solar panels and 4.7 acres of thatch huts.  Not a single ham, Santa, or snowflake in sight.  Not exactly the Christmas landscape that many Sadhana volunteers are used to.  Nonetheless, with “a little bit of sense, little of discipline” (as Hugo sings in what has become known as the “Sadhana Song” – expect a video clip sooner or later…), we put together a three-day Christmas bonanza that none of us are likely to forget.

Wednesday the 23^rd began just like any other day: with a morning circle, a bit of singing, and a flurry of activity in the forest, garden, and kitchen.  Over breakfast, volunteers wrote out their names, mixed them up, and chose their partners for the Christmas Even Secret Santa gift swap.  Our usual Thursday night out was moved up a day in anticipation of the special Christmas Eve group dinner, so most volunteers headed out to Koot Road for what was probably the cheapest (and spiciest) Christmas dinner of their lives, or into Auroville for a more traditional meal.

Those who stayed behind – mostly the long-term volunteers and the families who live here – gathered in Aviram, Yorit, Osher, and Shalev’s hut, where they listened to Chris explain an old Christmas tradition, shared a cup of grape juice, broke bread together, and were treated to an amazing homemade vegan Christmas dinner of hummus (a staple on special occasions at Sadhana) with garlic and mint chutney, roast rosemary potatoes, stuffing, pico de gallo, tapioca and jaggery cake, and banana-cocoa-peanut butter mouse.  As if that weren’t enough, the meal was supplemented with a delivery of vegan momos and innumerable vegan chocolate cakes from the Auroville bakery.  The hut rang loud with the chatter of friends, the smacking of lips, grunts of satisfaction, requests for seconds, thirds, and fourths, and poorly remembered, awkwardly sung Christmas carols.  The evening culminated with a group of exhausted volunteers/chefs falling asleep in Osher’s bedroom and spending the night like one big, giddy family.

Christmas eve day, too, began with a circle, some songs, and a good day’s work in the forest and in the community.  Thoughts weighed heavy, though, as volunteers pondered what sort of gifts they could prepare for their unknowing partners.  Possibility lurked in every leaf, coconut shell, sheet of paper, and discarded thingamajig.  As dinner approached, volunteers scrambled lovingly to find, assemble, decorate, and wrap the gifts, and as the gong rang the final gifts were set on the table for all to behold throughout the meal (a nice fresh salad with vegan Shepherd’s pie).  After the meal, the packages were distributed and volunteers were overjoyed to receive poems, drawings, packs of dates and figs, dreamcatchers, houses made of matchsticks, elephants made of cloves, Raja’s famous coconut jewelry, and other such treasures.  An impromptu circle formed in the main hut and volunteers sang and danced until the wee hours of the morning.

Most volunteers took the day off on Friday to head to the beach or just hang out and enjoy each other’s company.  A few, though – the watering, hygiene, and cooking teams – had to put in a few hours of work preparing for the weekly Friday night Eco Film Club, which was planning to show Examined Life (see the films section for more info).  A hundred or so guests from Auroville and the surrounding areas came to see us and the vegan meal and movie went off without a hitch.  The highlight of the night, though, was a special Sadhana Open Stage: a no-talent show (generally held on Wednesdays) in which volunteers perform whatever they want for a crowd of appreciative and supportive onlookers.  An aurovilian guest gave us a magic show; Tobin read a poem and did his (in)famous Banana Penguin routine; Theo and Matthieu played a jaw-harp duet; Ana and Tiago led everyone in some wonderful songs and chants from Burkina Faso; and Ben played a beautiful new song written for (and at) Sadhana, as well as a few others that got everyone on their feet.

What a merry couple of days!  Hope everyone else had an equally enjoyable holiday.