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!!!

Many of the local children were excited about our return. There were also wearing necklaces and jewelry made from coconuts and other reusable materials from previous Yatra visits.

This week we gathered and learned with a group of children that were preparing for the annual Deepam celebration. Soon after, Ana and Tiago brought more music and dance into the Yatra. They began a music session in the center of the village and as many children returned home from school they stopped to watch and joined in the festivities.

Photo by David

During the week, some of our neighbors in Kasipalayam visited the forest for Eco-Film night. It was great to have them join us for our Friday night activities. Stay tuned for new updates regarding our Yatra’s which will continue to grow.

Photo by Penelope

During this week’s Yatra, Raja was joined by our new family members Ana and Tiago. Ana and Tiago have come to live in Sadhana as newcomers to Auroville. Their return has brought truly special energy and music into our community. During the Yatra, Ana and Tiago led a music and singing workshop with children and friends from the village. All the participants enjoyed the songs and the music and look forward to more.

It was an exciting Yatra filled with music, learning, creativity and friendship.  Please join us next Monday at 4 p.m. for another great Eco-Cycle Yatra!

On Monday we continued our Eco-Cycle Yatra! Yorit, Aviram, Osher and Shelev were joined by over 10 other Sadhana volunteers who visited Kasipalayam by cycle and by foot.

It was a very special day for the families in Sadhana Forest. We currently have 5 families staying with us in the forest.  5 children from Sadhana joined the yatra this week and were able to share and learn with our neighbors.

This week our long term volunteer Raja, led a recycled materials jewelry making workshop in Kasipalayam for local children and residents. Many children from the village joined Raja, Sadhana families and other volunteers to make jewelry from wood, plastic, paper, and other simple materials.

photo by Osher

Our friends in Kasipalayam invited us to visit the temple and see other parts of the village. Village residents also talked with Aviram about the new water pump that had been installed.

It was a fun afternoon for everyone who participated. All the children were very excited to make recycled jewelry and we look forward to next week’s visit.

The Eco-Cycle Yatra leaves every Monday at 4 p.m. from Sadhana Forest and all are welcome!!

We are cycling, cycling together…

David

The Eco-Cycle Yatra continues in our neighboring village of Kasipalayam!  The Yatra has created some beautiful new friendships. On Saturday morning a group of children, teenagers and adults from Kasipalayam visited Sadhana Forest for our Chanting and Planting. Our neighbors took part in tree planting activities and stayed for breakfast. The children asked questions about our current generating stationary bicycles and then volunteered to cycle for a half hour. It was a very helpful exchange.

On Sunday, our long term volunteer Raja, gave a recycled-material jewelry making workshop in Kasipalayam for children and adults alike.  Over 20 people from the village joined Raja in making jewelry from coconuts, recycled paper and other reusable materials.

Yesterday, 8 volunteers from Sadhana took bicycles, a few jute bags and rakes and rode to Kasipalayam. When we arrived, a small group was weeding an area and asked for our help.  Other Yatra volunteers started collecting garbage around the temple.

Soon after we arrived, we were invited to see a garden in the back of a home where a lot of plastic waste had accumulated. We worked to clean that area and remove the trash. When we were finished our neighbors offered us fresh Mosambi  (local orange) and drinking coconuts from their garden.

We then continued to walk and visit other neighbors, joining together with a group of young people in front of one house and talking with children who just returned from school. We are continuing our anti-plastic and rubbish message throughout our visits. Come and join our next Eco-Cycle Yatra and sharing every Monday at 4 p.m.!

Love, Light, and Sweet Limes

Monday, marked our third weekly Eco-Cycle Yatra. We once again put on our Khadi scarves, turned up our kick stands and visited our neighbors in Kasapallayam, a village in close proximity to Sadhana Forest.

Photo By - Myrtille

Last week, after working together to help clear a small waste site, the villagers invited us to return and help clean the local temple.

Our group this week was infused with great volunteer energy. 5 people who had never been on an Eco-Cycle Yatra before came to Sadhana and took part in the communal activities.

Our great friends, Mani and Ashok, helped lead the discussions about waste accumulation and health risks. Many villagers and participants of the Eco-Cycle Yatra worked together gathering waste. At the end of the evening we invited the villagers to come to Sadhana Forest on Saturday morning for Chanting and Planting.

We look forward to our next Yatra on Monday, November 2 – and hope you can also join us.

Love, Light and Lots of Jute Bags-

David

Earlier this week, we went on our second Eco-Cycle Yatra, with family, friends and volunteers.

After our unity circle participants traveled by foot and bicycle, to Kasipalayam where we continued our community sharing and environmental work with our neighbors. Last week during our first Eco-Cycle Yatra, we were shown a small land fill that posed a serious health risk due to its proximity to a well. During our visit, together with many residents of the village we used our volunteer energy, rakes and jute bags to help clean up some of the waste. 8 huge jute bags full of trash were collected, sorted and taken to recycling. The feeling of working together was great!!!

Photo Courtesy of Igor Barinov

Some members of the Eco-Yatra walked the thirty minutes to Kasipalayam from Sadhana Forest. Many Sadhana Forest Volunteers who were not able to join last week due to lack of bicycles were able to join us this time by foot. The walking volunteers were lead by Raja, who also made sure all the bicycles were in working condition.

Our team of Tamil and English speakers – Mani, Ashok and Veena helped lead the sharing to facilitate the work.

It was a special day of community building that we will continue next Monday. Come join us on Monday, October 26, for the next Yatra.

David

Hey there Sadhana World !!!

Yesterday, we began our first ever eco-cycle Yatra into the neighboring villages, as part of our ongoing commitment to the community around us. Energetic volunteers and friends joined the visit to the village of Kasipalayam. This exciting idea was suggested by 9 year old Osher Shanti Rozin during a cycle trip with her father.

Before the cycling began we joined for a unity circle where we shared delicious energy sweets prepared by our long term volunteer Raja. We were also presented with sustainably made organic cotton Khadi scarves to wear during the cycle.

Our cycle team headed out from the forest around 4pm and was welcomed into the village Kasipalayam, where we were shown around by our friends. Within our group we had 4 Tamil speakers who helped us in the communication with our neighbors.

Visiting the village was a beautiful moment of Human Unity. We felt very welcome and connected to our neighbors.

We distributed  ‘Small Steps’ bags (reusable cotton bags) generously donated by Upasana Design Studio. For more info go to: www.smallsteps.in. One ‘Small Steps’ bag was given to every household and we hope that the bags will replace the many plastic bags used daily and help raise awareness about plastic pollution.

After witnessing a waste site adjacent to someone’s home, it was suggested that we will all clean up the area together. We agreed to work together next Monday and find a solution to the waste management issue.

At sunset, our cycle group returned back to Sadhana Forest to discuss and plan for the following Monday. We felt happy about our visit to Kasipalayam and look forward to returning next week!!!!

So for now, we send you love, laughter, leaves and less plastic bags…

David & Cat