After a few years, they realized that Sadhana Forest was not just a place, it was a model for living a compassionate life and creating positive change in the world. And so they wanted to create more Sadhana Forests. By now, they had plenty of experience in indigenous reforestation and the regeneration of barren lands. They longed to share this expertise with those who needed it most. They decided to focus on working with malnourished rural communities living in barren lands, facing growing challenges posed by climate change and land degradation. Growing indigenous food forests with them would be a way to address these different challenges all at once.

And so, in 2010, Sadhana Forest established its second center, in Anse-à-Pitres, a small rural town in Haiti. Later on, centers followed in Kenya, across India and in Namibia. Throughout the years, we learned how to work together closely with a wide variety of marginalized communities, building strong connections with them and offering hope for the future. We hope to create many more Sadhana Forests in all arid corners of the world!

Meanwhile, Sadhana Forest kept evolving and we kept creating new ways to ‘engineer’ compassion, practicing and sharing our values at our home center in Auroville, and beyond. We started different events: Friday Eco Film Club, our Vegan Potluck, the Vegan Forest Festival and Plant-Based Saturdays. We hosted Vegan Weddings and celebrations. We offer different Fellowships. We started initiatives such as Children’s Land, our Gaushala (animal sanctuary) and our Tea Hut. We even published several books about life in the forest and our vision for a more compassionate world. Manifesting compassion is an ongoing journey, so stay tuned to see what our next project will be!

Our ‘seva’ is never finished. In order to realize our dreams, we need you. Would you like to be part of a global movement for compassion and land restoration? Don’t hesitate to volunteer or support if you can!