Camp Auroville was a 9-day immersion program for 16-18 year olds, using Auroville as a campus and its outstanding experience in sustainable living as a curriculum for learning and personal growth. It was a learning-in-action program connecting core human values, design theory, ideation, and hands-on work around personalized themes. The aim of this program was to empower the youth to embody principles of ecological stewardship for the promotion of human and environmental well-being.

The Setting
Auroville is an international community situated in Tamil Nadu, India, with more than 2,000 people from around 40 different countries. Founded in 1968 by The Mother, Auroville is endorsed by UNESCO and the Government of India as an ongoing experiment in human unity. Aurovillians are constantly experimenting with new ideas and solutions in areas of education, arts and crafts, community building, new economy, and sustainability. Uniquely, research in Auroville is practiced. Over the years, Auroville has won international acclaim for its efforts in social and environmental sustainability.

The Methodology
Over nine intensive days, participants were guided through an exploration of Auroville and customised workshops including a compulsory project on urban agriculture. This program offered a deep immersion in sustainable living so students could learn and grow. Inspired by best practices at Auroville, students were tasked with planning their own intervention for the cities in which they live. They were mentored over the course of the program, culminating in their documenting their concept and providing a detailed, extensively researched plan by the end of the program. Throughout this accelerated class, students assessed the appropriateness of their plan and got feedback from experts.

This program was a unique experience that challenged and enlivened all the participants, whether he or she was looking to progress in the creative sector as an artist, writer, photographer, designer, or architect—or if they were interested in the field of ecological living and conscious urbanism to enrich other interests and studies.

Participants
Participants were high-school students and recent graduates who were going to transition to college later in fall.

Objectives Achieved
- Introduced students into ecological principles and its applications
- Stimulated pattern thinking among students by shadowing work done at various service and production units in Auroville to get clarity about their career choice
- Appreciated Auroville’s multicultural learning environment and its unique arts and cultural scene
- College readiness and an introduction to an independent residential campus living

This program integrated hands-on learning, which is designed and based on the 3H (hands, head and heart) approach, which attempts to actualise participants’ inner strength, to activate critical system thinking and to work on students’ technical capacities of designing and implementing projects.

Collaborators: Auroville Green Practices and EdBrand

To download brochure visit our official website http://www.agpworkshops.com/camp-auroville-21-29-june-2014/