The story of Sadhana Forest is one of perseverance, says Aviram Rozin, who founded the 70-acre woodland with his wife Yorit, just outside Auroville in Puduchery, Tamil Nadu. “As I sit here on the bed in my family’s hut, I can see the forest outside and it’s beautiful,” Aviram says. It is now 13 years after the Israeli national’s first visit with Yorit and his daughter Osher, to what was an expanse of dry, red dust with intermittent flora that looked more dead than alive.
Today, Sadhana Forest’s lands are a lush, tropical paradise, a result of the dynamic community of volunteers from all over the world who live there. Reforestation and water conservation are their objectives; planting local species of fauna, which could disappear without that gentle nudge, and maintaining man-made aquifers. “The effort to water conservation has been the most important thing.
Once the land has water, nature does the rest of the work. And we have been very successful in reforesting the land,” says Aviram. Surviving through the many donations, the Forest has also expanded to Haiti (since 2010), and Northern Kenya (since 2013), becoming a ray of hope amidst the ever-looming threat of climate change.
Aside from taking care of the forest, the volunteers also help raise awareness and help local farmers, conducting yatras and even starting a Children’s Land, where students from local schools in Puduchery maintain their own garden. They have also been invited by Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal, to create a demonstration plot, among other initiatives planned for this year.
It is long, hard work and the 60 volunteers (give or take a few), at the Auroville forest, are at the crux of it.
What we do isn’t work, rather it’s seva — selfless service to the forest through human unity. We are all from different parts of the world, yet rebuilding the forest is what we have in common. Aside from work in the fields, we all help out with the chores — cooking, cleaning, building the huts, and so on,” the Israeli national tells DC. Many have been staying there for years, while others just turn up, rucksacks and duffels in hand, sometimes with a family of their own in tow, stay for a while and move on. They eat, plant trees and dig bunds together — an ever expanding family. To Aviram, it’s more than a home — his second daughter Shalev, now eight years old, was born in the middle of Sadhana.
The Forest’s inhabitants were really put to the test in 2011, when Cyclone Thane hit Tamil Nadu’s coast. “We lost most of the structures, and there was so much sadness and disappointment. But the next day, we started rebuilding, saved by the thousands of phone calls and support we received from all over the world,” he reminisces. And what about during the recent floods? “We weren’t badly affected by it, rather it was the opposite. Our ponds became full and it helped a great deal in the planting.”
The success of Sadhana Forest is quickly becoming a viral topic on the Internet. And it’s a great experience, says Aviram — “Even for my kids, and other children living with us, it’s a rich experience. Meeting so many different people, living in such a place. We have had people from every state in India, and almost every country in the world!” Anyone’s welcome to visit or even stay, become a part of this family of beautiful people… all you need to do is pack your bags!
