Economy

“Financial Guidelines” by the Auroville Cooperative September 1981 PDF (3 pages)

“Towards a spiritualised economy” by Kireet Joshi Auroville Today, Oct. 1999 PDF (3 pages)

“A brief history of Auroville's economy” by Judith Auroville Today, Apr. 2001 PDF (1 page)

“Beyond capitalism and socialism” by Jean-Yves Auroville Today, Apr. 2001 PDF (1 page)

(Gilles G.:) “Mother's vision of economy did not evolve, it was always clear; the question was when, where and how to manifest it.”

Auroville's economic experiments and milestones

1968-75	Prosperity (SAS) in Pondicherry	The Mother	Basic maintenance: Rs. 125 per adult, Rs. 75 per child. Plus soap, clothes and any item of basic necessity. This was supported and managed by the Sri Aurobindo Society (SAS).
1973	First attempt at AV Central Food distribution	Jocelyn & Barbara	Central food distribution begins in the old Amphitheatre workshop, after the first ever AV general meeting early September in which calls for self-sufficiency were made due to funds scarcity.
Feb 28, 1974	Pour Tous / For All	Clare started and ran it with Surbhi up to early 1975. Christine ran it from 1975 to 1985.	Main objective: An effort towards suppression of exchange of money within Auroville. Another objective towards dealing differently with local workers did not materialize. The food distribution soon became centralized at Pour Tous. Individual and community baskets sent through PT bullock-cart.
1976-78	Pour Tous Fund	Jocelyn's proposal. Initially Alain B. and Yusuf, later (mid-77) Charlie, Michael T. join the PT Fund team.	Common account created for Bakery, Laundry, Pour Tous and the big kitchens (Aspiration and Center). Launched on January 1, 1976 with units/services, communities and individual accounts. SAS (Navajata) promised to give prosperity money through PT Fund but no funds came. PT Fund managers appealed to Aurovilians, AV Centers and friends. Good response. Auroville becomes de facto financially independent. End 1976: experiment of doing away with minuses and Rs. 125 limit. Not sustainable. Problem of increasing deficits.
Nov. 1978-85	Envelopes system	Proposed by Paul (Maroma) in meeting. Envelopes group meets every Friday. Variable membership. Open meeting.	Adapted from Mother's method. Various envelopes to receive and specify destination of funds. In 1980 there were 12 envelopes: Food co-op, Milk co-op, Cash food, Market, Food investment, Community maintenance, Services (PT, Bakery, Abri, etc.), Children, Green work, Matrimandir, Personal (sundries, clothing, etc.), Unspecified.
1982-83	Maintenance system		Economic survey / conclusion: inadequate financial resources. No clear decision about next move. Maintenance and work link system begins. Individualized baskets with specific orders. (Great disparities.) More and more maintenances directly taken from commercial units.
Sept. 1988	Auroville Foundation Act		Auroville Foundation Act. A legal basis for Auroville is created.
1988-89	Auroville Board of Commerce (ABC)		Formation of the Auroville Board of Commerce (ABC) for better coordination between commercial units and legal/financial/accounting advices.
1989		Central Fund	Creation of the Central Fund. Beginning of computerization of accounts. Rs. 200 monthly voluntary contribution
1991	Financial Service	Otto	Opening of the Financial Service in Aspiration near Pour Tous Store.
1996	Solar Kitchen	Gilles and Suhasini	Opening of the Solar Kitchen, a major step of developing the in-kind economy.
1997	FAMC		Rules of the Foundation required the formation of a Funds and Assets Management Committee (FAMC) which was formed as a representative body of Auroville.
1999-2002		Circles Experiment	Circles experiment. Many residents formed circles aiming at increased sharing of resources. It proved unsustainable despite partial support from the Central Fund.
2006	PTDC	Gilles and Suhasini	Pour Tous Distribution Centre opens. It works like a cooperative. Over 1000 participants. Only for Aurovilians and Newcomers. An effort towards simplicity and avoidance of consumerism.

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See also

• Money
• Maintenance
• FAMC
• Ritam "A Theoretical Basis for an Aurovilian Economy" (article by Jean-Yves)
• =1 "Sharing"
• Joy of Learning 1 - The Auroville Economy