Thamarai is based out of Auroville, an international township located in south India. A UNESCO endorsed city-in-the-making that aspires toward international human unity with a rippling effect to the rest of India and around the world. Auroville is a hub for innovators and change-makers interested in maintaining a collective climate of positive development and progress, particularly in the areas of sustainable living, education, health and green practices. This is, in part, what has inspired our project and continues to do so as we grow. Thamarai is part of Auroville Village Action Trust, which aims to empower people and communities to thrive.
We work to create an enabling environment for education and community development in villages surrounding Auroville which is in Vanur block, Villipuram district, Tamil Nadu. The average literacy of Villipuram district was 63.48%, (2011 census), compared to the national average of 72.99%. Our learning centres, currently in two villages Annai Nagar and Edanyanchavadi, are placed in or next to the sections of the villages that society has marginalised and our well being programs are mobile in Auroville Units, After-schools, Government Schools and Health Centres in and around Auroville and the surrounding villages.
The relationship between Auroville and the surrounding villages has always been one of interdependence. Local people were the teachers for the early pioneers. Today, the two are interconnected in so many ways from natural resources such as water and food supplies to 1/3 of the Auroville residents originally coming from the local villages. 6,000 people also find daily employment in Auroville and there are approximately 50 Auroville outreach projects focused on village development through a multiple of areas such as education, health, infrastructure, ecology etc.
Like the lotus flower we believe each one has the potential to flower to their fullest given opportunity.