Reforestation Volunteer Program in Southern India

My time at Sadhana forest has been a whirlwind of fun and learning. I had no idea about this place before coming to Auroville. A friend told me that he wanted to see and go on the tour around a sustainable living community. I was happy to join him and after Luke, a long term volunteer, told us about the impact that this place has, I paused my tour around India and signed up to volunteer for 10 days. I have never made a better decision. From reforesting to tending the rescue cows, each day has been a blessing and my mind has never felt so balanced in my life.

On my first day I was welcomed in with open arms and was given the full run down of the week ahead. I was impressed by the division of sevas (selfless daily activities) and how they made the community almost completely self sufficient along side the reforestation project. These community tasks and the reforestation projects really help you bond with other volunteers who all have a similar mindset; that they want to make a positive impact on the wildlife and community in the area. Even though it has only been 10 days, I have made friendships here that I can tell will stand the test of time. Sadhana forest really has a family feel here and I can now even consider it a home.

On to the food. A guilty admission, I am neither Vegan or Vegetarian outside of the forest, but have been cooked and served a wide range of incredible foods that I would never have tried myself. From peanut butter pancakes to Thai green curries, the food here has been excellent. There has even been a request here for a Sadhana forest cookbook. I regularly drink alcohol and I have never been particularly spiritual in my life (another guilty admission). However coming here has enlightened me to other ways of living, some of which I will implement into my every day life. There is such a strong community feel that time flys by and the urge to have a beer or glass of wine with dinner completely goes.

On a side note, you will struggle to find a better deal than 600 rupees a day for food, accommodation, entertainment and a wide range of workshops all run by volunteers. For 10 days, that’s 6000 rupees, which is £60 for the whole experience. Absolute bargain if you ask me.

No matter if you are coming directly here or only passing by, whether it’s to volunteer for 10 days or 6 months, Sadhana forest will be worth your trip. It is an excellent insight into what conscious / sustainable living looks like and will teach you how it is even possible. The stay itself has given me the opportunity to explore Auroville in more detail as well as feel part of a like minded community. You will meet amazing people, have a great laugh and do some work that will actually feel meaningful. I can only thank Sadhana forest for the opportunity to volunteer here and would highly recommend to anyone else!

"Today is the ninth day in Sadhana Forest. I am getting more and more accustomed to living in the forest, feeling comfortable and calm. I mentioned to a friend a while ago that I was about to travel to India and I would fly to the city of Chennai. He mentioned Auroville to me and he thought I would like this area. He mentioned Sadhana Forest in particular and decided to go to India. The first stop was Sadhana Forest. I also wanted to experience life in a volunteer based community.
This is my first experience of living with a community. We have different tasks that require division of labor every day. We will get up early together, cook, clean, go to the forest to water... and so on. As long as the forest needs help, we will help each other. We'll all do it together. In Sadhana you will meet friends from all over the world, just like a big family, and you will get to know everyone easily. There are different tasks every day, you will seva (selfless service) with different people, and you will also have various activities. You can participate in various workshops and activities. After seva in the afternoon, you can go out to explore the surroundings, or you can enjoy the quietness and comfort in the forest. There is a mud pool if you want to soak in the water, a library if you want to read a book, and a meditation hut if you want a quiet little space for meditation, yoga, or sleeping. I occasionally walk to the Tea hut to have a cup of coconut milk chai. I really enjoyed my time in the forest, and the time will slip away unconsciously and you won't realize it. Whether you want to meet new friends, learn about their forest restoration methods, or experience group life, come to Sadhana Forest. It will be an unforgettable memory. Thank you Sadhana Forest!"

今天是來到Sadhana Forest的第九天，越來越適應在森林裡的日子，愜意平靜。我是在前一陣子跟朋友提起我即將要到印度旅行我會飛到Chennai城市 ，他跟我提起了Auroville這個地方，他覺得我會喜歡這個區域，特別提起了Sadhana Forest，就決定到印度的第一站就是Sadhana Forest了，也想要體驗在volunteer based community 生活。
這是我第一次跟community 生活的經驗，我們每天都有不同的工作需要分工合作，我們會一起早起、煮飯、清潔、去森林澆水….等等，只要森林有什麼需要大家幫忙的我們都會一起去完成。在Sadhana你會認識來自各個地方的朋友，就像是個大家庭一樣，你也會很容易就認識大家，每天都有不同的tasks你都會跟不同的人一起seva (selfless service)，也會有各式各樣的工作坊、活動你可以參加，下午結束seva你可以出去探索周遭，也可以在森林裡享受這份安靜愜意，有mud pool如果你想泡泡水，也有圖書館如果你想看本書，有meditation hut 如果你想有個安靜的小空間，冥想也好瑜珈也好睡覺也好。我偶爾也會走到Tea hut去喝杯coconut milk chai 。我很享受我在森林裡的這段日子，而且時間會不知不覺的溜走你不會意識到，不管你是想來認識新朋友還是了解他們如何林地復育還是體驗團體生活，來Sadhana Forest 絕對會是一段難忘的回憶。謝謝Sadhana Forest！

“Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. They came through you but not from you and though they are with you yet they belong not to you.”
- Kahlil Gibran

These lines form my core in my identity as a mother. I volunteered together with my children at Sadhana Forest with the intention to be in an environment where life pulsates freely providing rich earth for their growth.

It is also a place which resonates with my ideals of children be raised in communities, vegan/raw vegan food, sustainability, inclusiveness, appreciation, exchange, connection to the elements and a contributive way of life.

It can happen only if there itself is a lot of air flowing in terms of diverse and wide array of people coming in, sharing their ways of life through the course of stay and loving in a way that responds to their life’s calling as against the ‘this way’ or ‘must be done’ dictates of the slave world.

Like there are multiple pores in the human body, so much a child (by extension, the mother) open their life to multiple sources of nourishment where people are just themselves. And you can be truly you only in spaces where you live.

Amidst sevas, I naturally learnt what it means to interact or indulge in a meaningful exchange while also developing appreciation and owning the tasks as if my life was complete doing just that. My complain towards tasks at home underwent a change because of this change in attitude.

I usually find people more trusting, particularly if I have to entrust them to my children, if they are capable of letting go of the usual comforts. Everyone and the living at Sadhana forest embodies just that I can offer myself freely without the need to put a guard or a shield.

When you show up this way, you understand from your life that people are essentially the same at the most fundamental level. The eternal struggle to find your place in the world ceases and I found that I began feeling more at home wherever I was. I hope that my children do gain a sense of this.

I no longer need to burn myself out offering n perspectives and can leave them with food for thought while also living as a comrade together with them.

Sadhana brings a deep sense of appreciation and grounding. Our way of living in the city is high raw vegans, sustainability and choosing more off-grid lifestyle. They are teenagers and when they see the world may retaliate or really question. I hope that finding that there are people happily embracing alternate ways of life calms their nervous system and in time they make come to recognize that it’s ok to build and live up to one’s own convictions.

I also like to take of money from the center of all equations and perhaps it may be communicated just a silent way to the children.

And perhaps, the aspect of being in silence as against the constant noise and distractions of the world.

Lastly, we have been curious to identify the plant world - the care, the properties etc so we can develop more appreciation for them during our time in nature.

Thank you Sadhana for meeting so many expectations and values in one single space. As a mother and as an individual, I couldn’t have been more gladdened.

I stayed in Sadhana Forrest for 3 weeks in February 2024. It is a peaceful, friendly and healthy place. It was a marvelous experience and I would highly recommend this to anyone!

You will have the experience of staying inside the jungle. It is wonderful to be waken up by the birds singing. Staying inside the forrest made me calmer and more connected to myself. You can also contribute your work and go planting or watering the trees on the morning.

During my stay in Sadhana I met many people from around the world. We spend a lot of time working together, eating together and having great conversations. Sharing joy and difficulties together was a great pleasure. I hope friendships I made in Sadhana will last for a long time. Quite often people were making workshops on different topics so it was never boring. I enjoyed this community life much more than isolated life the western culture!

The food in Sadhana is 100% vegan. Very fresh and unprocessed. The meals are delicious and give you power for work. After couple of days I started to enjoy not drinking coffee, cause feel more healthy and balanced. Surprisingly I even found it good to wake up early cause you can observe beautiful light after the dawn and the day was so long. During the day it was rather busy so I was not using my phone that much, which makes me more calm and mindful.

During my stay in Sadhana I was watering small trees in the forest, cooking meals for community, preparing the fire wood, cleaning after meals, serving people food, helping at the cow sanctuary, serving at the tea hut and not to forget cleaning the toilets. Was wonderful to try myself in different tasks, to work manually and to see results of my work.

I had really good time in Sadhana Forrest. Before I come i was bit tired of traveling and my stay in Sadhana helped me feel grounded and a little bit feel like at home. Hope I will come back one day!

Sadhana Forest is a truely unique community. The scale of the positive change that is made here is monumental.

This change is generated by the hard work, good will and compassion of such dedicated action oriented volunteers. It feels wonderful to be given the opportunity to contribute to this change in such a real and tangible way.

I've been so inspired by how well community aspect of Sadhana functions and the fact that this can exist in tandem with such strong social and ecological change fills me with real hope for the future.

Life in the forest is not luxurious. The way human needs are facilitated are so well thought out. Here you don't need to try to reduce your impact. All the systems from hand washing to food preparation are designed to automatically reduce your environmental impact. And give so much opportunity for reflection on your impact when outside the forest.

I stayed at Sadhana only 2 weeks, in that time I feel I measurable change in my level of compassion, my willingness to help other beings and my sense of purpose. This place attracts truely beautiful human beings and the relationships I've formed have left me feeling more connected then ever.

If you're looking for a place to do good and are up for some hard work (seva) come to Sadhana. I can't recommend it enough.

If you're up for learning how to live sustainably, without exploiting animals and with people from cultures across the globe then Sadhana Forest is the place for you! I've had an incredible time here, giving to the people of Tamil and the wider world community with the Vegan Forest Festival and giving to the Forest, the creatures who live in the forest and to the planet as a whole.

I recommend Sadhana Forest to families, solo travellers, everybody in between. I get the feeling that this project is a glimpse into the future and a solution to the climate crisis and the problem of animal exploitation, as well as disease prevention with their attitude to food

I heard about Sadhana from a friend who had visited earlier this year, who had explained about it’s uniqueness of experimental living and sustainable approach. The plan was to stay for 4 days but it’s been about 3 weeks now and I’ve never felt a sense of gratitude envelope me this way. .

It’s been quite a journey especially connecting with wonderful people who have come from different parts of the world to share and learn about sustainable living ( linked to veganism), reforestation, water conservation and most importantly compassion which is taught through and through in every seva we partake in and to treat the animals around you the way you would treat yourself which is with love and respect.

The immense shift from the normal way of consuming media through your laptop or phone screens and working 8 hours a day to make ends meet to a mindful living where you are working towards basic but important needs such as cooking food, planting trees, ensuring cleanliness and promoting sustainable living for a better future. The simplicity of life here eliminates the question of what’s your purpose or how you can be someone of greater value instead encouraging you to be grateful and mindful in every action

The focus is on selfless service and putting materialistic gains on the backburner. The idea of compassion can truly be understood here living in the forest that’s always giving. I’m humbled and in awe with the way of living in true unity and seeing hands on work being encouraged in an age where we are all behind screens. Thank you Sadhana for being one of my biggest mentors and giving me more than I could ask for.

The comfort zone of our daily lives makes the mind dull and makes life very monotonous. For me, Sadhana Forest is to get out of my comfort zone. It makes me feel very vibrant and gets me out of the rut of my own thinking process.

The whole place is designed to throw you out of your comfort zone, right from the dry toilets to living in a shared dormitory with fellow volunteers to working together in different sevas where you cook food for the community or clean utensils in which food is cooked or taking care of the forests and the community etc

The non judgmental space that this place provides one is another major reason for me to flock here again and again. Majority of the people who one meets here have in someway broken away from the established pattern of the society and they understand each other’s mental struggles and provide space for everyone to just ‘be’ and not be this or that!

The sense of community that one feels here is something special. All the activities and the structures are thought out in such a way that people come together and get to know each other. Human relationships are a marvellous thing once you get a taste of it!

I also like how people are not in a rush to achieve here. Their concern is with existing now and not with the ‘what next?’

The slowness of life here is what I really admire and would like people to experience as well. Happy volunteering if you make to Sadhana :)