By Bhavya George-Climate Change and Sriram- Community Well-being
Climate Change Team Retreat – Auroville & Killai (24–26 July 2025)
For the Climate Change and Community Wellbeing Programme, July and early August were a time for team retreats. The Climate Change team held its retreat in Pondicherry from July 24th to 26th—two days at Auroville and one day at the field site Killai. The Community Wellbeing team retreat was in Wayanad on August 4th and 5th. It was a time for the entire team to get together in person, brainstorm program strategies, and develop team relationships. Besides, it also provided an opportunity for new learning. For the Climate Change team (a team of 11), the time at Auroville helped them explore sustainability concepts.
Auroville Green Practices coordinated our visits and workshops in Auroville. Lunch at the Solar Kitchen, walking in the Revelation Forest, riding e-bikes, and visiting KINISI, along with hands-on farm experience at Buddha’s Farm, and understanding the sustainable architecture at the Earth Institute, were part of the two-day stay at Auroville. The activities provided space for team building and collective thinking on sustainability aspects. Not everyone had seen the Killai Field Centre and mangroves; a day in Killai was spent learning about the mangrove ecosystem through an hour-long boat ride and discussions at the field centre.
Community Wellbeing Team Retreat – Wayanad (3–5 August 2025)
The Community Wellbeing team, comprising 11 members from Kotagiri and 10 from Wayanad and Nilambur, took part in the retreat. This event was held at Thirunelly. The team arrived on Sunday evening (August 03, 2025) and departed on Tuesday evening (August 5, 2025). The retreat started with an activity focused on getting to know each other’s passions through a bingo game. It was interesting to see how teammates, working in different areas, shared common passions. The retreat also included a visit to the Uravu Indigenous Science and Technology Centre; ‘Uravu’ means origin. It was a unique and beautiful place.
Sarang from Uravu guided us through their work, which included a bamboo nursery, workshop, and shop. He spoke in detail about the potential of bamboo as a sustainable choice. For many of us, it was very new to learn about the many varieties of bamboo. He also highlighted the change in perception and use of bamboo, which was once called the “poor man’s timber” and is now a rich man’s privilege. The team also engaged in the ‘Kambalanaati’ paddy seed sowing festival.
Shared Learnings and Connections
Overall, both the Climate Change and Community Wellbeing retreats focused on sustainability as a theme in terms of livelihood, lifestyle, and life choices. Working on the programme’s theory of change together helped to capture the thoughts and views of all teammates. We also explored cross-linkages between programs in these exercises. We will remember the way the laughter of the team, informal chats, walks, and singing echoed together with the ideas and new learnings from these retreats.
