Restoration Ecology

For the last four decades, restoration ecology has been at the heart of what we do at Pitchandikulam.

When Auroville was founded, the original forest ecosystem had been decimated over the past two hundred years, only surviving in isolated patches. Pitchandikulam Forest was born through our work in restoring this ecosystem – the Tropical Dry Evergreen Forest (TDEF), a delicate and unique ecosysytem that once filled the entire Auroville plateau.

Forty years ago, we started to work with local Hindu temples, whose practice of protecting areas of forest as sacred groves showed us how good ecological practices can be deeply rooted in community tradition.

Today, Pitchandikulam Forest in Auroville is a mature forest, community and education centre, and our young forest in Nadukuppam is a centre for reforestation, small enterprise outreach and sustainable mixed-use agriculture.

More about our work:

• The Story of Pitchandikulam
• Tropical Dry Evergreen Forest
• Medicinal Forestry at Pitchandikulam
• Seedling Nurseries
• Wild Landscaping Services
• Online Resources: Virtual Herbarium