A little-known city in Southern India founded by The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization that does not have religion, physical money or politics is proving that these things that most of take for granted as a part of everyday life are not a necessity.

In Aurora, instead of money, every resident is expected to contribute to the overall budget of the city through financial donations or work carried out in the community.

The lack of tangible physical currency is due to an account system that every resident of the city uses similar to the use of a debit card. Each resident is also given a basic stipend enough to ensure that their basic needs are met, and guests pay a daily fee to stay in the city.

The Aurora City website: http://www.auroville.org/

Designed to house 50,000 people originally, the actual population od the city has been around just 200 until relatively, and the population now sits at around 2500. The residents come from a variety of backgrounds and nations, and there are several different languages spoken in different parts of the city.

The city also works closely with the surrounding villages, the inhabitants of which are often employed within the city. In return for the trade and available workforce, there are village development plans, as well as educational and economic resources made available to the surrounding villages.

The system is far from perfect, however, as evidenced by the fact that such a tiny proportion of the original capacity is being used. In the 1970s the residents were also forced to appeal for help from the Indian government after difficulties were encountered in the governance of the site following the death of founder Mirra Alfass.

Alfass launched the city in 1968, with the following statement of intent released to the press:

“Auroville wants to be a universal town where men and women of all countries can live in peace and progressive harmony, above all creeds, all politics and all nationalities. The purpose of Auroville is to realize human unity.”

The idea of the project was to try to live without the kinds of influences that usually hamper human progress. Creating a haven for spiritual, educational and technological advancement.

Aurora has also suffered controversies, however, as a BBC documentary suggested that pedophiles were tolerated in the community. A resultant complaint was not upheld by the broadcasting regulatory committee, suggesting accuracy.

The fact that the city is still functioning and is indeed growing in population if looked at over the entire length of its existence would suggest that it is at least a partial success.

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