CHENNAI: The foothills of the Arunachala mountains in Tiruvannamalai hosts a number of shrines and ashrams, besides being a site for religious festivals attended by people from around the world. It was at one such festival that Donald Sequeira landed here in 2018.
In the four years since, he’s been spearheading the growth of a township based on sustainability, ecological harmony and spiritual growth.
"It was for a Satsang in honour of Adi Da (the American-born spiritual leader) that I first arrived in Tiruvannamalai. I opened a vegan cafe not knowing how it would succeed, but it did, to my surprise, and I ran it for two years until the first Covid lockdown in 2020. It was during this period that the idea of Gia Mantra Global Village dawned on me," shares Donald.
From success to confusion
In another life, the Mumbai-based Donald trained as an architect and began his career as one, from where he moved into real estate and made big money.
“Despite my success, I was an emotional and mental wreck,” he admits and embarked on a backpacking trip around the world. During these travels, he met a television presenter in New Zealand, who became his partner for many years. Through her, he built a new career in television, even making documentary films for BBC under contract.
He travelled widely to countries like South Africa, Jordan, Colombia, Ecuador and so on, making these films, as part of a series. Then came the financial crash of 2008-09 and funding was withdrawn for the project, so much of what he shot remains waiting to see the light of day.
More importantly, Donald’s former partner introduced him to the teachings of Adi Da and the religious movement called Adidam. His travels with the foundation took him to Tiruvannamalai. Here, with his savings and that of his wife Rosemarie Van Dam bought a large plot of land and began work on what would become Gia Mantra Global Village.
“We were inspired by what we saw in places like Auroville, and figured we could do it on a smaller scale here,” he says.
The dream begins
And so work began on building a self-sustaining community where people grow their own organic food and harvest their own water through activities like rainwater harvesting, greywater recycling, groundwater recharging etc.
The town operates on the principles of a shared, circular economy, more in the nature of a cooperative. True to its ethos as an experimental township, the buildings here are built with natural earth and recycled materials. Donald is especially proud of the architectural work produced here.
He adds, “Students who’ve just graduated from college come here as interns. The work we’re producing is cutting-edge. I’ve got architect friends from Australia and the US who’ve seen this and gone ‘Wow!’
Many of the buildings here are heat-insulated through the use of natural materials and techniques so that there’s no need for air-conditioning, also it reduces the requirement for drawing power from the grid.”
The township is also open to volunteers who wish to take up organic farming, food foresting, healing programmes and others.
Rapport building
The township has also been engaging with local farmers and agriculturists and encouraging them to get into organic farming.
“But there are times when the manners of the city-bred don’t sit well with the rural populace here and it is to bridge this gap that we try to build a gap with the people here,” adds Donald. With word spreading, more people have begun joining the project.
Two years after it was founded, Gia Mantra now sits on over 40 acres of land, and houses people from 12 countries, not to mention people from various parts of India.
“We didn’t start out with a thorough plan. You could say it evolved organically. It’s a collaborative space, not based on one person’s vision, and we’ve kept drawing interest from people with an interest in our values of conscious living and sustainable lifestyles,” Donald says.