The spirit of Kovcheg: Community in Russia

“Let the wind of success flow in the sail of your life” (O.Godetskii).

The last winter Arthur from Russia visited Auroville. He received bright impressions. Afterwards in July I was in his Russian house and met his friends. He lives in a community, about 160 km south west of Moscow in the Kaluga region. The community is called Kovcheg, it means the arc. It is situated in a field of about one square km between the small patches of forest. About 70 families are living in this community. Each of them has a hector of land for a house and for planting. Some families don’t stay there in winter time, but they want to be permanently in the community after finishing their houses.

Now the age of the community is only five years. They have some rules of life: each family is planting wild trees and bushes on ¼-1/3 of its land. The fences are of living plants. The people of the community can’t use any poison for defense of plants. They refuse to use chemical manures. If the members of Kovcheg have animals, they are not allowed to kill them. It is impossible to perform any activity which is bad for the environment. I think that Arthur is King Arthur’s new incarnation and his friends are the Knights of the Round Table.

After returning to Kovcheg from Auroville, Arthur talked about our experience. The members of the community have a great interest in our life. I had talks with nice people (Foedor, Alexander, Valentina, Anna and others) of the Kovcheg. I’m sure that Foedor is Foedor Dostoevskii’s new incarnation. They all want to have continuous contact with Auroville. Without doubt it will happen. Arthur, Foedor and all News & Notes 22 July 2006 [149] 9 Russian Knights of the Round Table are our sincere friends. The spirit of Kovcheg is eco-friendly; it’s close to Auroville’s spirit. Aurovilians and Kovcheg’s members are living in the green world without the poisons. by Boris