Market Gardening Course at AuroOrchard, Auroville

Nov 5, 2025 – Jan 28, 2026

Amid growing food crises, shifting from large-scale industrial farming to smaller, community-focused farming offers a sustainable solution. This market gardening course equips traditional and new farmers to work with natural cycles for year-round food production, directly serving local markets and consumers. Designed for aspiring farmers and those wanting to diversify food production, the course delivers practical agroecological farming skills, sustainable crop planning, and farm design knowledge. Participants benefit from 13 online sessions and an optional 4-week residential practicum at AuroOrchard, Auroville’s 57-year-old organic community farm cultivating diverse vegetables and fruits year-round. This course is ideal for those passionate about sustainable, small-scale farming in India seeking tools, knowledge, and community to build thriving market gardens.

Learning Highlights and Outcomes

• Comprehensive framework for designing and managing ecologically sound, socially responsible, and financially sustainable market gardens
• Practical skills in soil health, crop and water management, integrated pest control, harvesting, and marketing
• Ability to produce diverse and continuous year-round harvests
• Access to crop planning tools and context-specific design strategies tailored to Indian conditions
• Immersive learning through real-world case studies and peer-to-peer knowledge exchange
• Development of a personalized market garden project plan with ongoing expert feedback
• Membership in a supportive peer network of market gardeners advancing agroecological farming in India

Who Should Enroll?

• Farmers looking to enhance or expand their organic or sustainable farms.
• Individuals and communities aiming to start or diversify market gardening projects.
• Anyone committed to healthy, chemical-free food production and environmental care.

FAQs

What Makes This Course Unique? Should I not do a PDC instead?

This course focuses specifically on market gardening which is unique and first of its kind in India focusing specifically on year-long production for small scale and urban environments. The course is spread out over 3 months which makes it effective for self-study, reflection and meaningful design and feedback. The course will not cover PDC concepts like global systems, flow, patterns etc. Instead, the course is specifically focused on designing and maintaining a market garden with emphasis on crop planning and techniques of working with soil, water and the seasons. This course covers practical skills along with the necessary theory and philosophy so that participants have the tools to implement their designs after the course.

How can I learn something about agriculture online?

There is no learning substitute online or offline for getting your hands and feet in the soil. This course aims to offer the tools required to see the big picture of a farm in terms of planning and organisation so that your work in the field can be effective. The practical aspect of the course is self-directed during each week depending on the context and goals of the participants. The participants can choose to spend the last month of the course (4 weeks) at AuroOrchard in Auroville where all these ideas can be seen in practice and the participants can engage in hands-on learning. The online sessions are designed to respect the time and pace of the participants and allow for a balance of theory and practice that each participant needs.

Can I skip the online part of the course and join directly for the residency program?

No, it is mandatory to have the foundation of the course during the first eight weeks which will make your time at the farm more effective and meaningful. If you are only interested in working at the farm, you are welcome to volunteer with us at any time. You can find more details here.