Social Entrepreneurship Association

History and today’s organisation.

Social Entrepreneurship Association (SEA) is an Auroville based unit under AVAT started in 2012. Over the last few years SEA has been running a program called UnLtd Tamil Nadu which was a member of the UnLtd India network. UnLtd Tamil Nadu was a social startup incubator focusing on early-stage changemakers based in Auroville and other parts of Tamil Nadu. It was actively involved in searching, selecting and supporting exceptional individuals who were committed to solving some of the biggest challenges faced by their communities, using their passion and entrepreneurial skills. The social enterprises run by our fellows are registered as for-profits, nonprofits or hybrid entities across the for-profit/nonprofit continuum. In the last four years, we have supported 40 fellows over 5 cohorts, out of which 50% were (co-)founded by women and 50% are community-based operations. Some well known Auroville units like Wasteless, Ecofemme, Amirtha Herbals, Komali Mediclown, Koodam and Sankalpa were all incubated at UnLtd Tamil Nadu. Some of our other well regarded projects in other parts of the state include The Sristi Farm Academy, Evergreen Spirulina, My Harvest etc. Through these our incubatees have worked on a range of issues like Organic Farming, Zero Waste, Seed Banks, Art Therapy, Mediation and Conflict Resolution, Women’s Empowerment, Rural Livelihoods, De-addiction Roof top Gardening, Education etc.

Though the UnLtd Tamil Nadu program had to be closed down, SEA continues to be engaged in very similar activities as mentioned above. Some of our incubatees have become our partners and we execute projects alongside them. Examples are Seed to Self (ethical fashion) and Anvita (organic cotton). SEA also partners with international organisations such as the Fairwear Foundation (based in the Netherlands) on global change issues. And new initiatives are incubated in-house, such as India Founder Circle (a peer to peer learning platform using videos to share leadership experiences of Indian high impact startups) or the Green Silk Road project: a climate friendly way to travel between India and Europe.

For more information please click www.seedtoself.in

Work Areas:

– Social Entrepreneurship (including incubation)

– Values-based Leadership Development 

– Coaching and Coaching skills training

– Ecological sustainability 

– Organizational Design and Transformation

– Consultancy (for both profit and non-profit organizations)

Vision and Missions

– To be a hub for Changemakers, Social Entrepreneurship, Grassroots Innovation and Systemic Change in the Auroville Bioregion and beyond. 

– To develop values-based leadership capabilities inherent in each and co-create holistic change efforts for the betterment of Auroville and the larger society. 

– To be authentic ambassadors of Auroville’s vision and values.