The Śramani Institute defines ecosymbiotic self-reliance as a community’s ability and practice to sustainably procure from the ecological web (ecoweb)^[1] they inhabit the resources required to produce the Commodities and Services (C/S) that fulfill the community’s basic needs. Because the community themselves make the C/S they need from local ecological resources, ecosymbiotic self-reliance bypasses the need for money (earned through monetary livelihoods)^[2]. 

Every FiveBecomings (Pañchabhūmi) project has as its goal to establish ecosymbiotic self-reliance for a beneficiary community (Community) based on their own ecoweb.^[3]

What Are Basic Needs?

To ensure their wellbeing every human community must fulfill basic needs. As conceptualized within the FiveBecomings Framework^[4], basic needs can be divided into five categories according to the Five Great Evolvers (Pañchamahābhūta): earth, water, fire, air, and ākāś. Each FiveBecomings project is centered around a FiveBecomings Commons that has a 5-sector design, every sector providing the resources foundational to activities underlying the production of C/S required to fulfill basic needs in one (or more) of these categories.^[5]

Earth—Food, Clothing, and Shelter

Earth has the quality of differentiation, which encompasses variety. In daily life, humans need tens of tangible C/S to live in a manner that enables dignified wellbeing. These include many types of nutrient-dense foods, so that our bodies and minds can function properly, such as fruits, vegetables, grains, pulses, herbs, and oils. We also need containers, utensils, pots, and bowls to store, prepare, and serve food. Apart from food, our daily C/S needs include clothes, toiletries (e.g., menstrual pads), towels, bedding, and furniture. Of course, we need weather-proof shelters, including plumbing and toilet(s), where we can rest, take care of ourselves, and live. And we need C/S that are for leisure, such as musical instruments, and drawing implements.

Accordingly, in the Earth sector of a FiveBecomings Commons, Community members undertake all the activities necessary to produce the C/S related to food, clothing, and shelter. Cultivated plants and clay-rich soils provide the ecological resources required to produce these C/S. Of course, regenerative Knowledge-Technologies-Practices (Knowtep) are employed, including biodiverse agroecology, sun-baked pottery, handloom textiles, etc. By meeting certain needs directly from the land in regenerative ways, the Earth sector sustains nourishment, shelter, clothing, and everyday materials, while maintaining the integrity and resilience of the ecoweb.

Water—Water and Equitable Access

Water has the quality of cohesion, which encompasses harmony and cooperation. For a people to thrive, each member not only needs water but also equitable access to resources. Thus, water becomes a medium through which fair access, sharing, exchange, trade, and governance are organized.

Accordingly, in the Water sector of a FiveBecomings Commons, Community members undertake all the activities necessary to ensure year-round water and equitable access. Ponds and irrigation channels are constructed and maintained by the Community to enable them to harvest rain, store water, recharge aquifers, and ensure seasonal availability for crops and daily use. Ecosymbiotic livelihoods^[2] flourish around these water bodies, from aquaculture and fish breeding to harvesting aquatic plants and making boats and nets. But water also anchors socioeconomic-civic life: marketplaces, meeting grounds, and spaces for intra-Community trade and governance are located here, ensuring equitable access to resources. Decision-making systems in this sector allow even the most marginalized to participate, reinforcing that water is not a commodity for private control but a commons that sustains both life and Community cohesion.

Fire—Energy

Fire has the quality of transformation, which encompasses fuel. For their daily activities, humans need fuel, both in the form of protein for nourishment, and also in the form of potential energy that can be converted into kinetic energy (fuel). For many Indigenous peoples domesticated ruminants (cows, oxen, goats, sheep, camels, buffalo) are of great value for many reasons: (a) they provide milk, which can be transformed into multiple types of food, including yoghurt and cheese; (b) they provide mechanical work (e.g., pulling ploughs); (c) they provide dung, for use in fertilizers, fuel, medicines, and many types of C/S; (d) they provide fur and wool; and (e) they eat grass and other plant parts humans don’t eat, which can control fire risks and minimize cultivated plant waste.

Accordingly, in the Fire sector of a FiveBecomings Commons, Community members undertake all the activities necessary to produce fuel and to regeneratively transform waste. Here, energy is produced not using extractivist inputs and methods but through a regenerative cycle linking animals, waste, soil, and people. Biogas generation from ruminant dung, composting systems, and organic waste processing transform residues into fuel, bioelectricity, and soil amendments, closing loops and reducing dependence on fossil fuels. Each process exemplifies how energy can be locally generated through biological flows rather than centralized grids, thereby restoring autonomy to communities. Fire ensures that food is cooked, homes are lit, and work is carried out in ways that replenish rather than deplete ecowebs.

Air—Human-Ecological Wellbeing

Air has the quality of agitation, encompassing regeneration and wellbeing. While humans need many types of tangible C/S for their daily lives, we also need C/S for periodic uses, such as for building bridges, lining ponds, and other engineering works. In addition, to ensure our wellbeing, we need C/S related to medicines, health, and beauty. And we need to be able to immerse ourselves in abundant ecowebs that are full of fresh air, water, and biodiversity.  

Accordingly, in the Air sector of a FiveBecomings Commons, Community members undertake all the activities necessary to ensure that they have plentiful biodiverse resources that provide the base materials for architectural and engineering materials (such as durable fibers and bark), plant-based medicines (including honey, leaves, and flowers), and other C/S. The Community work to rewild degraded landscapes into biodiverse forests, ensuring the return of pollinators, wildlife, and ecological resilience. Community members also establish multi-layer food forests that yield fruits, tubers, and canopy cover, while protecting soil and aquifers. The air sector is where care and stewardship Knowtep are renewed, embedding seasonal rhythms of ecological protection into daily life. By tending to both ecological restoration and human health, this sector is vital in restoring the intimate connection between biodiversity and community wellbeing [5].

Ākāś—Ecoself Understanding and Expression

Ākāś has the quality of potential, which encompasses what is possible when harmony exists.^[6] To thrive humans need more than mere tangible C/S that fulfill basic needs; we also need to feel that our lives have meaning, part of which is to feel that we are connected to a purpose and to what is beyond us. We need to feel that what we do has value. An effective way to finding all this is by understanding and expressing our ecoself (see Box 1).

Accordingly, in the Ākāś sector of a FiveBecomings Commons, Community members undertake the activities that help them discern themselves, their purpose, and their connection to everyone and everything around them. Here, Community members turn inward to sense, intuit, reflect on, create, and heal their individual and community ecoselves. Through practices of yoga, breathwork, storytelling, art, music, and/or performance, individuals engage in personal evolution, creativity, identity-building, and collective healing. The Ākāś sector nurtures creativity as a way of processing trauma and fostering resilience. It also sustains cultural identity, expressed through food, clothing, language, and seasonal celebrations rooted in Ādi-Knowtep (ancient Indigenous Knowtep)^[8]. Ākāś ensures that ecosymbiotic self-reliance is not limited to material sufficiency but extends into meaning, dignity, and joy. For Community members, understanding their ecoselves becomes inseparable from sustaining their community and ecoweb.

[1] K. Mitra, Ecological Webs (Ecowebs): Collaborative Creativity Through Adaptation Feedback Loops, Ecosymbionts all Regenerate Together (EaRTh): DOI-EaRTh092025-006 (3 Sep., 2025).

[2] K. Mitra, Ecosymbiotic Livelihoods and Living Livelihoods: New Concepts in Self-Reliance, Ecosymbionts all Regenerate Together (EaRTh): DOI-EaRTh082025-013 (28 Aug., 2025).

[3] K. Mitra, Restoring the Interconnected Wellbeing of Humans and Ecologies Through FiveBecomings, Ecosymbionts all Regenerate Together (EaRTh): DOI-EaRTh082025-010 (26 Aug., 2025).

[4] K. Mitra, FiveBecomings: A Reimagined Ancient Indigenous Framework for Ecoself-Rooted Wellbeing, Ecosymbionts all Regenerate Together (EaRTh): DOI-EaRTh122024-004 (15 Dec., 2024).

[5] K. Mitra & S. Mukherjee, FiveBecomings Projects for Community Self-Reliance: Design and Implementation, Ecosymbionts all Regenerate Together (EaRTh): DOI-EaRTh082025-001 (18 Aug., 2025).

[6] K. Mitra, Realizing the Ecoself through Personal Evolution (Ākāś): Importance in FiveBecomings, Ecosymbionts all Regenerate Together (EaRTh): DOI-EaRTh052025-003 (11 May, 2025).

[7] K. Mitra, Individual Ecoself and Community Ecoself: Importance in FiveBecomings, Ecosymbionts all Regenerate Together (EaRTh): DOI-EaRTh092025-011 (10 Sep., 2025).

[8] K. Mitra, Ādi-Knowtep and Their Importance in Ecosymbiotic Resilience of Human Communities, Ecosymbionts all Regenerate Together (EaRTh): DOI-EaRTh092025-008 (4 Sep., 2025).