Nick Klotz, Aurovillian social entrepreneur and mentor for several rural empowerment, innovative and eco-friendly projects in the universal township, died on Sunday. He was 63.
Klotz was recuperating in a hospital for nearly a month after a fracture sustained in an accident and was expecting to be discharged shortly once an infection in the leg healed, when he developed multi organ failure and died at about 8 a.m.
Hailing from the UK, Klotz has called Auroville his home for over a decade.
Aurovillians recall him as a warm and genuine soul who was steadfast in his commitment to make the world a better place, especially for the underprivileged.
A love for India
“He developed a love for India that he retained till the end, dividing his time between Auroville and a farm he and his friends were nurturing in Wayanad in Kerala,” said Rama Subramanian, Director of the Sustainable Livelihood Institute (SLI) in Auroville with which Klotz had a long association.
He had first come to India when the Indian print media was just starting to get initiated into computers. Representing global computer brands, he established early rapport with many of the current heads of media houses, friendships that he cherished and sustained, Mr. Subramanian said.
At Auroville, Klotz helped several village entrepreneurs to establish and grow with their enterprises, sharing his management skills, multinational experience and market contacts with the young village people.
Among the several units in Auroville he was associated with were the MediClown Academy, which promotes laughter therapy through clown acts, the Bamboo Research Centre and EcoFemme.
“When SLI was established last year, he almost became an in-house faculty, teaching marketing of village products and helping village women to package, label, brand and seek their products for better returns,” Mr. Subramanaian said.
The work has helped scores of women entrepreneurs launch enterprises across Tamil Nadu.
“He often told them Nickalingam was his Tamil name,” Mr. Subramanian recalled.
