One for India
Water of Life: Rejuvenation in a Drought Prone Village
Water of Life: Rejuvenation in a Drought Prone Village

Shrayas Jatkar, 31 May 2005 (Pune)

Give me a pick axe. Tell me where to dig Chala, Chala Mundalee before the monsoon breaks!!

With such enthusiasm, I left the village of Surodi after having seen the many bunds that the villagers built, providing water nearly year-round in this village located in a drought-prone area between Pune and Ahmednagar in the western state of Maharashtra. I also departed feeling somewhat saddened that, for various reasons, I probably cannot return in time to participate in constructing the last bund along one of the main nalas.

I was invited to Surodi, along with 7 others by Ashok Rupner a village native now living and working in Pune. Ashok's passion and excitement was more than contagious, it was inspiring. And I was further charged by the fact that this was a wholly new experience: my first visit to a village in India; first exposure to a watershed development project; and first time visiting an AID-funded project; AID is the Association for India's Development, of which I am a volunteer (http://www.aidindia.org).

Ashok cheerfully guided me around the village, showing me the various bunds that have been constructed and the pre-existing ones that were repaired since 2001. Bunds are walls of varying dimensions built along a nala (stream) that can be either earthen, concrete, a mix of concrete and stone, or composed of loose boulders. Accordingly, the flow of the water is slowed, preventing precious topsoil from being washed away while also allowing the impounded water to percolate underground and recharge groundwater sources; in the case of loose boulder bunds, only the soil is halted while the water is allowed to pass. Standing atop the bund and looking upstream to see the series of walls was thoroughly awesome! It is in fact the reason I have come to India: to learn about watershed development from those who have actually done the work and to hopefully partake in doing the same.

Of the 42 bunds in Surodi, 21 were constructed by the villagers over four years while the remaining were built by the government earlier and in need of repair or reconstruction; 27 are earthen and 15 are concrete/stone. The total spent on the construction of 18 new bunds, and the repair of 5 out of the total 22 pre-existing ones, was Rs. 2.65 lakhs or just over $6,000 this is equivalent to the average spent by the government to build just one bund. The Pittsburgh chapter of the Association for India's Development (A.I.D.) provided the majority of the funding for Surodi's watershed development program.

Originally however, seed funds were granted by individual members of Vidnyanvahini, a network of scientists that organizes a mobile science laboratory throughout rural Maharashtra with whom Ashok had worked. "After it became evident that Surodi people will strive towards an integrated development model through watershed work, we invited AID volunteers to visit Surodi", noted Madhukar Deshpande, founder of Vidnyanvahini.

Villagers managed a limited budget mostly by offering shramadaan (voluntary labor) every villager between the age of 15 and 60, about half the total residents, participated. Handling the vast majority of the work, the villagers were involved in all aspects from the design and planning to construction; Vidnyanvahini arranged for two civil engineers to conduct field surveys and assist with the designs. Each day's work crew of about 13 to 20 villagers was quite diverse, cutting across lines of sex, caste, class, and age. Most often, a person volunteered their labor in building a bund that did not necessarily benefit their plot of land or drinking water source. As in other successful examples of watershed-based development, this combined effort is not only critical in guaranteeing completion of the scheme, but also in building unity among villagers to help ensure equity in distribution of the project’s benefits.

Another key element to the success and sustainability of watershed development programs is local ownership of the project as well as the sharing of knowledge and skills. Consequently, a few people from Surodi are assisting other villages in their watershed development work when requested.

Thanks to the 42 bunds enhancing the landscape throughout Surodi, it has been 2 years since a tanker truck was last needed to deliver the village's drinking water supply. The wells were full during my visit in May, which is typically the hottest month of the year – and this summer has been hotter than average.

The positive impact of this work is reverberating to other areas such as dairy farming. That is, due to the increased availability of water, green grass can grow, in turn providing more nourishing fodder for the cows. Consequently, milk production has more than doubled since the start of the watershed work, leaping from 450 to 1,000 liters per day. Ashok declared that, anybody can buy a cow and make a business from selling of milk.

And through the collective, voluntary labor provided to construct the numerous bunds, there has been a marked strengthening of social cohesion in Surodi. For instance, villagers now often assist one another in arranging celebrations and ceremonies such as marriages or yatras (religious festivals).

The significance of this relief and increased self-sufficiency was impossible to miss from the villagers optimism, hospitality, and eagerness to begin working on the next set of projects towards total village re-development. Plans have already been sketched for a micro watershed program, meaning earthen bund construction on individual plots of land to promote soil conservation, benefiting villagers farmland more directly. At the same time, or perhaps next on the list is equipping every home with a toilet to improve sanitation and hygiene.

The highlight of the trip for me was my time at the well, which as mentioned, was full even in the middle of May. After observing a few women and their daughters collect water from the well using their buckets tied to a thin rope, I asked in my broken Marathi if I could make an attempt. In the end, it was a win-win situation: I learnt how to fetch water from a well, while the ladies and girls had about ten minutes of hilarious amusement. Perhaps I will be able to provide more entertainment as I plan to return to Surodi soon, once the monsoon rains commence to see the bunds full and alive.

More close to heart, my uncle accompanied me on the trip to Surodi. As an engineer working long hours in a busy factory, this was a different kind of first for him first time meeting several people volunteering with various NGOs that are involved in numerous causes. Throughout the day, he provided timely translation and his curiosity was invaluable. He returned home impressed, enlightened, and optimistic about voluntary efforts made by villagers and NGOs. Referring to AID, he asked during the ride back home to Pune, how do I sign up?
 
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