In a time when heatwaves and droughts continue to threaten the future of human life as temperatures rise, GRAVIS (Gramin Vikas Vigyan Samiti)has been working with Help Age International to revive traditional water harvesting techniques in the Thar desert. The initiative focuses on getting the elderly together and taking charge of their situation.
Older people are more vulnerable to the effects of climate change in perennially water-scarce areas like the Thar Desert in the State of Rajasthan. GRAVIS (Gramin Vikas Vigyan Samiti), has been working with Help Age International to revive traditional rainwater harvesting in Thar desert, where the older generation take charge of the initiative. It focuses on getting older people together and forming community institutions like Village Older People’s Associations and building their capacities to lead and contribute towards various community-level interventions.
These associations have built several rainwater harvesting structures like taankas, naadis and khadins which are indigenous water harvesting knowledge systems of the region. The older members of the family own the structures made. This ensures their control and access to fundamental resources like water. Taankas are covered cylindrical water storage tanks built close to community members’ houses for immediate access. Equipped with a silt catcher and a sloped catchment, a taanka can hold about 20,000 litres of rainwater sufficing the drinking and domestic needs of an average family for at least six months in a year.
Whereas, a khadin is an innovative version of a traditional runoff water conservation system that helps arrest water from high catchment areas through a bund or embankment for farming purposes. It helps to check soil erosion and retain water and moisture in farmland resulting in increased productivity and yield of crops. Khadin has not only made possible cultivation of multiple crops across seasons but also has facilitated a steady flow of income and nutritional security for the older population of Thar in Rajasthan.
The success of these practices of rainwater harvesting in Thar is visible in all areas of GRAVIS operations. Over 15000 rainwater harvesting structures have been constructed and renovated to date in Thar. With these interventions, the health and living conditions of more than 2,00,000 older people have significantly improved and their families from 1700 villages in the Thar desert of India have become water and food-secure.
Thar Desert, the largest desert in the Indian subcontinent, is one of the most challenging climatic zones in the country. Inhabited predominantly by farming communities, who are largely dependent on rainfed agriculture and related activities, the desert has witnessed recurrent droughts, acute water shortages and food scarcity. The effects of climate change in the water-scarce regions are largely seen in terms of erratic rainfalls and enhanced variability in the temperatures and rains.
Also Read: Khejri – the wonder tree of Thar desert
Krupa Gandhi is a communications professional currently working with GRAVIS as a consultant.
Edited by Novita Singh
