Naadis Of The Thar: Promises Of Water And Health скачать в хорошем качестве

Naadis Of The Thar: Promises Of Water And Health

Water is the cornerstone of our lives. We need water every day for drinking, washing, cleaning, growing and preparing food, thereby making it the most precious resource for survival. Water stress in the world is increasing because of rapid growth in population, economic development and climate change. In this scenario, the situation of people residing in arid regions like the Thar, persistently hit by droughts and water shortages, has become more challenging. As surface and ground water supply continue to dwindle with demands exceeding what’s available, communities are forced to live with poverty, illiteracy and poor health. Over a period of time, residents of the Thar desert have evolved many methods of collecting and storing rainwater for drinking, agricultural and livestock purposes as underground water is highly saline and unsafe for consumption. GRAVIS systematically intervenes to help them regenerate natural water resources for both human and animal needs. Ponds or Naadis is one such traditional surface water harvesting alternative that has helped desert communities tackle water shortages for generations. However, traditional means of storing water suffered a massive setback in the recent years due to over-reliance on tube wells and resulting negligence of naadi structures. In collaboration with N&R Karnani Trust, GRAVIS has undertaken the task of reviving traditional rainwater harvesting by renovating ponds in remote villages of the Thar desert. Local communities are actively involved in various capacities to ensure the renovation of ponds and its maintenance thereafter. GRAVIS team along with the VDC and villagers, monitor and supervise the tasks including location selection, desilting, enhancing the catchment area, installing a silt trap, creating earthen bunds, construction of overflow as well as entrance structures and plantation. In order to ensure proper care and maintenance of ponds, GRAVIS trains villagers on local knowledge of water conversation, rain water harvesting and proper upkeep of ponds. By rejuvenating ponds and building community’s capacities to utilize and maintain these structures, N&R Karnani Trust and GRAVIS have generated a positive impact on the life of desert communities. Villagers are overjoyed and have begun to utilize the stored water for their drinking, domestic, agriculture and livestock needs. Their health will improve and girls will be able to attend schools regularly as they would be freed from the drudgery of fetching water. Overall, this initiative has reached more than 400,000 villagers and over a million livestock in becoming water and food secure throughout the year.