Sand Dams for India.
This film, by Jal Bagirathi Foundation and Jal Chitran Community Producers, shows how traditional rainwater harvesting can provide enough water for everyone.
Excellent Development and strategic partners Africa Sand Dam Foundation (ASDF) are supporting the Jal Bhagirathi Foundation (JBF) in Rajasthan, India, to see how Sand Dams could contribute to achieving water security in this land of recurring drought. Excellent is delighted that funding from the Nestle Prize in Creating Shared Value is enabling a study to understand just how Sand Dams could be applied in this new environment.
Rajasthan is the largest state of India, with a population of 68 million - 77% of which is rural. The Thar Desert in Rajasthan is the most densely populated arid zone in the world.
It is a land of incessant thirst, plagued by recurring drought. Women spend half the day collecting water. And children must sacrifice their education to help. Rural people in Rajasthan depend on rain-fed agriculture. Coping with limited rainfall and poor soil fertility are some of the major challenges for people there.
Yet, there can be enough water for everyone. JBF has been successfully working with communities to harvest rainwater since 2002. We know that Sand Dams are the most cost-effective method of rainwater harvesting in drylands. That’s why Excellent and ASDF will be supporting JBF to investigate how Sand Dams could contribute as one of the techniques for achieving water security in Rajasthan.
Deteriorating groundwater quality has added to the already precarious water status within the state. Approximately 74% of total villages and habitations with multiple quality problems in India are in Rajasthan.
Harvesting Dreams, A Jal Bagirathi Foundation Publication.
