Jodhpur District, Thar Desert, Rajasthan, India
(Credit: Image by Suresh Godara in Wikipedia)
Rajasthan is the largest state in India. It is known as the Desert State. 70% of Rajasthan, including the Jodhpur area, is in the Thar Desert. The Thar Desert is one of the most populous deserts in the world. It is also the leading Indian state in the use of renewable energy with its solar energy farms and wind turbines.
Water, food, nutrition, and health are the primary concerns for the rural villages and tribal areas which are mostly engaged in farming and animal husbandry.
For the majority of schools in Rajasthan, the first language taught is Hindi. This year, in 2023, Rajasthani was declared the second language of the state of Rajasthan. Marwadi is considered a dialect of the Rajasthani language.
WORKING WITH THE LAND
Dried Flood Zone in the Thar Desert
A dried flood zone in the Thar Desert the land is dry for 9-10 months. Rainwater is the primary source of potable water. It is available during the monsoons for about 2 months. The groundwater is too saline for drinking and has very high levels of fluoride and nitrate, making it hazardous to human health.
Graded Landscaping
Environmental landscaping is being developed for flood mitigation during the monsoon, as well as rainwater capture, groundwater regeneration, and crop support. This helps provide a supply of rainwater, which is stored and used during the long annual drought periods.
Landscaping Methods
Using the earth and small structures to slow the flow and guide the direction of the monsoon floodwaters.
A Small Dam in the Thar Desert
A structured dam built to slow down the monsoon flood waters and prevent soil erosion and mud slides.
Thar Desert Spillway
A spillway on the hills which directs the downward flow of the flood waters onto a rocky area.
Khadin in a School Yard
A khadin is a mound of earth in a line stretched across an area. It is built for mitigation of the monsoon floods, sometimes a few at intervals, with a 1 1/2 degree incline of the land between each khadin. This slows down the flood waters, prevents soil erosion, and helps to replenish the groundwater. The water is held at the bottom of the incline by the khadin until it overflows and continues to the next.
Spillway for Khadin in a School Yard
Spillways are placed on khadins to help slow the overflow of the flood waters from one khadin area to another.
Training Communities
Creating and training communities for community-run sustainable water management systems.
Photo at the GRAVIS-Gagadi Training Center
GRAVIS-Gagadi Training Center
One of the primary missions of the GRAVIS organization is the development in rural communities for sustainable water security, training the people in how to provide for the basic water needs of everyone in the village.
Working with Rainwater Catchment
In the desert the people work with both natural and manmade catchment areas, such as a Paal. The rural communities use a combination of indigenous methods and modern engineering to capture rainwater during the monsoons. This helps keep them supplied with drinking water year round.
Ancient Cistern Near a Thar Desert Farm
Cisterns and Taankas
The primary purpose of the indigenous water cisterns and modern taankas is to store rainwater and avoid depletion of groundwater source from overuse of well water. This is particularly important when rainwater is available for only 2 or 3 months a year and the groundwater is not safe to drink.
Rural Village NaadisÂ
Photo at the GRAVIS-Gagadi Training Center
People digging out and hauling dirt and mud to create a naadi.
A naadi is created in a paal (a manmade area). Its purpose is rainwater capture to provide water in the rural areas for the long annual drought periods, from monsoon to monsoon. The size of the naadi depends on the number of people and animals it needs to serve, some are for a single village, some for several villages.
A large rural area naadi about 20 feet deep. The water is crystal clear.
The naadis are dug deep, sometimes as much as 20-25 feet, and the dirt removed is used to build high walls or embankments in a wide partial circumference to hold the monsoon waters. With heavy monsoons, the rainwater may spread out beyond the walls. There is usually a small temple by the naadi for doing puja. Water is considered sacred. Water is life.
Multi-village Naadi
This naadi serves 5 small villages.
Cows at a Naadi
The naadis are also for the animals.
Water Tanker
4 Tanker Drivers with Gravis-Baap staff member and driver.
Single Village Naadi Almost Gone
The village will need other sources of water before the monsoons.
Photo at GRAVIS-Gagadi Training Center
Water transfer to a taanka.
Taankas and Beris for Small Communities and Farms
Taankas are built for the purpose of water storage and water capture during the monsoon floods. A taanka is created with cement poured into a wide circular hole about 10+ feet deep with a 6-10 foot diameter (the size and depth depends on the number of people in the community or on the farm). Each taanka has a zig-zag structure on the side which guides the water to the small opening covered by a screen to filter out sticks, stones and leaves.
A taanka holds up to 20,000 liters of water. A beri is similar, except the inside is earth and stone, and the capacity is greater. A beri can hold between 100,000 and 250,000 liters of water.
Taanka for a Community
Getting Water from a Farm Beri
There is a covered opening on the top of a taanka or beri for extracting the water, which is then filtered through a fine sieve into a water pot.
Taanka Opening on Top
Filtering the Water
Structures and Landscaping for Farms
A Farm Pond is a Water Capture System
A Hose Comes from the Farm Pond to Carry Water to the Crops
A Pump Draws the Water from the Farm Pond Directing it to the Crops
Crops Being Watered from Farm Pond
GRAVIS Supports Sustainable Farming with Training and Landscaping Structures
Farm Crop Khadin
Farmer Looking Over His Crop Fields
With gratitude and appreciation for GRAVIS.ORG.IN (Gramin Vikas Vigyan Samiti) and Dr. Prakashji Tyagi, Executive Director.
For GRAVIS in Jodhpur, GRAVIS-Gagadi and GRAVIS-Bap for their hospitality, care, rural area field trips, and generosity in sharing their knowledge and time. And for the shared community and ongoing connection with the staff and families at GRAVIS-Gagadi.
Dhanyavad
Photos and text (except where otherwise indicated) by:
Ayo Oum Shanti
Founder/Director
World Water Hub
With appreciation for editing help from:
Ramesh Parihar
Balkesh Choudhary
On a personal note:
My experience with the people at GRAVIS in Jodhpur, GRAVIS-Bap, GRAVIS-Gagadi, and those I've met in the rural villages; and with all that GRAVIS is doing in its centers to help mitigate and solve the multi-layered challenges of life in the Thar Desert, has been an inspiration for me. I hope this report will inspire others as well.
Building and supporting community and combining indigenous knowledge with modern technology can be very effective, even in extremely difficult situations.
We in the modern world can benefit from indigenous knowledge; and a strong community is essential to the well-being of everyone.
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