The mainstream media often tends to ignore some of the core challenges faced by the marginalized sections of society. Evidence suggests that there is minimal coverage of news relating to the people of rural Marwar in the mainstream newspapers and news channels. As a result, the people of this region do not have the means to voice their grievances and bring themselves to the forefront to initiate or demand policy change.The concept of community media has been developed especially to provide a voice to those sections of society whose problems are rarely heard by the outside world.
Jal Bhagirathi Foundation has set up a Community Media Unit (CMU) called Jal Chitran to create awareness and to provide a voice to the marginalized communities of Marwar. The unit produces and screens regular video magazine programmes focusing on critical issues in the villages, short films to generate awareness, and training films to capacitate communities for water resource management, sanitation, and hygiene. These films are an effective way of accelerating social transformation as well as bringing about policy change. This is a remarkably powerful and cost-effective way of reaching large numbers of people.
BEST PRACTICE - Case Study Rundmal ki Dhani, Jalore District, Rajasthan Apart from Gawaitalab-the village pond- and its beris, Rundmal Ki Dhani also has two small nadis (small ponds) namely BhaankiNadi and GaucharNadi. But with increasing population of the village and about1700 livestock these water structures prove to be very small and are able to hold water for just 4 to 5 months. Besides this there are two hand pumps and a GLR1 constructed by the government, however, none of the hand pumps work and flow of water in GLR is also a rare sight as it comes twice a week, with the water being brackish. During the water distressed months villagers are also dependent on water tankers that bring water from nearby Bhadrajun village, at a distance of 20 km and charge a minimum of Rs. 500/- per round per household. Looking to the growing demand and inadequate availability of water the villagers had felt the need to find a solution to deal with the water problem. They had heard about the people’s intervention undertaken with the assistance from Jal Bhagirathi Foundation (JBF) in nearby villages such as Bhorda that had helped address water security. With growing interest of village elders a series of visits were made to the village along with meetings with the community members to discuss the problem faced. A PRA exercise was conducted by the project staff soon after. As part of the mobilization activities conducted to apprise communities about the scope of project work, a film screening was also held in the village. Two films titled- ‘MandlikeBadhte Kadam’ (Way forward in Mandli) and ‘ShauchalyaEvamSokhtaGaddhaNirman’ (Toilet and soak pit construction) were screened. While the first film talks about the best practices in water pricing put in place in village Mandli in Barmer district, the latter talks about need for construction of sanitation infrastructure in villages to prevent contamination of surface water sources. Impact Even though the villagers were aware of JBF’s work in the neighbouring villages and has heard the success stories, the screening of film was a catalyst that influenced the community member to an extent that a Jal Sabha of 35 members was constituted on the same day so that the work related to water harvesting can begin soon. Key Learnings Like a vaccine capable of reducing preventable diseases, community media is a simple, effective solution to achieve development goals. It not only presents the success story of different villages to motivate the rural communities but also brings recognition to the actual change makers. Scope of Replication This practice gives a visual to the heard or known stories that has longer and more trusting impact on human brain which motivates the community to take action and be the change makers. It can be replicated vastly in low lying villages not having access to television.
The inability to access safe drinking water is a burden that contributes fundamentally to poverty, malnutrition, poor education, gender inequity, ecological degradation, and conflict. At any given moment, approximately half the people in the developing world suffer from a disease caused by drinking contaminated water or eating contaminated food. The Marwar region is not an exception to this observation. Due to the unavailability of potable water in the desired quantitiesand the consumption of contaminated water have adverse impacts on productivity as well as on health of people in this region
JBF has piloted community-driven micro-level water enterprise projects under a public–private–community partnership model to demonstrate safe drinking water solutions through skill enhancement and the adoption of new technologies. This project not only ensured the availability of safe drinking water but also improved livelihood opportunities for self-help groups (SHG) members in the village.
It set out to design a business model for the provision of safe water to the community and facilitated a micro-level water enterprise project.
The initiative emphasis on strengthening the role of communities in implementing appropriate drinking-water purification technologies. Community-based institutions such as Jal Sabha and entrepreneurs are capacitated to run and manage water treatment plants as well as distribution networks.
Establishment of Small Water Enterprises (SWEs) has gained increasing importance over the last decade as governments, NGOs, and other institutions are looking for mechanisms to make potable water available to the needy. to it. SWEs have been described as “water delivery operations that predominantly provide water at the community-level. They operate beyond the reach of piped water systems and directly sell water to households.
Despite the fact that access to safe drinking water has been a global health priority as indicated in the UN’s MDGs and the role of small-scale water vendors has been flagged as critical in improving potable water availability2, the functionality of SWEs has just begun to unfold. Studies have described SWEs as having adaptability to local conditions and norms, making them locally viable. In some cases, SWEs have also been successful in accessing even the most remote populations regardless of terrain, governmental boundaries, regulations, economic conditions, and population density3. Another known benefit of SWEs is their ability to cater to poor households, by allowing intermittent purchase of water in quantities these households can afford. Finally, they have also been able to generate rural employment in many areas.
SWEs are slowly emerging as acceptable models in the rural and peri-urban areas of India. The world over, SWEs have been accepted as private profit-making institutions that are competing to provide services, but they have also been criticized for promoting competition by privatizing natural resources. Many social scientists are of the opinion that such a practice will eventually prevent poor communities from accessing quality water. They anticipate a hike in the price of water made available through these SWEs due to the possibility of oligopoly over the water resources. In the Marwar region, however, JBF is facilitating a different model of SWEs. These SWEs are managed by community members within the village, thus preventing unfair increase in prices of water. In this region, SWEs are emerging as community-owned institutions practising social entrepreneurship: they harness the advantages of both market mechanisms and community management while doing away with the disadvantages of private profit-making systems.
Pachpadra is a village where people rely on just one pond to meet their water requirements. The dependence of the villagers on surface water is exacerbated by the saline groundwater present in this area. During dry spells, water is bought from nearby villages to fill theunder ground tanks in households at a cost of INR 500-600 per 4,000 litre tanker. People’s choices are further narrowed by the fact that water supplied by the Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) is largely considered unfit for drinking. Sourced from a nearby groundwater well and then supplied through a ground level reservoir, it contains TDS ranging up to 4,500 ppm, including chlorides, fluorides, and nitrates that are above permissible levels. Such conditions forced the community to compromise on quality issues and consume the water thus supplied, resulting in high prevalence of water-borne diseases.
To solve this issue and provide livelihood, the JBF initiated a pilot project under a public– private–community partnership model. This project not only ensured the availability of safe drinking water but also improved livelihood opportunities for self-help groups(SHG) members in the village. Setting out to design a business model for the provision of safe water to the community, it facilitated a micro-level water enterprise project. This was a joint collaboration of PHED, the Jal Sabha, the Gram Panchayat, JBF and the SHGs that examined ways to encourage local entrepreneurship through the creation of community-driven business models of supply of drinking water through SHGs, who would also sell water and create livelihood opportunities for themselves. Such a system would contribute to improved health and hygiene through the removal of fluorides, nitrates, and other salts from the water and build capacity of the community members through training for the maintenance and operation of the project.
To fulfil these objectives, a technically efficient and effective Reverse Osmosis (RO) plant was designed as a social business model to operate a water enterprise which provides safe drinking water to Pachpadra village. Environze Global Limited, a private manufacturer of water treatment systems, installed the plant, while the government provided raw water and the Gram Panchayat provided housing facility to the plant. The Foundation was primarily responsible for facilitating the project.
Global Social Benefit Incubator (GSBI) and Acumen Fund helped in overcoming any hurdles. They assisted in setting up a distribution network and also provided for business coaching and contributed towards the development of a business model and plan. As an inexpensive means of maximum distribution and reach, four outlet stations were set up in different parts of Pachpadra, ensuring that all communities were within walking distance of the RO treated water. Moreover, the traditional pots were found very convenient for the rural women to transport water. To ensure the affordability of water, a selling price of INR0.15/litre of water was set as the plant saved immensely on packaging and distribution costs.
The RO plant and the delivery system is managed and coordinated by community members. The outlets are owned and managed by women from Jal Mandals (SHGs), allowing them to augment family incomes. The outlets, with a storage capacity of 2,000 litres, get water from the RO plant for INR0.08/litre. With a financial plan that fixed the selling price at INR0.15/litre and household delivery of water at INR0.25/litre, the outlets managed to generate profits ranging from INR3,500 to INR4,500 per month. The emergence of this SWE as a business model is an example of a public–private partnership with community investment where people have accepted differential pricing and are willing to pay for the service provided by the model. To make the business model successful and improve the livelihood of women, all the participating women were regularly trained in running and maintenance of the plant. They were also trained in financial dealings, record keeping, marketing, and distribution. Women were also made aware of the importance of safe water and how it leads to a healthy life. From a humble beginning, the SHG participants now take part in wider awareness campaigns on safe water in Pachpadra.
In Pachpadra, the RO-SWE has become an innovative option for the delivery of safe water. For the first time, there is now availability of easily affordable and safe drinking water in the area. People have adopted clean water practices of washing water containers with a chlorine solution before filling. Subsequently, a decrease in the instances of water-borne diseases as well as improved health has been noticed among families purchasing water from the plant. With regular awareness campaigns, there has been increased usage of safe drinking water. This has led to income generation for families that source water and sell it in their community.Regular training of women has contributed to their social and economic empowerment.
Running the RO enterprise successfully required dedicated inputs in entrepreneurial and technical skill development. Maintaining product quality is essential for the sustainability of the intervention. Further, outlet infrastructure was not sufficient to guarantee viability and a delivery system was needed to ensure continuous sale of water. Finally, the biggest learning has been that social enterprises run by communities are viable economic propositions provided the right back- end and front-end linkages exist.
In an area where saline water is the root cause of people’s problems, this practice can be extremely helpful in making quality water available to the people of Marwar. The main constraint is the initial financial investment and personnel training required to operate the RO plant. Some of the onus rests upon the government and the private players to recognize the potential of this process and invest in it
There is a wide consensus that the surface temperature will increase by at least 2°C in this century with Rajasthan been identified as one of the most vulnerable states in India that will be adversely impacted. With temperatures reaching 50°C in summer, average annual rainfall of only 200mm with annual 40% chance of drought, this region faces acute water scarcity and climate vulnerability.
Already, nearly 64 per cent of the people in the project area do not have access to safe drinking water, and more than 75 per cent of villages have groundwater problems, associated with high TDS, nitrate, and fluoride content. This acute water scarcity in the region has lead to chronic poverty and vulnerability, forcing people to compromise on water quality, sanitation, and hygiene, which has long-term impacts on their health. With the worsening perspectives, there is a huge need to take action.
Jal Bhagirathi Foundation (JBF) promotes the revival and construction of rainwater-harvesting structures, an excellent example of ingenuity of the local people in using inexpensive, simple traditional technology to address the drinking water needs of drought-stricken human and livestock populations. The organization encourages village-level institutions to undertake micro projects to revive or create traditional rainwater-harvesting systems.
A community-led water management system has been evolved, which taps runoff from the catchment area through water or feeder channels to a surface water-harvesting structure (talab, nadi or nada) located on the outskirts of the village and from water-harvesting structures to community water-harvesting tankas (underground rainwater-harvesting tanks) in the vicinity of the village
Financial sustainability and community ownership is ensured through a transparent system of Jal Kosh (Development Fund), in which people deposit at least 30% of the project cost and nominal water charges for development and maintenance of the micro project.
Unlike most of the JBF’s interventions that aims to revive traditional (existing) water harvesting systems, in the current action, Jal Bhagirathi Foundation started a pilot Sand Dam project, the first of its kind in India, with support from the Excellent Development and African Sand Dam Foundation (ASDF) in the three different villages namely; ThumbakaGoila, District Jalore, MahinganiyokiDhani, District Barmer and Jasol, District Barmer.
Water resource systems that manage to satisfy demands without degradation are called sustainable. Sustainable water resource systems are therefore those designed and managed to fully contribute to the objectives of society, now and in the future, while maintaining their ecological, environmental, and hydrological integrity (ASCE, 1998; UNESCO, 1999). Ensuring such sustainable water management systems is a major challenge to the community at large.
Efficient planning, establishment and management of a water resource system are all often seriously constrained by the absence of a monitoring mechanism and information on water demand, usage patterns and socio-economic variables. Fragmented institutional structures, lack of a regulatory mechanism, public awareness and inability to manage the demand can also lead to unsustainable exploitation and use of water resources (WEHAB, 2002). In Marwar, increasing water scarcity has led the communities to adopt strategies that are of sustainable nature. Some of these practices involve establishing an economic and financial regime for usage of water. There has been a shift from the centralised to the decentralised management system that recognises the importance of local institutions, thus laying the foundation of good governance. These approaches have complemented one of the basics of sustainability - wherein institutions focus on getting ‘rights right’, and produce the right conditions for collective action (Schlager and Ostrom, 1992, quoted in Roth, Boelens, et al., 2005). An ideal management system in a water scarce region, however, will be the one which minimises conflicts and establishes rules and priorities among the users (Cravidao&Mateus, 2002) and ensures sustained water access to all.
Scanty rainfall and water scarcity are common features of a desert region. These problems are magnified by changing climate and recurring droughts. Mandli, a 600-household village with a population of 45,00 people, receives erratic rainfall. There is a perpetual water crisis in this village. Hence, village communities took on the onus of improving accessibility of water, rather than depending on external agencies and the government for supply of water. The main source of water for this village was a pond called the Gawai Talab which has a capacity of 2,869 cubic metres. During monsoon, rainwater used to overflow from the pond since its catchment area was small and could not retain all the rainwater. Whatever little water was harvested in the pond lasted only four months in a year. The situation worsened during summers when the pond became dry. The villagers had only the options of purchasing water, causing a severe financial strain; depending on the limited supply of saline water supplied by the government; and women of the village walking a distance of 4–6 km a day in search of water. Consuming saline water meant compromising on the quality of water resulting in health hazards. Under such circumstances people of this village struggled to survive. Community members of the village reasoned that if all the rainwater was harvested properly, the pond would have enough water to meet their yearly demand. The community collectively took decision to change the water situation of their village.
A few villagers of Mandli, inspired by successes in other villages through the interventions of JBF, mobilized others in the village. They came together and formed a Jal Sabha (village water users’ association). This Jal Sabha had a representative from each community in the village along with an assured 20 per cent of women participation. The members undertook a participatory planning exercise and decided to increase the area of the pond, which would allow it to capacitate more water. In order to accomplish this task, funds were generated through contributions from each household of the village. This money was then pooled in the Jal Kosh in a joint bank account to ensure a measure of accountability for the sum collected.
Thirty per cent of the project cost came from the Jal Kosh and the remaining funds were provided by JBF as a grant. In the first year, the pond size was increased by 50 per cent. The community discovered that the pond could now harvest enough water to last a period of 10 months. Even though water was available for a comparatively longer duration, villagers were still worried that changing patterns of rainfall and the increasing probability of droughts might cause water crises in the village in the future. Therefore, the Jal Sabha felt the need to enhance the efficiency of water harvesting by increasing the storage capacity of the pond. They also realized the need for a regulatory mechanism for controlled use of water in order to ensure that it lasts for longer periods.
Difficulties that stemmed from the absence of a management system for water distribution within the village became evident in the first year itself. Jal Sabha members realized that free availability of water for neighbouring villages also needed to be checked. After considerable discussions, a consensus was reached to introduce a coupon system for the distribution of water. This way of water management allowed people from other villages to use water from the pond at a cost of INR100 per tanker of 4,000 litres. The coupon system not only provided a means of accountability of the money collected against the amount of water consumed by the people from nearby villages but also ensured distribution of water according to the needs of the people. After the successful implementation of the distribution system, the village pond was able to provide water access to 14 other villages. Moreover, an equitable distribution system for the people of Mandli was keenly followed by way of maintaining a register that noted the time and coordinates of people taking water. This system kept a check on usage of water, thus ensuring prolonged availability of water.
The money collected through the coupon system was deposited in the Jal Kosh for enhancing the capacity and catchment area of the pond. This facilitated regular maintenance of the catchment areas. Maintenance was carried out by village volunteers twice a month to retain water quality. To improve efficiency of water harvesting, they renovated water channels in the catchment area and planted trees to improve water inflow.
The Jal Sabha took all measures to ascertain that not a drop of water was wasted. A guard was appointed to safeguard the pond. With the accumulated funds in the Jal Kosh and support of JBF, the depth and area of the talab or pond was further increased in the second phase. The whole process has created cohesiveness among the community members and has increased accountability. This village illustrates how the community has resolved a chronic problem and built social capital for development. In a village meeting, community members stated: “This year (2009) we could harvest the entire rainwater of this season (though rains were less), because we increased the depth of the pond, maintained water channels, and strengthened the embankments.”
The primary impact has been in the availability of sweet drinking water round-the-year despite 2009 being declared a severe drought year. A community member said: “It is incredible that we have achieved water security even in a severe drought year that completely wiped out our crops.” Expansion in the capacity of Gawai Talab from 2,869 cum to 5,218 cum and that of Narsingh Nada from 2,308 cum to 26,601 cu m has resulted in a 50 per cent increase in water availability,in both cases, making water available throughout the year. Further, 13 villages also benefit through this intervention by sourcing water through tankers. (
The coupon system has created a sustainable financial source for the regular maintenance of the talab. Lastly, the practice of creation of Jal Sabhas has put forward a bottom-up approach in achieving development goals. It has enhanced leadership skills and motivated people to get an improved life.
This approach showcases how investment in building robust and sustainable community systems and institutions positively impacts round-the-year availability of water. It also exhibits how an external agency with the cooperation of the local community can facilitate the revival of a traditional and sustainable water management system. SCOPE OF REPLICATION Similar best practices have already been replicated in project villages of the Foundation such as Trisangari Soda and Rodwa Khurd in Barmer district of Rajasthan. It is worthy of wider replication since it is an organized way to enhance the capacities of communities to manage water resources.
The Thar Desert is one of the most densely populated deserts of the world with 84 to 90 people per sq km (compared to 36 in other deserts). The human population has increased from 5.8 million in 1950 to 22.5 million in 2001. Similarly, the livestock population has increased from 13.7 million in 1961 to 32 million in 1997. Unsustainable human and livestock pressure (overgrazing, encroachment, and over-harvesting of forests) is leading to degradation of land resourcesforests, pastures, habitats and speciesand water sources. Grazing of livestock is intensive, affecting soil quality and destroying native vegetation.
In recent years, there has been a breakdown of the traditional natural resource management regime characterized by community managed lands. Grazing lands have effectively become open access resources with no system for controlling and monitoring their use.
JBF works to restore and sustain collective natural resource management. It focuses on reviving the common property resources of villages, where the development of catchment areas and pasturelands addresses the issues of land degradation and biodiversity loss, which plays a crucial role in providing the necessities of life for the rural poor, in form of food, fodder, manure, and water. The process of implementation follows a decentralized approach that ensures the capture and integration of climate change variables into natural resource management. It stands on the pillars of community mobilization, people’s participation, and capacity building of village-level institutions to increase the sense of ownership of community resources.
Potaliya Village of Marwar Region posits an excellent example of integrated village development system where communities have come forward to develop and manage their common property resources to combat land degradation, conserve the desert ecosystem, and protect the local biodiversity.
The village, Potaliya, of 126 households with a population of 900 people, faced acute water shortage. In terms of water availability the village depends on the GawaiTalab(village pond) as its sole source of drinking water; however it was able to retain water for mere 6 months every year. After the talab ran out of water, villagers purchased water tankers at prices as high as Rs. 800- 1000 per tanker of 4000 litres. The ground water in the village is saline and unfit for drinking. There is also a Ground Level Reservoir (GLR)1 which has an irregular supply of saline water. Villagers use the water from the GLR mainly for washing and cleaning purposes.
In order to develop the GawaiTalab, the village water harvesting structure and its catchment, the community approached JBF in the year 2010. To initiate and plan the work, a Jal Sabha was formed in the village with 37 members including 13 women representatives with a mandate to revive the GawaiTalab by increasing its capacity to harvest and retain more water.
The Jal Sabha made a plan to increase the capacity of the talab. To finance the development of the talab, the Jal Sabha raised 30% of the construction cost through community contributions and created a Jal Kosh(development fund) in the village. As a part of the project, the capacity of the talab, was increased by 4700 cum bringing the total capacity to 9000 cum. Three water channels comprising of more than 1 km were made in the catchment area to ensure that all water falling on the catchment is directed into the talab. With the increased capacity of the talab, the water retention period increased considerably, the talab is now able to retain water for approximately 10-12 months.
Motivated from the success in developing the talab, the Jal Sabha and the community decided to take up the development of village land resources. In 2011, the Jal Sabha made a plan to develop 80 bighas (12.84 hectares) of common land situated close to the village as village grassland. This land had been encroached by people and was also infested with Propopis Juliflora (an invasive species).
During the plan implementation phase, the Jal Sabha faced resistance, however a series of discussions between the Jal Sabha and villagers resulted removal of the encroachments for common village development by land development. The land was undulating, highly saline with of pH 8.5; additionally the water flowing through this land had resulted in soil degradation and erosion, which added to the problem.
A comprehensive plan for land development was formulated. It had two components – developing silvi-pasture model grassland and channelizing the water into a nadi (small pond) to prevent the overflow as well as create a source of drinking water for animals.
The grassland was developed on the Silvi Pasture model, with plantation of dhaman(CenchrusCiliaris) as a fodder grass and traditional ‘matka plantation’, was used for planting trees. A trench was made around the area to prevent entry of wild animals into the pasture land. Two open rain water harvesting ‘Tankas’ (structures) for watering the plants were constructed in the pasture land. Border plantations, were done with native species of approximately 300 plants consisting of Rohida (Tecomellaundulata), Karanj (Pongamiapinnata), Khejdi (Prosopis cineraria), Neem (Azadirachtaindica), Ber (Ziziphusmauritiana), Kumat (Acacia Senegal).
The grassland development has yielded positive results, the grass production has increased over the years and the Jal Sabha has been successful in making a fodder bank in the village. The dhaman is a protein rich grass which results in increased milk production. Moreover the seed of the dhaman is sold at nearly INR200/- per kg; the Jal Sabha harvests the seed every year and sells it in the market, the proceeds from the sale of seed is deposited in the Jal Kosh for development of the grassland. The success of this initiative can be gauged by the fact that in the first year itself the Jal Sabha was able to harvest 108 kgs of Dhaman seed and 1500 kgs of Dhamangrass.
In terms of sanitation with the help of active villagers the JBF staff assisted through Jal Sabha in construction of household toilets and soak pits. It also carried out construction of liquid drainage system, village soak pit and plantation activities.
After JBF’s involvement to revive the Gawai Talab, the talab is now able to retain water for approximately 10-12 months. Motivated from the success Jal Sabha assisted in development of village land resources via removal of people’s encroachment, developing silvi-pasture model grassland and channelizing the water into a nadi (small pond) to prevent the overflow as well as create a source of drinking water for animals. The grassland development has yielded positive results in terms of protein rich grass when fed to animal’s results in increased milk production.
On sanitation front , with the help of active villagers the JBF staff went to every house and collected basic information related to sanitation and hygiene such as hand washing habits, prevalent diseases etc, educating the community on the need for toilets and the benefits. Approximately 100 soak pits have been constructed in the households; these soak pits collect household waste water coming out from kitchen and washing and ensure that it doesn't flow on the village streets keeping them clean.
The integrated village development plan “success story of Potaliya Village” couldn’t have become the reality with community involvement at every step. The community has access to traditional know how; they are the developers of the infrastructure and also end consumenrs. Also, the sense of belonging instilled by using a share of their money for infrastructure development contributes to the long-term sustainability of the model. Community participation lies in the heart of JBF’s development model.
Most of the villages in the Marwar region, though reasonably good presence of resources, lack to meet basic infrastructure including drinking water, basic sanitation facilities and still living hand to mouth. The practice can be extremely helpful in improving the quality of life available to the people of Marwar.
The community-based institutional framework for the management of the commons through collective wisdom and action has broken down due to centralized control, resulting in the absence of community ownership and increased dependence on the government. This has led to the poor usage of the institutionalized support system and to the neglect of democratic processes. The socio-political system has held back the emergence of an appropriate civil society response to the need for the sustainable development and social empowerment of local communities
JBF enables collective community action by creating an institutional framework based on volunteers and networks that develops and enhances people’s ability to work together on a decentralized water management system and on other endeavours of common interest. For successful water management a social capital is built within a village which involves establishing social norms and networks which develop and restores people's ability to work together, leading them to revive age-old collective wisdom for community based action. JBF thus ensures that principles of democratic governance are practiced through a four tiered governance framework established from the village level, called the Jal Sabha (village water user association) to the organizational level, called the Jal Sansad (water forum), ensuring active participation of the community. Through meetings, public awareness campaigns, participatory appraisal exercises, and other activities communities are brought together around water. By doing so effective and accountable village water associations are facilitated to plan, manage and implement community based projects on traditional rain water harvesting.
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Effective community mobilization, participation, and investment by the people in planning and managing their own water security are at the very core of water governance. For such a governance structure to be established, it is also essential to ensure that individuals and groups express interests, exercise rights, share benefits, and mediate differences. Inculcating a spirit of collective action among the local community groups is a tough task.
This approach requires institutional arrangements, social capital, clarity on property rights, strong leadership, and a culture of transparency in benefit sharing. To this end, JBF has worked extensively with communities to establish a four-tiered system Jal Sabha, Jal Samiti, Jal Parishad and Jal Sansad. This four-tiered system has evolved as a good practice in the management and governance of water.
Earlier, the people of Marwar followed the traditional methods of managing water resources on their own through usufruct rights, setting up of sharing mechanisms for livestock, and implementing systems to preserve local resources. However, this community framework of water management has been taken over by a centralized water control system that overlooked the traditional wisdom. Acute depletion of resources has also resulted in a marked increase in dependence on the government. Village Sarwari Purohitan in Barmer district was one such example where the village had difficulties meeting the water requirements of its 450 odd households. The village received water only once a month through government supplies and people were forced to purchase water from tankers at high costs. To address this grave problem, the community decided to form a water association to renovate and increase the capacity of their main water resources—Ghoda Nadi (grassland pond) and Gawai Talab (pond).
With this village facing acute water problems, an immediate and sustainable solution was needed. The villagers had participated in a series of community discussions facilitated by JBF which later led them to form a village Jal Sabha. The functioning of this Jal Sabha was based on principles of democratic governance and participatory management. The Jal Sabha also served as a focal point for all sections of the community to meet, discuss, and contribute towards planning their water security. For the first time, many communities put aside their caste prejudices and came forward to plan jointly to restore their water structures. In 2007, the Jal Sabha began work on Ghoda Nadi. In the first phase, the depth and size of the pond was increased and in the second phase,
the water channel was repaired. Around 30 per cent of the overall costs were generated by the community and deposited in a water development fund called the Jal Kosh; the rest of the amount was raised through project funds. Funds for the Jal Kosh were collected by the Jal Sabha through household campaigns which encouraged the families to contribute a minimum of INR200 towards making the village water secure.
This intervention increased the square area and capacity of the pond to harvest more water from its catchment area. Extra funds for its maintenance and upkeep were received by way of further community contributions. This fund was also used to appoint a watchman to safeguard the pond from animal and human misuse, thus ensuring a check on the usage of water and ensuring availability of quality drinking water. The success of their efforts at Ghoda Nadi inspired the Jal Sabha to raise funds for the restoration of another village pond called Gawai Talab. In subsequent years, the Jal Sabha undertook restoration/construction of various water structures including the construction of a tank within the village school to demonstrate the technique of rooftop rainwater harvesting. Since this project was part of the school premises, school children were able to get a glimpse of community participation and social action.
In Sarwari Purohitan the impact of forming Jal Sabhas in the village enhanced community participation and ownership of common property resources, resulting in easier and round-the- year availability and access to water. Expansion in the capacity of Gawai Talab from 960 cu m to 5,218 cu m and that of Ghoda Nadi from 17,280 cu m to 26,601 cu m resulted in a 50 per cent increase in water availability in both cases. This resulted in a marked reduction in the cost of purchase of water, which went down from INR3,480 per annum before intervention to INR960 after this intervention.
Based on the experience of the Jal Sabha, the key components that create effective people’s institutions in water management include:
In Sarwari Purohitan, the establishment of a Jal Sabha has not only created social capital but has also ensured that people manage water systems themselves. Furthermore, interactions within the three tiers—Jal Sabhas, Jal Samitis, and Jal Parishad—have enhanced people’s faith and ability to collaborate on issues related to water management in the region. JBF’s role as a facilitating agency ensured equal participation of men, women, and the deprived sections of the community in the decision-making processes.
This approach speaks of the efficacy of decentralized organization of communities in creating cohesive water governance, and is worth replicating not only throughout Marwar but also in other water scarce regions. JBF has mobilized 300 Jal Sabhas in its project area to manage village water resources. These Jal Sabhas have been found to be very effective in addressing conflicts on sharing scarce water resources and promoting intra-village and inter-village cooperation. For example, in Rewara Jaitmal and Thob villages in Barmer district (with a population of 500 and 5,000 households, respectively) the problem of water sharing and the resulting water conflicts between the two villages were amicably resolved by the constitution of a joint Jal Sabha. This Jal Sabha acts as a mechanism to address water conflicts, administering water-sharing arrangements between the two villages and running a common Jal Kosh for maintenance and upkeep of the water structures. The two villages now share water equitably.
One aspect that finds little space in discussions of water management in the Marwar region is the role of women in evolving, controlling, and administering water systems. Women’s central role as users of water resources is well known; they are responsible for cooking, cleaning, maintaining health and hygiene, and raising livestock. However, as in other spheres of their lives, women’s involvement and participation in water provisioning and use has been on inequitable terms. Their social subordination, the invisibility of their productive roles, and their inability to claim their entitlements over natural resources have all contributed to their exclusion from decision-making. Further, the dominant policies and strategies in the water sector have seldom challenged these biases
JBF has taken a participatory approach in water management by facilitating equal participation of men and women in the decision-making process in the Jal Sabhas and thereby enabling inclusive governance. At least one woman is encouraged to occupy a leading position in a Jal Sabha, thus ensuring that the voice of women is heard in community decision-making. Greater awareness among women about safe drinking water practices, health and hygiene has been generated through various training programs, which has in turn contributed to better health of community. JBF ensures that women are engaged in number of participatory exercises to make sure that they are included in the mainstream of the project. Women are also encouraged to form self-help groups. These groups consist of 10-15 women who come together, are involved in monthly savings and undertake small income generation activities. The Foundation assists these groups in establishing links with banks and leverage loans.
In Satuni Purohitan, the source of water, SongraNadi, was located at a distance of 4 km from the village. Water was available to the villagers either through tankers or by covering the long distance on foot to fetch water from SongraNadi. It was only during the rains (two–three months) that the women could access water from a smaller pond called Hemajal Nada, close to the village. This pond saved them the drudgery of making the two-way journey of 4 km to Songra Nadi.
In order to have round-the-year availability of water in close proximity, women of SatuniPurohitan village joined hands to enhance the capacity of Hemajal Nada. A group of village women, after mobilesing and collecting INR 10,000 amongst themselves approached JBF with a request to support them to bring water closer to their homes. The level of mobilization and the dedication of thesewomen catalysed the formation of a women’s Jal Sabha. This Jal Sabha, comprising 30 women members, collected money for the Jal Kosh to undertake the capacity enhancement of Hemajal Nada. Thus, 30 per cent of the total funds was mobilized by the women’s Jal Sabha while the rest was contributed by the Jal Parishad as a grant.
This unique women’s Jal Sabha came into existence at a time when women had no active role in the water management issues of the village. Marwar has a patriarchal culture, where women are confined to their homes while men are involved in planning and managing community matters. The women of this village, by showcasing how their active involvement enhanced women’s access to water, have now set an example for women of other villages.. Women proudly call the pond the ‘women’s pond’ and they have forbidden access of tankers to it. They regularly carry out maintenance activities like de-silting and cleaning the catchment area to maintain the quality of water. With the establishment of this Jal Sabha, women have taken a more informed role within their households, creating greater awareness about safe drinking water practices, health, and hygiene as well.
The capacity of the two water-harvesting structures was increased at a total cost of INR 177,380 (30 per cent community contribution) at INR 70 per person (one-time cost). More specifically, returns to investment included reduction in women’s drudgery in terms of distance travelled to fetch water. After the intervention the water availability has increased from two months to about seven to twelve months a year depending upon rain and water use management.
As a result, their drudgery has reduced remarkably. The formation of this women’s Jal Sabha has tremendously influenced the community mobilization process. This was probably the first instance of women participating actively to resolve their own water problems. This practice of forming a women’s Jal Sabha has significantly contributed to the empowerment of women and has led to their engagement with the larger water restoration/construction projects being implemented in the village along with other Jal Sabhas in the area.
The women who are now seen as leaders within their community have become role models for women of other villages. This practice put forward the creation of institutional space, allowing women to pursue development goals for themselves, their family, and the community at large. As a result of such initiatives, women’s access to and control over natural resources have improved substantially reducing the time and effort spent in collecting water. Despite the prevailing typical patriarchal culture which limits their participation in planning issues related to availability and access of water, the practice not only showcases the success of women in complex situation but also demonstrates how life can be made easier and better through collective effort; Women Jal Sabha.
This practice is worth replicating in development projects. However, care should be taken that such initiatives do not result in further exclusion of women leaders from social issues especially in places where the society is still in the grip of patriarchal system and adequate social mobilization has not taken place.
Attendance in schools is strongly linked to availability of drinking water. Water scarcity means that schools in the area are forced to close for prolonged “water breaks”. In the region less than 5 per cent of primary schools have water and sanitation facilities, and more than 70 per cent of the health problems of children in primary school arise from inadequate water and sanitation facilities.
Water shortages at home also affect school attendance because children (especially girls) help their mothers fetch water for the family. School children in the Thar Desert spend more time fetching water than receiving an education. The current educational profile and the future development of the region depend on the availability of potable water in schools.
JBF has responded to this challenge by supporting schools in the construction and maintenance of rooftop rainwater-harvesting structures to ensure drinking water availability for children throughout the year. Indirectly JBF involves working with the community as a whole to alleviate water shortages in villages through the construction or revival of rainwater-harvesting systems. This liberates children from their domestic water-fetching responsibilities and hence increases their school enrolment and attendance rates. Children’s groups named Jal Dal are established to oversee the management and maintenance of school water-harvesting tankas ensuring volunteerism and community service, and allowing children to learn about their environment in a practical manner while exposing them to local traditions of water management
Godawas Khurd in Barmer district, like many other villages of Marwar region, faced chronic water problems which became severe with declining rainfall and irregular water supply. Further, the only open well in the village contained saline water with a TDS of 6,500 ppm. The whole village was in the grip of an acute water crisis. Women and children (mainly girls) were the most affected since a huge amount of their time was spent in meeting the daily requirements for water.
Children were irregular in attending schools and their education was put on the backburner due to the burning issue of water access. The Government High School of Godawas experienced extremely poor enrolment and attendance rates. The onset of summer worsened the situation further with the school registering zero attendance due to the lack of drinking water. Children dropped out as they had to devote large amounts of time and effort in helping their mothers fetch water from distant places. The Gram Panchayat constructed a 10,000-litre water tank in the school to address the water problem, but for water for the tank, they were completely dependent on tankers which was enormously expensive, ranging from INR1,200 to INR1,800 per tanker. The school collected small contributions between INR5 to INR10 from students every month for the refilling of the tank. This practice was followed till the year 2007, when the number of students enrolled in the school was 150.
The community realized that excessive dependence on the government was not the solution to their problem and mobilized themselves to look for a sustainable solution to the problem. Under the guidance of the school headmaster, they got in touch with JBF to create a village Jal Sabha in Godawas. Once the Jal Sabha was constituted, they undertook the task of increasing the capacity of the village pond called GodawasTalab. In 2008, the Jal Sabha also constructed a school tank, following the rooftop water-harvesting technique. The community was involved in each level of designing and constructing the rooftop structure. They decided that the capacity of the tank was to be 40,000 litres and raised 30 per cent of the total construction cost through community contribution. For the remaining 70 per cent, they received support from JBF. The tank was constructed under the constant supervision of the Jal Sabha within a period of three months. This enabled the school to free itself from dependence on tankers and allowed efficient use of rainwater. This was also a lesson for schoolchildren on the management of water resources. Conservation of rainwater thus became a source of teaching civic sense to children.
Further, to ensure maintenance of the newly constructed tank, a student body of 10 members called Jal Dal was constituted. Students from Classes 6 to 8 became members of the Jal Dal. The Jal Dal took the responsibility of cleaning the roof and ensuring clean water in the tank. They were also accountable for cleaning the silt chamber and meticulous functioning of the hand pump. Additionally, the school teachers also began educating children on water distress and encouraged them to be a part of environment conservation plans in and around their village. The school students were also involved in environment conservation activities and planted 50 trees in the school premises. Each plant has been adopted by two students who nurture it. This practice is passed on to the younger students so that both the structure as well as the plants are maintained. These democratic practices inculcated in these students a sense of duty to the fragile ecology of their village. A piggy bank has been started recently in which students from higher classes contribute 1INR per month for the maintenance of the tank and purchase of water during times of distress.
This intervention has positively impacted education in the desert, enhancing the literacy rate. Children no longer have to miss schools to accompany their mothers in search of water. There has been a noticeable fall in the school dropout rate and attendance has become more consistent. Students have become aware of environment conservation and its correlation with rainfall. The Jal Dal has instilled a sense of leadership and responsibility towards preservation of the environment.
The Jal Dals provide an excellent example of volunteerism and community service, enabling children to learn about their environment through hands-on experiences in water management systems. This practice is also an instance of the school administration and students working in tandem to ensure that every child gets her/his right to education without worrying about the availability of drinking water. It teaches them to unite for a socially useful goal, negating all caste and class differences.
This practice enables the younger generation to take responsibility for their fragile and scanty resources. It helps them understand the importance of conservation and regeneration. It can be replicated in schools where water problems are acute.
Improper sanitation exacerbates the problems stemming from the limited availability of safe drinking water. In Marwar region, poor hygiene practices, open defecation and minimal environmental sanitation take a major toll on public health. Such customary practices, entrenched over time, have led to deep-seated behaviours, which are hard to change. With increased populations, these practices have become a major cause of health hazards. Rajasthan has only 34 percent sanitation coverage and is ranked 24th among the 28 Indian states (CCDU Department, 2005). Studies conducted by the JBF reveal that over 70 percent of health problems of school going children are due to inadequate water and poor sanitation facilities and only three percent of the rural population in Marwar has access to toilet facilities (national average being 36.4 percent).
To secure people’s access to safe water resources and adequate sanitation, JBF has adopted a multi-pronged strategy: creating supportive arrangements for households to make decisions, promoting the demand for sanitation, initiating behavioural change, and providing financial support for the construction of household toilets. The thrust has been on creating awareness and on mobilizing communities to regard sanitation as a priority, leading individuals to take effective and appropriate action. To ensure interest in, and ownership of, toilets, households have to contribute 50 per cent of the cost of construction. More importantly, communities have been educated on the need for liquid waste management, and they are constructing household soak-pits without any financial support. The approach relies heavily on the community to trigger individual action for building sanitation facilities
The multi-pronged WASH strategy adopted by JBF comprised three inter-related activities: a) Revival and construction of traditional rainwater harvesting systems to ensure availability of water; b) Construction of sanitation facilities; and c) Promoting hygienic practices. To initiate this, a baseline household survey was conducted in Janadesar village to assess the health and the kind of health problems faced by the people. The Jal Sabha initiated a campaign to boost awareness of sanitation, health, and hygiene through various community initiatives such as wall paintings, street plays, slogans, and walks. In conjunction with these, in-house production films were made by the foundations Community Video Unit (CVU). This video unit was led by people identified from the community itself who were trained in video documenting social programmes and problems. Screening of films around better sanitation practices encouraged the locals. The motivated individuals approached the Jal Sabha with written applications for the construction of toilets. The toilets when got constructed with community interventions.News of this initiative in Janadesar spread around to nearby villages and people came to take a look at the newly built sanitation facilities in Janadesar village. They were motivated to seek Panchayat support for replicating the same in their villages.
The biggest impact of the sanitation programme has been in motivating a large proportion of the community to realize the benefits of having individual sanitation facilities. Individual sanitation facilities have led to improved personal hygiene and waste disposal in the area, reducing health hazards. Through the awareness campaign, many others have learnt about the issues related to poor sanitation and hygiene as well as ways to address them. For women and older girls, in particular, having a toilet at home means privacy and saves them from the risks involved in going out before dawn or after dark for defecation. Fear of anti-social elements lurking in the shadows was a source of constant anxiety for the women.
Individual contributions in the construction of these facilities served to inculcate a sense of ownership and value, ensuring their maintenance. Moreover, combining behavioural and attitudinal change through awareness generation along with co-financing sanitation infrastructure, as an incentive, motivated people to become a part of this change and own and sustain it.
This practice is followed in only one village as of now but is worth replicating in other villages since poor sanitation is a grave problem in the region. The investment for the model comes from both people and village local self-governance bodies. This strategy is an example of a holistic approach to enable access to sanitation facilities, promote hygiene practices, and enhance water security. This combined approach requires scaling up by the government and civil society protagonists.
The water crisis is essentially a crisis of governance. Weakness in governance systems has greatly impeded progress towards sustainable development and retarded efforts aimed at balancing socio-economic needs with the requirements of ecological sustainability. The accountability of water management initiatives is being increasingly questioned and the overall water problem compounded by inefficient water governance.
Participation of people is vital for the success of any policy on water governance. There is a need for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and community-based organizations (CBOs) to work together to strengthen the participation of civil society in formulating water policy, sharing knowledge, linking stakeholders, raising awareness, organizing meetings, and building consensus on water laws and governance.
JBF works to strengthen the accountability of water governance and to foster the participation of civil society in the formulation of a water policy through sharing knowledge, linking stakeholders, raising awareness, organizing conferences, and building consensus on water laws and governance. JBF has developed a comprehensive advocacy strategy that focuses on creating awareness, generating constructive responses, forming partnerships, and encouraging conscientious citizens at local, regional, state, and national levels. At the local level, the strategy focuses on developing an effective network of villagers who can act as a pressure group for institutionalizing rights-based governance. At the regional and state levels, the strategy concentrates on forming partnerships and on interacting with opinion makers and politicians to sensitize them about the dominant issues, along with offering feasible solutions for overcoming problems. At the national level, the strategy entails the organization of conventions, conferences, and workshops to bring government agencies, local bodies, and voluntary and community organizations working on the issue on a common platform to discuss and debate national-level policies.
JBF has participated in various international forums and showcased the best practices of water management developed in its project area. These include:
