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by Chiti Guptawith inputs from Sujaya Dangwar (Jharkhand), Bhagyashree Moholkar (Maharashtra) & Kasturi Samal (Odisha) As per the Government of India directives, the entire month

Based on Data gathered up to September 2020 India is now among the three countries in the world to reach the bleak milestone of 100,000

by Harshal Khade In the month of September, WOTR has organised a second series of online workshops in Maharashtra, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Odisha

Based on Data gathered up to August 31, 2020 As of 10th September, 2020, India has crossed 4.5 million cases and 75,000 deaths from the

As a part of its flagship project to enhance the income of the tribals across 11 villages of Gunupur block in Rayagada district of Odisha,

As WOTR’s plantation activity gets underway in Odisha, here is a closer look at the process behind readying the land for planting cashew saplings, which

by Harshal Khade, Prithviraj Gaikwad Photo credits: Kakasaheb Wadekar, Anita Kate, Ganesh Kakde In multilayer farms, as different types of vegetables, pulses and fruits are

Dr. Eshwer Kale The book ‘Patterns of Social Exclusion in Watershed Development in India’ is part of my ongoing inquiry to understand and analyse various

by Harshal Khade & Nupur Purti Participants at a food demo preparing laddus / Image captured pre-COVID-19 The COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath, has forced

(Based on data gathered up to June 30) As the whole world stares at an uncertain future, Watershed Organisation Trust has been at the forefront,

(Based on data gathered up to May 30) Upscaling COVID-19 relief measures in rural areas will ensure that the deadly virus is stopped in its

By Harshal Khade, Nirmal Topno & Sujaya Dangwar Photo credit – Atal Purty &  Pusa Kongadi The Birsa Farmer Producer Company (FPC) was formed so

By Harshal Khade and Kantilal Gite Growing a kitchen garden gives one easy access to fresh and organic vegetables to meet nutritional needs of the

The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) defines EbA as “the use of biodiversity and ecosystem services as part of an overall adaptation strategy

by Rajmohan Sudhakar “Madame, is this disease going to be here forever?” “How are we going to conduct our trainings when we cannot gather? Like

by Arjuna Srinidhi, WOTR Centre for Resilience Studies (W-CReS) In recent years, India has experienced a rise in extreme weather events. In 2018 alone, climate-related

By Asif Alam Mazumder & Vikas Prakash Joshi in Madhya Pradesh With poor living conditions, overcrowding of places and over 70% of the population employed

By Vikas Prakash Joshi in Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana   The lockdown imposed on March 24, 2020, has disrupted food distribution and supply across

By Asif Alam Mazumder in Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Maharashtra and Jharkhand Women self-help groups (SHGs) across the country are playing an important role in combating

By Prithviraj Gaikwad, Asif Alam Mazumder, Sameer Sayyad, Harshal Khade, Vandana Patekar, Kakasaheb Wadekar and Narendra Tiwatne In a country where more than half of

by Kasturi Samal & Vikas Prakash Joshi in Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Telangana, Odisha The nationwide lockdown from March 24, 2020, has had grave implications across the

COVID-19 has claimed the lives of tens of thousands around the globe and has infected hundreds of thousands of people around the world including China,

By Vikas Prakash Joshi The small boy took out a book from the library shelf, on Friday morning (Library Day in his school), and looked

By Nikhil Nikam “Anyone who can solve the problems of water will be worthy of two Nobel prizes – one for peace and one for

By Harshal Khade Retelling the story of Dunda Dhadwad from Shiswad I was once asked in the University class of Sociolinguistics by our professor ‘Has

By Janaki Tulshibagwale Human beings have built civilizations and cooperated on multiple levels, mainly due to one thing: communication. It can be said that communicating

Working with WOTR for a considerable amount of time now, I’ve got exposed to the issues surrounding water crisis. I’ve learnt about the impact it has on the day-to-day life of people and the economy of the rural India. Alongside this, I also got acquainted with the collective efforts taken by the rural communities to counter this issue in the support of WOTR team. It has been an overwhelming experience to understand the perception of the rural population towards such problems, while simultaneously witnessing the positively changing ecosystem and economy.  By taking all these experiences back to an urban space, where I reside, I have subconsciously become more vigilant towards the use of water. Also, it was shocking to read and discover the data on urban mismanagement, misuse of water and its contribution to depleting water resources and the projected crises of the future. This article is an attempt to put forth my personal experiences and also, appeal to the community around me to contribute and try to halt the fast-rising issue of water crisis.

The elixir of happiness or satisfaction has kept human kind guessing from times unknown. From the realms of philosophy, the question has transcended social fields and moved into the boundaries of science. Each discipline has tried looking at the concept with ideas and expertise of its own—exploring different angles to the same Delphic topic.

– Sachin Hirve, Ajinkya Upasani & Mohan Dhuldhar Today is the World Day to combat Drought and Desertification! We are very happy to share that

On the occasion of the World Environment Day we attempted to make a a stop block motion film;a cinematographic technique whereby the camera is repeatedly stopped and started, for example to give animated figures the impression of movement. The film reminds us about simple solutions that we often take for granted. 

The year 2016 was the warmest year ever recorded globally according to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD).The effects of these rising temperatures are felt acutely in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, India where heat-waves are a common phenomenon. The impacts of these heat-waves are understudied as most existing studies focus primarily on urban areas.

In a new paper researchers at WOTR examine how agricultural practices in rural Maharashtra are being transformed in response to climatic and non-climatic challenges. Using

Over the last half century technological & infrastructural advancements in the form of bore wells, pumping technology and rural electrification, has enabled farmers in the dryland regions of Maharashtra to access and extract groundwater at unprecedented levels, enabling the intensification and extension of cultivation. However, high levels of abstraction accompanied by recurrent droughts have led dramatic declines in groundwater levels. Further the socio-legal paradigm that governs groundwater resources, privileges individual users while ignoring the common pool characteristics of groundwater and aquifers.

Groundwater is an integral part of the hydrogeological cycle and is an important natural resource of great social and economic significance. Today, groundwater resources across the country are under great stress: pollution , over-extraction, increasing stress due to population growth, emerging equity issues and added climate change. In much of Maharashtra, this precious natural resource occurs in weathered and fractured formations of the unsaturated zone. The hydrogeology of Deccan basalt is quite complex. This poses a challenge in identifying suitable groundwater bearing zones and location of recharge sites. Competition for this scarce resource has meant that farmers are drilling more wells of greater depth, leading to a greater disruption in the underground natural hydrological flow. Responding to this challenge requires a two- pronged approach. First, it is important to generate scientific and reliable knowledge that helps stakeholders to access and understand their underground reservoirs (aquifers). Second, an appropriate institutional setup must be put in place to ensure that this knowledge is operationalised in a sustainable and equitable manner. In this blog, we look at some of the work that we’ve been doing on the first front.

In August 2016, I visited villages in the Western Maharashtra & Marathwada in order to collect case stories for a few projects that WOTR implements. This photo essay is an attempt to showcase some of more candid moments in the field and offers a small glimpse of life in rural Maharashtra.

Poor groundwater quality during drought can have serious repercussions on health, agriculture, income and sanitation levels of the village communities. The present study looks at the upstream and downstream groundwater quality changes. The changing rainfall patterns, deteriorating groundwater quality, recurring shortage of drinking water and prolonged water scarce days across villages of Mula-Pravara sub-basin call for an urgent need to relook at the current strategies of quality assessments at local level and its dissemination through awareness programmes. The preliminary water quality study is being carried out to highlight the gaps that exist at different levels – administrative, watershed and aquifer that impede effective adaptation to poor groundwater quality of communities during times of drought.

Desertification is seen as one of the most pressing issues affecting the lives of millions across the arid and semi- arid regions of the world. It is a consequence of a series of land degradation processes, where water acts as a limiting factor for land use patterns of the ecosystem. However, owing to the current rate of human activities, this natural process has accelerated in its timeline and is posing serious risks of decreased productivity and food insecurity. This post underlines the causes and impacts of desertification. It also traces the initiatives taken by Watershed Organisation Trust (WOTR), in combating desertification and ensuring sustainable livelihoods for the communities.