Rainwater harvesting in the Dudu District, Rajasthan, India
Year round supply of sustainable clean water to marginalised communities at Sunadiya & Chhappya villages
Scroll down for Key Project Facts, About our India Project, Photos and Historic Programme News.
Key programme facts
Rainwater structures
15 domestic rainwater harvesting structures supporting 80 residents & one large structure at a primary school with 250 pupils
Community Support
Supported by our local
NGO partner in India –
Water Wisdom Foundation
Supporting the marginalised
Reducing the vulnerability of women who collect water from long distances and reducing water borne diseases
About our India programme
The villages of Sunadiya and Chhappya are in the recently formed Dudu district of Rajasthan, India, located near to the famous Sambhar Salt Lake.
The ground water in this region contains high salinity along with higher fluoride levels & is not suitable for drinking or irrigation. The region has also been affected by recurrent droughts, making the search for new and improved approaches in water resources management an imminent need.
Over half of the Sambhar Salt Lake region is home to marginalized communities lacking infrastructure and other services. Many residents belong to minority communities or the lowest ladder of the caste system, suffering discrimination and extreme poverty.
Due to the water scarcity women and girls / even small children must fetch drinking water from far flung water sources. During the summer water is often collected by digging shallow holes into dry river beds. These areas are prone to contamination and could be situated any kilometers away, making water collection more labour intensive.
Providing year round access to clean water at home will be transformational for the residents of Sunadiya and Chhappya. Women and children will not have to walk far distances to alternative sources of water, allowing children to stay in school and women to focus on other important activities.
We are very grateful to The Monsoon Accessorize Trust for funding this programme which will be delivered during 2024.
About our future work in India
As previously advised to our supporters, the WaterHarvest India Liaison Office was formally closed on 31st March 2023. This project in the Dudu District will be our final programme in India as our sister organisation the Water Wisdom Foundation (WFF) which we helped to establish, is best placed to continue the work we previously funded. Our former Country Director, Om Prakash joined WWF in 2024 and he is more than capable of managing future local water harvesting programmes without our involvement. In addition, as WWF is not UK based it is able to raise funds from donors living in India and it has also received FCRA registration to enable it to receive funds from abroad.
We will always remain immensely honoured by what we have achieved in India over the past three decades – none of which would be possible without the support of local partners to whom we wish every success in the future. We would also like to acknowledge all the funders and donors who have supported our programmes in India, with special thanks to the Monsoon Accessorize Trust who have generously supported this work in recent years.
Historic Programme News
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Why we harvest rainwater
Many people ask us why at WaterHarvest, we harvest rainwater and why we don’t dig wells, sink boreholes or invest […]
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WaterHarvest Annual Review 2023
We are delighted to share our 2022/23 Annual Review. This year we have delivered 3 programmes in India and 2 […]
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Impact of chauka from Sambhar, February 2023
The impact of chauka in the words of one farmer ‘I am Kaluram from Balapura village. Right now I’m feeding […]
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Changing lives in Kutch, December 2022
Damaben Dayabhai Makwana lives in the Wadivistar area of Ratanpar village. She has seven members in her family, who depend […]
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News from the Thar Desert, December 2022
Empowerment of women and girls is an important part of our programmes. Water safety training increases health awareness for women […]
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News from Charasada, November 2022
Life is looking up for two women Lali Devi lives in Roshanpura. She was responsible for fetching drinking water for […]
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Autumn Sammelan 2022
Some 35 people gathered in Winchester at the end of September for an event, designed to be part of Winchester […]
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WaterHarvest Strategy Update and Annual Review 2022
We are delighted to share our new strategy update. This year our work in India continues with a substantial programme […]