Rainwater harvesting in the Dudu District, Rajasthan, India
Our final programme in India provided a year round supply of sustainable clean water to marginalised communities at Sunadiya & Chhappya villages.
This project completed in late 2024. Scroll down for an update on this programme and to read historic news about our work in India over almost 40 years.
Key programme facts
Rainwater structures
15 domestic rainwater harvesting structures and one large structure at a primary school
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 final programme in India
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.
As previously advised to our supporters, the WaterHarvest India Liaison Office was formally closed on 31st March 2023. This project in the Dudu District was 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 news about our work in India over almost 40 years can be found below.
Historic Programme News
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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 her family from the village handpump 3 km away, and from an open well in the river near her house during the summer season. In high summer – March to June – the open well…
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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 Green Week, entitled ‘The impact of climate change on water harvesting in India’, organised by former trustees Maureen Gupta and Peter McManus. After a delicious lunch prepared by local restaurant Rimjhims, a live Zoom to…
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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 in both Rajasthan and Gujarat, working with four different partners. The work continues to include rainwater harvesting in remote, vulnerable communities and land rejuvenation for herders and their families. However, with WaterHarvest now in its 36th year,…
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WaterHarvest Annual Review 2021
We are delighted to share our latest Annual Review, now in a flip book format.
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COVID update
In light of the distressing coronavirus news from India, we wanted to update you on our India office team, our partners and programmes. The India office team and our partners are ok but there are many reports of cases amongst wider family members and reports of cases in nearly all the villages that we work…
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30 years of impact
In 1991, WaterHarvest (then called Wells for India), together with AFPRO, built a small dam in Ramnagar village, south west of Jaipur. The dam was designed by WaterHarvest’s India director Om Prakash Sharma. Prior to the dam being built, the monsoon rains would rush over the hard, dry land with very little filtering down into…
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A huge thank you to Monsoon Accessorize Trust
We are incredibly grateful for the fantastic support that we have received from the Monsoon Accessorize Trust over the last three years. Through their support, we have been able to build over 150 rainwater harvesting structures in Charasada, just south west of Jaipur. As a result, 150 families (around 900 people) will have year round,…
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Stories from the field – Laxmi
Laxmi lives in a very remote region of the Thar desert. She is a member of the meghwal community. The meghwals are part of the scheduled caste category – one of the low, untouchable castes. Laxmi and her family are very poor. All eight family members live in a small (around 50 sq ft) kaccha…
