Watershed

The scarcity and deterioration in quality of water has had an impact on different stakeholders- the local environment, the health of the communities and the economic conditions of farmer and cattle rearers. Hence, a long-term rain water harvesting project was started to create pockets of freshwater. Phase-I of the project was coordinated by Foundation for Rural Recovery and Development (FORRAD), New Delhi and funded by CocaCola Foundation. 24 structures (anicuts, ponds and mini dams) were constructed in 15 villages around Ajmer, Jaipur and Nagaur districts of Rajasthan.
The benefits of the project have been multi-pronged. The project has resulted in an improvement in the quality of water. It has helped revive traditional livelihoods like agriculture and cattle rearing. It has also generated employment opportunities for daily wage earners at the watershed site and in agricultural fields. Since its inception, a total storage capacity of 773 million litres has been created and a cumulative volume of 1.2 billion litres water has been collected. Over 54,000 lives in 24 villages have been impacted through this project.