Jal Sanjivani

Jal Sanjivani is an integrated watershed management program aiming to build a climate-resilient agrarian community. The project ensures water and food security through constructing water harvesting / recharging structures.

Geographies:

State	District	Block	Village
Madhya Pradesh	Damoh	Pathariya	Basakalan, Imaliyaghona, Nandrai
Maharashtra	Solapur	Barshi	Surdi, Yawli, Rastapur, Undegaon, Irle

Two different locations with different climatic, geomorphological and agricultural zones were selected. Both had the common problems of drought, water scarcity, unjustified cropping patterns and poor socio-economic condition of small and marginal farmers and women. The communities lacked awareness about correct water usage and cropping patterns.

Objectives:

To promote sustainable and climate-resilient agricultural practices.
To protect and conserve the soil by minimizing fertile soil loss in fields.
To conserve and augment the water on the surface and in aquifers through run-off control.
To promote advanced agricultural practices, improving productivity and optimizing the use of irrigable water to increase the cropping area.
To build capacities of village-level institutions.
To increase the roles of women and the landless in decision making by providing alternative livelihoods.

Project Verticals

Under the project, we are working on four verticals:


Soil & Water Conservation	Productivity Enhancement	Livelihood Promotion	Capacity Building
All the drains/streams in project villages are treated by adopting the ridge to valley concept. We have constructed every possible structure to augment the aquifers and surface water bodies.	Many good agricultural practices were demonstrated to the villagers of the project area. We also worked on decreasing the input cost and increase the price of the agri-produce. To ensure this we formed two Farmers’ Producer Organizations.	We formed SHGs to provide support to the land-less and small land-holding farmers by helping them start their businesses. We also supported some individual families to scale up their existing businesses.	We formed various local institutions like Village Watershed Committees, Water Users’ groups/associations and Self-Help Groups to build capacity for sustainable development in rural areas.

We are also working to ensure the optimum utilization of natural resources, breaking the caste ladder, and women’s empowerment.

Watch the video below to see how the Jal Sanjivani campaign has impacted communities in Damoh and Solapur: