Help villagers get access to a harvesting pond

Impact

There is no gurgling water sound in most of the hilly villages of Western Ghats, especially Doddur village of Sirsi Taluq. There is an acute shortage of rain and perennial water sources. Manuvikasa sent an excavator machine to this village and developed a small farm pond. This pond got built up in 2 Guntas of land area which belongs to Manjunath Timma Madival. He irrigates his land by an electric pump and provides water to surrounding 4 farmers whenever they require water for protective irrigation. Manjunath Madival is growing and protecting his horticulture garden with the support of pond water. He is growing areca as the main crop along with pepper and banana. This pond water has ensured the survival of these families.

About The Program

Uttara Kannada district is rich in biodiversity and yet has been facing a severe water scarcity for the past few years. Manuvikasa develops farm ponds, small tanks and helps farmers increase crop production through second crop and expansion of the agriculture area. So far, 1000 small tanks and farm ponds are developed and 2500 acres of land covered. Manuvikasa builds at least 4 tanks in every village in places selected by farmers with the assistance of local water experts. Poor and needy farmers are selected for the project. An initial meeting is held and a suitable location is selected to dig the pond. The rejuvenation takes a month and the structure lasts for over 10 years with no maintenance. The effort, time and cost needed for rejuvenation and construction are same and the tank sizes are a standard size of 30ft 30ft*9ft.

About The NGO

Mauvikasa is an NGO that works in Uttara Kannada and Haveri District of Karnataka State on the issues of water conservation, education improvement, and livelihood development. They have collaborated with Deshpande Foundation and are developing small Tanks and springs and trying to support farming communities to improve agriculture income through SRI cultivation. Manuvikasa aims to create a social order among the marginalized and deprived members of the rural community regardless of caste, class, creed, and gender with mostly affected women and children, uplifting them through various programs as well as activities giving them an improved quality of life and good human values, sustainable livelihood and enriched environment. This organization is created by educated and experienced social workers. All of the members have the experience of women, children, and youth development activities. They try to benefit the depressed families of the targeted villages through empowerment of women, youths and providing education to the children.They have developed 2130 small water harvesting units or farm ponds and harvest 840 million liters of water every year, 150 energy efficient smokeless choolas and have also provided micro insurance for the low-income groups covering 2000 families.