Healing nature in India with community spirit and efforts

In the heart of Andhra Pradesh, a state of India with wide dry areas, lies the region of «Rayalaseema», the Land of Stones. Visitors often can not believe what their eyes see, when they come near to the working area of KRUSHI, an NGO working with indigenous and Dalit people in the state since many years - they see fresh green hills from top to the down lying areas in midst of deforested, dry and stony mountains. In this area, the rain comes down during few months, often coming not at all, which regularly causes starving periods and generates temporary migration of the local people. Also, the ecological degradation is dramatic and every monsoon season brings more soil erosion. In this challenging situation, KRUSHI together with other local NGO and with the support of the German protestant development organisation Bread for the World, generated a community based model for the ecological recuperation of small local watershed areas. It is a model, which is based on local people's knowledge and commitment, giving special attention to the active involvement of women.

The methodology includes various steps and phases and local people play the protagonist role right from the first moment. For example KRUSHI helps to draw simple maps which show where along to the observations of local people, normally the water takes its way running down the deforested hills. Guided by these community wisdom based maps, in the next phase people build smaller and larger constructions from top of the hill downwards, in order to detain and to slow the flow of the monsoon rain waters, and to allow it to enter into the ground. This construction work is supported by planting local trees and plants that will help the water to find its way into the ground, and to withhold the soil and accumulate it again on the hills. It was the women's idea and insistence to grow those plants and trees which besides their effect against erosion, offer fruits for the families' diet and fire wood for the community.

After three years, the changes started to become evident. The Land of Stones first had green parches, and now has green areas. The poor Dalit people in the involved communities succeeded not only to maintain and to improve, but also to enlarge their small pieces of land. The families gain more products from their land for their own consumption and for the local market.

Basic condition for these improvements was to heal the hills and to give them back their capacity to receive and to withhold the seasonal rain and channel it into the groundwater stocks. Because there is no «blue water» without taking care for the «green water», as a traditional saying says. In this way, community wisdom and community engagement, with solidarity accompaniment by KRUSHI succeeded - at a low cost - to make the local wells give water during the whole year, and to set ground for a promising future for the Dalit families nowadays and for the future generations.

(text provided by Danuta Sacher, Brot für die Welt)