A late twentieth century folk tale - How rainwater harvesting creates a river in Alwar, Rajasthan

The Alwar district of Rajasthan had become a desolate scene in the mid-1980s. A "dark zone". And sand had replaced water and trees. Then a group of volunteers led by Rajendra Singh took the cue from an old man. They started making johads, earthen dams that impound rainwater. By the hundreds. The result was a miracle, a river, the Arvari.