Shree Padre

Vetiver plants that have long been known to provide economical protection against soil and water loss, and more recently they have also been found to be useful for water purification are still rare in India.
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"Low-cost, these dams are lifelines", is a case study, written by Shree Padre in January 2006, about the efforts farmer-journalist Chandrasekhar Yethadka, due to which in parts of Kerala and Karnataka, kattas (check-dams) have been making a quiet comeback.

"Upper catchment, gains in the plains", is a case study written by Shree Padre in September 2007, about the work of a Karnataka farmer who reaps the benefit of a higher water table in the lower areas, by building tanks to catch run-off in the higher reaches of the land, recalling an old tradition that was in practice for a long time

"Drought-proofed by traditional wisdom", is a report by Shree Padre, written in August 2005, on how three generations of a farming family in Bagalkot district in Karnataka campaigned to drought -proof the fields and to conserve the soil and water.

"He grew a forest only to harvest water", is a case study by Shree Padre written in November 2006, about a Wayanad coffee planter M P Chandranath, who sacrificed six acres of his prime coffee plantation to develop a forest, after running short of water, and with the rains playing truant.

"Put in the water, take out the guarantee", is a case study written by Shree Padre in December 2008, of a farmer's work on water harvesting in southwestern Karnataka, that recharged a tank and improved its irrigation capacity from 600 trees to 2000 trees.
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"Harvesting success in a troubled region", is a case study written by Shree Padre in January 2006, on how the Jaya farm, owned by 75 year-old Jayannna and run by his middle-aged son Kumara Swamy, has become a ray of hope and self-help, in the area around the Nagavalli tank in Tumkur, Karnataka, which has been reeling under water scarcity for the pas

"A stream resumes year-round flow", is a case study written by Shree Padre in November 2007, about a Karnataka farmer, who decided to build his own network for recharging ground water, after water run-off patterns in his area were disturbed by the Forest Department's plantations, more bore wells being sunk, and pumping of groundwater turning multi-f

"One-man-army greens barren land", is a case study written by Shree Padre in May 2008, on the work of a 58-year-old illiterate farm labourer, who has developed irrigated farming at a hilltop in the Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka.

"That 'new type' house", is a case study written by Shree Padre in January 2008, about the RWH work of a university professor in Shimoga, who had the fore-sight to make his home nearly autonomous from various public utilities, and alongside do his part for the environment.