People and Organisations

The mutton bearing lands of the nation are in trouble.

Guest Post by: Kurush Canteenwala

It is the week after Holi and we are sitting in Netsinh, 8 kilometers from Ramgadh, 65 kilometres from Jaisalmer City, in Jaisalmer District. Derawar Singh is throwing a daavat for the new tractor that he has purchased, and bakra has been cut for the occasion. Netsinh has a population of 250 families, all of whom are pashupalans, ‘animal caretakers’ and they have been in this location for at least 12 generations. One Net Singh, a common ancestor to most of the village, settled here. Amidst the half day long festivities, the conversation revolves around the growing evidence that they are in the midst of both, an ‘akaal’ and a deadly outbreak of disease. The numbers of bhed-bakri that are dropping dead has not been seen by the elders amongst them in 30 years.

Content Courtesy: AlertNet

Activists from the Climate Revolution initiative in India have discovered a crucial tool in their battle to hold the government accountable on its climate policies: the country's landmark Right to Information (RTI) Act.

Read more about Climate Revolution's work on RTI on their website here.

This field report describes the work of WaterHealth India (WHI), in organising safe drinking water using low-cost water purification units, in several villages of Andhra Pradesh. The work was taken up with financial support from IFMR Trust.

Vinjinampadu village in Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh, is one of the villages where WHI worked to establish the unit. The village had lacked potable water supply, because of which its people suffered from a range of water-borne diseases. The situation was similar in many of the other villages in which WHI initiated this work.

Women ‘JALMITRA’ spanning awareness on O&M

Article by - Prabhakar Mishra, IEC Specialist, Jalswarajya Nagpur.

Inroduction

Author: Hartman de Souza Art: Jessica Schnabel Content Courtesy: Himal Southasian

Where there is water, there is probably ore beneath.

Having trekked several times to Paikdev’s spring to gulp water pouring out of the moss-covered iron mouth, one would think the mysteries of the journey would fade. But, if anything, they have become more poignant – sitting here at this shrine to the snake deity of the Velip community in the village of Maina, in Goa’s Quepem District. It is here, amidst thousands of hectares of rolling forests, in the foothills of the Western Ghats, home to countless perennial springs and streams, wildlife and more, that a strange conglomeration of mining companies, politicians and real-estate developers are sharpening their collective sword. These activities were already afoot a year ago, with mining operations systematically destroying forests, because, as the government in Panjim stated at the time, the iron ore was needed by New Delhi to keep its nine-percent growth rate on track. This year, the message is no different.

A special issue of the Livelihoods magazine (March 2010) brought out by the Akshara Network for Development Support Services, on Watersheds+.

Increasing productivity of dry lands is possible through soil and moisture conservation (SMC) efforts results in growth led by increases in the farm output. Separate efforts are required to include the land-less and the vulnerable in this growth, so that they also realize the benefits of improved food security, increased employment and diversification of livelihoods. Such activities are known as ‘Watershed Plus’ interventions, and ‘livelihoods’ explores these activities.

In this lecture, the author makes connections between the concepts of certainty and uncertainty and draws parallels between these and the scientific or the positivist approach and the phenomenalist approach. The author argues that the excessive emphasis on certainty, which is an inherent assumption of the scientific approach embraces reductionism, compartmentalisation and has been the principle underlying all disciplines such as developmental economics.

This manual produced by BIRD-K and DRDPR (GoK) provides the details of the Sachetana project that aims to provide safe drinking water to fluorosis affected populations through the adoption of innovative technologies for rainwater harvesting and groundwater recharge.

The project is being implemented through the Gram Panchayats of 60 villages from 4 taluks among three districts of Karnataka state over a period of five years (2006-11).

The objectives of the project include:

• Provision of safe drinking water through innovative rain harvesting structures
• Recharge of groundwater through excavation of percolation ponds
• Recharge of existing bore wells and direct recharge of aquifers
• Awareness generation activities to promote sustainable management and management of water resources and water harvesting structures.

Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) is an innovative methodology for mobilising communities to completely eliminate open defecation (OD).

Credits to: Ground Report India April-2010-Edition

Hindus have always believed that water from India's Ganges River has extraordinary powers. The Indian emperor Akbar called it the "water of immortality" and always traveled with a supply. The British East India Co. used only Ganges water on its ships during the three-month journey back to England, because it stayed "sweet and fresh."
Indians have always claimed it prevents diseases, but are the claims wives' tales or do they have scientific substance?