A Water Revolution in India

Klassy and I watched this nine-minute video:

India's Water Revolution #1: Solving the Crisis in 45 days with the Paani Foundation

And it was so interesting and uplifting, we watched the next one in the series, and then the next one. Here are people doing something simple and practical and low tech that makes a huge difference to everyone in the town. We ended up watching all seven, one after the other. 

You hear so much in the news about water shortages. Lots of bad news about it. But here are people doing something about it, and at least in their local area, solving the problem and having plenty of water even though they are in a drought. 

Here is the rest of the series:

India's Water Revolution #2: The Biggest Permaculture Project on Earth! with the Paani Foundation

India's Water Revolution #3: From Poverty to Permaculture with DRCSC

India's Water Revolution #4: Permaculture for Wastelands at Aranya Farm




Another video you might find interesting is called: Can rock dams reverse climate change? It's the story of a couple in the Chiricahua mountains of southeastern Arizona who built little rock dams around their property and watched their land become more lush. Arizona is another one of those places, like many areas of India, where most of the year has no rainfall, and for a short time it rains, and when it does, it pours. So slowing down the water is very important; otherwise it just runs off and evaporates.

Years ago, the man built a rock dam to keep a road from eroding, and he noticed the dam collected sediment and water, so grasses and shrubs grew around it. He thought if it worked there, maybe it would work in other places on their property, and since they had plenty of rocks, he made another one on a small creek, and the same thing happened: Things started growing there.

Now their property is being studied by experts because the changes have been so profound.

And if you liked that, you'll probably enjoy this story: Fighting Drought With an Ancient Practice: Harvesting the Rain. This is a man in Tucson, Arizona who did something very simple. You know how water runs along the curb when it rains? He made an indent in the curb and then dug a pond there, so when it rains, the water runs into the pond area and fills it up. And because it captures more water, things grow there more abundantly than everywhere else, and the water sinks into the ground and helps replenish the water table. It's simple and direct. But really beautiful to see.

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