The "Jiwi Daah Hasa" project is a holistic initiative aimed at sustainable watershed management. By integrating natural resource conservation with livelihood generation, the program transforms rural communities."
Also known as the Jharkhand High Impact Mega Watershed Initiative, the project focuses on bringing life to soils, water resources, and rural livelihoods. The project effectively integrates community participation, watershed planning, and government schemes like MGNREGS to address critical challenges in rural development. The program aims to conserve water resources, improve agriculture, and enhance livelihoods.
The project was conceived to show how small investments in water management can yield significant economic returns. Such investments help rural community to address common challenges such as irregular rainfall, lack of irrigation, crop failures, and livelihood insecurities.
Emphasis is placed on finding long-term solutions for recurring problems. Activities include constructing ponds, check dams, reforestation, and groundwater recharge systems. Such interventions aim to ensure year-round water availability and reduce dependency on rainfall.
Villagers are encouraged to collectively plan for funds and explore available government schemes or external funding opportunities. Practical steps like forming committees, creating water structures, planting trees, and adopting new farming techniques are presented as solutions for long-term growth.
Community ownership is central to the program. Powers are decentralized to Panchayats and Gram Sabhas to plan and implement interventions. Stakeholders like ward members, farmers, NGOs, and government officials collaborate to ensure accountability and execution.
The project identifies and addresses major concerns of farmers, such as Low productivity and frequent crop failures, Water scarcity in wells and streams, Land degradation and aspires to address them through runoff harvesting, crop diversification, plantation and fodder production for livestock.
The program banks on Lveraging MGNREGS for Sustainable Development. Assured wages, productive assets, and long-term livelihoods are created using MGNREGS funds. Activities are planned to restore soil fertility, ensure sustainable water use, and improve productivity. Organized community groups and support from technical experts create a robust foundation for growth.
Through this, the program intends to enhance rural livelihoods, reduce migration, and empower women through economic activities like fish farming and market linkages. It is expected that project activity would lead to reduction in water runoff by 50% and improve water availability by 60%. Converting unirrigated land to irrigated fields, enabling crop diversification and higher yields. Intensification of farming on 50% of the land area, improving productivity and incomes.
Jiwi-Daah- Hasa I.e. Life -Water - Earth is a project started in the year 2021-22 for tribal development in Jharkhand by Bharat Rural Livelihood Foundation. The project provides technical support for community mobilization and participatory planning of MGNREGS and other line department schemes to a Panchayet for Watershed development . Typical interventions encompass construction os water harvesting structures including establishment of plantations. The program emphasizes on Integrated Farming System, Fisheries promotion and High Value agriculture using natural farming methods as key livelihood intervention.
Courtesy : CSO Jan Jagaran Kendra Team BRLF Tant Nagar West Singhbhum
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