OVBI Eliminating Water Poverty

OVBI has partnered with IAHV in India and is distributing Oxygen Cylinders and concentrators, medicines, food etc. to the remotest parts of India. We’re now actively looking for funds to procure more supplies, so as to help the maximum number of people.
If there was ever a good time to donate, this is it. Donate here: http://relief.overseasvbi.org/covidrelief/

Happy to everyone. Our Biodiversity is the greatest wealth we have. It’s about becoming aware to the fact that every species is a masterpiece who has beautifully adapted to the environment around itself.
We present you an art dedicated for the special day today around the theme - "Our Solutions are in nature; We're part of the Solution "

You are all aware about the Covid crisis in India. The major metro cities are somehow still managing with the existing infrastructure and supplies from outside India.
However, the towns and small cities are the ones who are really struggling and are facing enormous sufferings beyond our imagination.
Help us with your donations for oxygen concentrators for towns and small cities in Tamil Nadu.
Donate for Tamil Nadu:
https://overseasvbi.kindful.com/?campaign=1125064

Overseas Volunteer for a Better India | Kindful India has been reporting over 400,000 Covid cases per day and hospitals in India are running out of beds and oxygen cylinders as these facilities are not equipped to cater to these many patients at once. The OVBI team is working hard during this moment of crisis to provide COVID relief in Tamil Nadu...

You can join us to to support India in the next few crucial months. Overseas Volunteer for Better India (OVBI) is working closely with and in India to procure supplies and disperse it responsibly.

Donate at - https://overseasvbi.kindful.com/

*Save Lives in India - Fundraiser for COVID Relief*
A war like emergency has emerged due to new round of Covid-19 pandemic spread across India and OVBI is stepping up relief efforts by providing much needed Oxygen Cylinders to people in need across the country. Since there is a low availability of hospital beds for critically serious patients, providing much-needed portable oxygen cylinders to those who are home quarantined is the only means to aid in their survival and treatment while staying at home. To put things into perspective, INR5000 ($70) is the starting price for 2-hour supply of Oxygen.

Any donation, big or small, is greatly appreciated. Please note that this will be a tax deductible donation.

*Please share the donation link with others and save more lives.*
https://tinyurl.com/savelife-donateforoxygen

For , we’d like to present you this beautiful illustration by Kartika Bagodi to showcase what we at OVBI have been doing to .

Today, contemplate and pick a cause you want to dedicate your life to. Ours is Eliminating Water Poverty in India - you’re most welcome to join. ❤️🌍🌻

Water Warrior Training Details - https://mailchi.mp/overseasvbi/water-warrior-training-details
14 sessions- once a week 90 minute session with Dr. Hari & Dr. Hema
Starting on Monday 3rd May at 6:30 pm PST; 9:30 pm EST
Tuesday 4th May at 7:30 am IST

Do you know, 96.5% of available fresh water is below the ground and only 3.5% on surface in the form of lakes, rivers etc?

‪A very special day for the world today - . ‬
‪We, at OVBI, have our targets set- we are going to get rid of India’s Water problems by the year 2030, and we’ve been working full steam. ‬
‪Please consider donating to our cause here: https://eliminatingwaterpoverty.org‬

Eliminating Water Poverty Water Project

‪Water is a necessary condition for all other social projects to succeed. Water is life. We, at OVBI, are working towards our mission of in India by 2030. For , join us and join the conversation. ‬
‪So, what does water mean to you? ‬

River valleys and wetlands have always been the places of highest biodiversity in any given region. River rejuvenation is hence inherently connected with biodiversity. It is also an established fact that both are interdependent. Trees, shrubs and grasses grow lavishly around water bodies but they also capture water from the sky, store them and release water slowly to the ground so as to ensure perennial flow of streams. But such interdependence is lost when the land around the streams and rivers comes under intense agriculture malpractise.

It is imperative that any project involving river rejuvenation should concurrently ensure re-establishing the original biodiversity as far as possible. Rejuvenation of dry streams and dead rivers will only be of short term benefit if the river banks are used for cultivation of crops such as paddy, sugarcane or any other kind of monoculture. Hence, extra efforts are needed to convince the local farmers about the importance of plant diversity.

‪It’s our firm belief & on-ground experience that a social project can’t be successful without the support of women. The picture below is from Tamil Nadu where 20,000 women came together to revive a river that was dead for 15 years. https://link.medium.com/6oAtVwD4reb‬
‪ ‬

Lingaraju Yale, Director, River Rejuvenation Projects, The Art of Living

I first caught an idea to rejuvenate water bodies when I was heading the Geomatics Center of Water Resources in the Government of Karnataka. We, then, had rejuvenated a 60 km square streamlet. With this success, I thought why not do this on a large scale? I made several action plans to revive river basins nearby with the help of remote sensing technology.

Little did I know that I’d be fulfilling a dream dear to me at an age when most people chill with their grandkids. In 2013, I was invited to launch a book I had penned on reviving the Kumudvathi river. After the launch, a bunch of people came to me saying “we want to do something for the Kumudavathi, tell us how we can help.” I was pleasantly surprised. I decided to take them to the Kumudvathi basin the same week to start the rejuvenation project. We didn't know how we would exactly start and with what resources, but we wanted to start doing something. That one organic volunteer project has now grown to 43 rivers. As for me, the rejuvenation project has rejuvenated me - a retired scientist in his 60s!

However, when we first started the rejuvenation project near the Kumudvathi river basin, the villagers thought we were up to no good. A few of them would destroy the recharge structures we would build overnight. They would even steal our construction material at the river bank. Every step we would take to progress, they would push us back to square one. The volunteers and I got the villagers together and educated them about our initiative. As the locals became aware of the water crisis and began to witness tangible results on how their local wells had more water, they started to trust us and voluntarily came to help us in the rejuvenation of the basin. The project has taught me a wonderful lesson: No matter how much something may seem impossible and how much people may ridicule you for your dream being too big - if you are determined to work for the society and are persistent to do it – anything can happen. The universe comes to support you with the resources you might need in the process; just remember not to give up too soon!

‪Latur is in news again, and no, not for the droughts, poverty and suicides. Latur is changing. Maharashtra is changing, and we can’t thank enough our partners IAHV, The Art of Living, and especially The Water Man of Latur, Mahadev Gomare for sparking that change.‬
‪https://cutt.ly/NlyqMeq‬

Latur shows the way for Marathwada farmers After facing severe droughts for several years, farmers in western Maharashtra have turned the corner through imaginative cultivation methods

Amrut Gample, a farmer from Latur has turned the tables on fate by producing 1 ton of wheat from .5 acres of land. While farmers in this area are struggling with shortage of water, crop failure and debts, Amrut has been able to yield 1.5 times the average yield of an Indian farm at par with high-yielding farms from the west. He's one of the many success stories from our project in Latur. Here's his story.

Amrut had lost interest in agriculture. “With scarcity of water resources and low yield, I was losing hope and interest in agriculture,” he shares. Like a lot of other farmers, Amrut was looking at alternative sources of income and took up a job in a petrol pump. With sugar factories around, the farmers in this area were cultivating sugar cane. The clueless farmers weren’t aware of the water needs for sugar cane cultivation. The on-field educational programs run by our partners The Art of Living brought some much needed change.

As a trial, Amrut decided to sow wheat and use enzymes on .5 acres of 3 acres of his land only. The farmers were oriented into use and benefits of home-made enzymes. “The enzymes can be readied at home using substances like jaggery, compost etc. I didn’t need to add medicines or fertilizers to ensure a good produce,” he recalls. In three months, a magical spell unfolded with the produce of 1 ton of wheat which he could sell, keep for his personal consumption and for the villagers!

Amrut was the only one in the village who dared to do this trial. “The villagers who were discouraging me to do this are now regretting not taking the decision to sow wheat and use enzymes,” he says enthusiastically. From a disheartening and disappointing looking future, Amrut and the villagers are now enthusiastically waiting for the first spell of rains to sow wheat in the entire belt.

“The quest to look for alternate sources of income has ended. I make enough to support the education of my two children and lead a happy life. I feel relaxed and I am looking forward to a comfortable life ahead,” he shares.

We are very proud to share with you that Chandrasekharan Kuppan Ji, our project manager from TamilNadu has been awarded with a doctorate degree for his work in water conversation.‬ For those who don’t know his story, read it here: https://lnkd.in/geGkijA ‬

Thirty-one-year-old A.V Praveen from Mandya, Arekere Grama was once wanted for being the getaway man in a case of robbery. Today, he is one of the key coordinators of a project that is working to breathe new life into the River Vedavathi in Karnataka.
Back in 2006, the Bengaluru City Police had initiated a reformative program for crooks and criminals. They invited Mr.Nagaraj Gangolli, OVBI’s and The Art of Living’s on-field project manager to conduct the program. Considering that about five of the city’s police stations had cases registered against him, Praveen found himself to be one of the participants.
"People are not born criminals,” states Praveen. Mr. Nagaraj chose to repose his faith in Praveen, involving him in various social development activities. This is what brought Praveen to the villages of Karnataka for three years.

“It used to be a challenge to reach out to people. A few people in the village were always very critical. Thankfully the rest of the village stood by us, and we were able to revive the lake in Lakshmipura,” says Praveen.
As one of the core team members of the Vedavathi River Rejuvenation Project, Praveen has mastered the skills needed for the ex*****on of the project. He drives the implementation of the scientific plans, can pin-point where work needs to happen along the river basin, and also manages the team that works on the ground. In the next phase, he will be training others in the implementation and supervision of the work.
“I got married a couple of years ago. My son’s name is Dhanush,” he says fondly. “My wife’s family is from Chikmangalore. Think, when this river will flow again, even my son will get to play in its waters,” he signs off, full of hope.

This is the story of a 50-year-old woman farmer who is making heads turn in her community. Mangala Pandge reaped Rs 3.6 lakhs from her drumsticks produce in a span of just seven months with an input cost of just Rs 5,000, which was largely the cost of labor. As Latur reeled under extreme drought conditions and other farmers waited for rains to sow rabi crops, Pandge managed to earn profit.

Pandge, who hails from Bhoisamudraga village in Latur, has managed to create a farm which is drought-resistant. Her farm is based on an agroforestry model. She was educated about the model by OVBI’s on-field Project Manager, Mahadev Gomare.

“I didn’t even have to step into the market. They were so good in quality and taste, that my oranges sold off at almost twice the general market price,” says Pandge. Latur is a perennial drought-prone area. But despite all the difficulties, Pandge is creating miracles on her land. “We have to adapt according to the type of soil and water availability. Most of our losses happen because we have not been taught how to adapt to the changing climatic patterns and uncertainties that come with it,” Pandge says. “Nature has a dry spell each three-five years and adapting to that is what we have to learn. I have less water in my village so I grow crops accordingly. I have drumsticks, oranges, custard apple, wheat, jowar, potato, onion, pumpkin, soyabean, moong in my 10 acre farm.” Pandge makes all the natural inputs for farming at home like bio enzymes, biofertilizers (made from cow dung and urine) and vermicompost. This type of cropping and soil conservation is not just making the soil in her farms more fertile but is also making her self-sufficient. The formula is simple – if one crop fails, she can still cover the loss from the other crops which thrives under the same climatic variation.
Pandge says, “Chemical farming is prevalent today, it does give benefits in short-term but in the long run, it is harmful. Our ancestors used no chemicals. I had seen my grandparents, and their farming. So, these new techniques immediately connected with me and we adopted it. It is just a smart way of farming.”

Youth in rural India follow a trend of migrating to cities in search of jobs after completing their education. Babulal Jadhav from Wartur village had similar plans. Although, fate had different ones. Babulal started losing his eyesight. He didn’t pay much heed to it, until it was too late. He lost his eyesight completely, and along with that his dream of a lucrative job in the city.

Wartur is a drought hit village in Jalna district, and had been receiving less and less rainfall every year. Babulal got married to Indu, a girl from a Banjara community and both started to run a homemade liquor shop in their village. Half of the youth were migrating to the city, and the other half were addicted to drugs and alcohol.

Babulal found himself to be on the wrong side of town, and looked for change. He met with volunteers of our partner organization IAHV who were working on the field for an Integrated Natural Resource Management project in 10 villages of Jalna - their primary goal - store rain water and bring the youth back to the village. The project was led by OVBI’s and IAHV’s project manager, Dr. Purushottam Wayal.

Babulal attended one of the sessions that the team was conducting. He says,” I felt a sense of happiness which was missing in my life. My wife and I, immediately closed the liquor shop and started practicing farming again.” They started contributing towards their village and even did free service till the work was completed.

Babulal’s wife, Indu Jadhav, shares, “I am from the Banjara community and always had a difficult life, but after meeting Dr. Wayal, I felt that I now have everything in my life. We immediately started working for our village’s development.”

The villages of Jalna district is replete with stories of change like that of Babulal and Indu Jadhav. Till now, 30,000 farmers have come together to build 3,000 watershed structures and have completed work on a 70-mile mountain stretch in Jalna. This year, they saved 40 million litres of water. And this is just the beginning!

On January 4, 2018, Former Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis, honored Dr. Purushottam Wayal, with the Maharashtra Government's Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jal Mitra Award in recognition of his commendable service in Jalna. Read the full story of our project in Jalna district of Maharashtra, a story of reviving rivers and regaining prosperity, here: https://medium.com/ovbi/the-incredible-story-of-eliminating-water-poverty-in-jalna-maharashtra-648463f60d8b

Meet Ambaddas, B.A pass, son of a farmer from a drought hit village in Jalna. At the age of 27, he was found to have one kidney which was 90% infected. He kept searching for the reason behind infection but there was nothing diagnosed. Now, he is 40 years old and he still doesn’t know the reason. However, he is healthy today which he credits to eating healthy food naturally grown by him on his land. Ambaddas has developed his love for Natural farming. He is a model farmer today and is earning 2.75,000 in his 2 acre of land.

Ambaddas met Dr. Purushottam Wayal in 2008, a natural resource management expert, OVBI’s project manager from Jalna. His connection with Dr. Purushottam Wayal introduced him to Natural Farming techniques. Natural farming teaches the farmers about sustainable and climate resilient farming with the help of Indian cows. Farmers are introduced to homemade fertilizers and pesticides which requires minimum input cost and gives maximum output. It also teaches techniques like drip irrigation and mixed cropping which help farmers to use water in a more efficient manner, very useful for drought hit district like Marathwada.

Ambaddas who earlier used chemicals for farming, used to spend INR 35,000 and earned merely INR 75000 which would not even suffice to feed his family of four people. Much less his daughter’s education. It has now been more than 10 years that he's been practicing Natural farming. He says with joy," It has made my soil fertile, and I need less water to grow my crops which is great for my drought hit village. I made INR 2,75,000 this year with an input cost of just Rs 10000."

Ambaddas is a model farmer now and farmers from nearby villages come and visit his farm. He suggests small farmers like him to be patient while doing natural way of farming. He also recalls that his weight was just 32-35 kgs in 2006 when he was facing health issues and today he is completely fit and weighs 62 kgs. He has become very self sufficient today, and only takes out 2 hours for farming and spends the rest of the time making people aware about the techniques he's learnt from The Art of Living, IAHV and us at the OVBI.

A farmer from our project in Latur, Maharashtra and his produce of natural cauliflower. This farmer is now making INR 3 lacs/year from 1/2 acre farm in Gangapur village.

Happy 2021!

Balasaheb is one of the beneficiaries of our project in Latur. Do read his story here! https://www.eliminatingwaterpoverty.org/blog/balasaheb

How did a small farmer in Latur started making INR 400,000 from INR 40,000? Latur natural farming and river rejuvenation project

Today is in India or . No better time to revisit this short video of Dr. Rattan Lal, World Food Prize Winner, speaking on the role of farmers in building a nation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ND1rYBBINGE

They say that the greatest good you can do for someone is not just share your riches, but to reveal to him his own. Arun Nagpal and his social enterprise Mrida has been a true inspiration for walking that path. Catch him in conversation on Live series:‬
‪https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hZGnUWlYjA‬

‪The Grand Karnataka Project is our most ambitious project to date and we believe it will serve as a model for social development work across to other states of India. ‬

‪https://www.eliminatingwaterpoverty.org/blog/thegrandkarnatakaproject ‬

It was a pleasure to host Mr. Satyajit Bhatkal, CEO of Paani Foundation on Ep. 17 of the Live Series. Don’t miss this delightful conversation here: youtu.be/YhhBGv_HbrM

*OVBI Water LS 17: People's Movement for Water Security*
Sunday, 6th December 2020 9 am PST/10:30 pm IST

https://youtu.be/YhhBGv_HbrM

Mr. Satyajit Bhatkal is the CEO of Paani Foundation, which works with the mission of making rural Maharashtra drought-free and prosperous through a people’s movement. Between 2016 and 2019, with the participation of thousands of villages, this movement led to the creation of over 550 billion litres of water storage capacity in Maharashtra.

Prior to setting up Paani Foundation, Mr. Bhatkal created and directed ‘Satyamev Jayate’, India’s leading TV show focused on addressing social issues. It sparked crucial conversations and broke several taboos.