Pune, India’s leading non-profit and think tank organisation WOTR working for integrated water resource management and sustainable agriculture has commenced its latest project in the Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra. The project was inaugurated last Wednesday in the august presence of the administration heads, public representatives and village leadership in a function held at Mendha Lekha Village which is one of the chosen areas for the initiative. The project ‘Integrated Community led Watershed Development and Management Programme’ is funded by RG Mandhune Foundation for Excellence, popularly known as Motivation for Excellence.
The dignitaries present on the occasion included Prakash Keskar, Director of WOTR, Dr. Anand Bang, Trustee, MFE and SEARCH, Manik Chavhan, Deputy CEO, Gadchiroli Zilla Parishad, and Devaji Toffa, a prominent Social Worker. Other important guests at the occasion included ex-MLA Hiraman Warkhade, and Debaji Pada, Social Worker.
“Watershed Development in the 35 villages of Dhanora will bring in focus on water conservation, agricultural development, and livelihoods which will achieve sustainable development in the region,” said Prakash Keskar, Director of WOTR on the occasion after inaugurating the project.
Dr. Anand Bang, Trustee, MFE and SEARCH said “In the Gadchiroli district, the Dhanore taluka is completely forested and is home to several indigenous communities. We are very happy and proud that WOTR is starting a new project on watershed development in the region. We extend our sincere gratitude and best wishes to WOTR and will provide full support for the project.”
Under this project, watershed development will be undertaken in the selected villages of Gadchiroli to help the villagers lead a sustainable life. Lake desiltation and construction of new lakes would be another activity which will be part of the project. Villagers, who mostly pursue the traditional ways of agriculture, will be provided technical knowledge and training via demo plots as part of this project. In collaboration with the government agencies, they will be trained to convert their efforts to sustainable development. Various workshops and training programmes would be hosted for development of livelihoods during the course of the project. A nursery would be opened for enhancing biodiversity to help in forest plantation and for facilitating training.
Representatives of Yuva Parivartan Manch, Piramal Foundation, Farmer for Forest were also present on the occasion. A total of 300 participants including guests and villagers were present during the launch of the project. At the ceremony, mulching for a hundred bamboo saplings was also done, and fed with Jivamrut.
A total of 50 villages were initially shortlisted for the project. The selection process was guided and led by Dr Anand Bang, Physician and Public health specialist at SEARCH, who is also an honorary advisor to the Chief Minister, Maharashtra. Of the 50 shortlisted villages, 35 of them were finally selected with consultation and agreement with the local village bodies.
Coinciding with the occasion to commemorate Father Bacher’s birthday (12th October), a total of 750 villagers from Mendha Lekha, Darachi, and Ghodzeri celebrated Bacher Baba’s birthday through Shramdaan. Fr Hermann Bacher’s birthday, the co-founder of WOTR and popularly known as the father of the community led Watershed Movement in India, is celebrated as Shramdaan Day.
Watershed Organisation Trust (WOTR) is a globally recognised non-profit and think tank organisation dedicated to transforming the lives of millions of poor across India through participatory watershed development and ecosystems restoration, climate resilient sustainable agriculture, integrated and efficient water management and climate change adaptation, with a special emphasis on building resilience of vulnerable communities, farmers, and women. Established in 1993, WOTR works at the intersection of practice, knowledge and policy to ensure food, water, livelihoods and income security to disadvantaged communities on a sustainable basis. Headquartered in Pune, Maharashtra, WOTR has a presence in nine states and provides occasional services to agencies across all states of India and from 63 countries. The organisation aims to develop ecosystems in an integrated manner for the well-being of poor communities. WOTR has worked in 4,152 villages and has impacted over 4.07 million people cumulatively since 1993. These figures cover projects in all its areas of implementation, trainings and capacity building activities.
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Robin Jacob Abraham
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Media ContactCompany Name: Watershed Organisation Trust (WOTR)Contact Person: Robin Jacob AbrahamEmail: Send EmailPhone: +91 9152306902City: PuneState: MaharashtraCountry: IndiaWebsite: http://wotr.org/
