Case studies

Damarigedda: Reaping as they Sow

In addition to facing the daily anxieties of irrigating his thirsty fields, rice farmers in Andhra Pradesh or West Bengal find themselves having to choose between the short term benefits of leaning heavily on expensive chemical fertilizers and pesticides, which while increasing yield, ravages the soil, or the long term benefits of more organic farming methods that might not necessarily provide the same high yields, but ensures healthier soil biota, needed for a healthy crop. At the same time, farmers are facing higher transportation, processing and input costs.  All over the world there are scientists, farmers, governmental, and non-governmental organizations scratching their heads very hard, looking for an all round solution.

 We however see a different picture in Damarigedda village, Mahbubnagar, Andhra Pradesh. 14 farmers here  stand with happy faces on shoulder-high rice fields, and take away 30% more bags of rice.  Especially since severe drought conditions and water scarcity has always held back rice productivity in the area. So what has been different here? read more...

Wankute: Triumphing over all odds

Wankute, today, is visibly different from what it was 7 years ago. The hill sides and wastelands, once rocky and cacti ridden, are now covered with 110,000 trees and grasses, reducing soil erosion and increasing ground water levels.Now Wankute also enjoys sufficient water all year round, no longer having to depend on tankers for three months in a year. Read more...

Mhaswandi : Moving Out Of Despair

When the fiery furnaces of nearby charcoal kilns were fed with wood from Mhaswandi’s verdant forests, its residents were happy, cash-rich and grateful to the rich timber merchants who acted as middlemen in the sale. This new source of easy income flowed into their homes, bringing in its wake a legacy these villagers knew nothing about and were even less prepared to meet. It took a handful of years for the forests, the merchants and the money to vanish. Read more...

Musal: Farmers of the future

The Willingness to experiment has led farmers in Maharashtra to more than double their yields!

Murlidhar Mahadeo Wasekar, a farmer of the Musal cluster of Yeotmal district in Maharashtra, is today quite pleased at having agreed to an experiment. That is because the new variety of horse gram (chana) that he allowed for sowing in his field has turned out to be very productive. The project was implemented under the aegis of the ‘Sunhera Kal' programme being implemented by WOTR-SIED in Musal where a majority of its residents belong to a tribal community. Read more...

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The relevance of WOTR's work is its direct contribution to meeting the United Nations' Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) of which India is a signatory. WOTR contributes towards meeting the MDGs through its interventions.

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