The overwhelming feeling one gets while traveling through Rajasthan this summer is one of dryness. It is all encompassing, wherever one looks - in the arid landscape, the bright cloudless sky, bony animals in desperate search of food and water, the weather-beaten faces - drought has overshadowed all else here.
The five years of consecutive drought - the longest in recorded history that Rajasthan has seen it hit the national headlines more for famine, starvation death and devastation hit than any other reason.
So when one comes across patches of lush green in Laporia, a village just over 100 kilometres away from the state capital Jaipur in Dudu tehsil (reaching there involves a back-breaking journey), one is more than a little surprised. One also seeks to know the reason, the secret that has spared this village of about 200 households.
Chaukas. That is the name of the secret. Doesn't reveal much? That's because it is a local innovation to save harvest water. Designed by Laxman Singh, a local, after studying the water patterns for some years, it has proved successful in just replenishing surface water but also recharging the groundwater.
Before we get into what chaukas are and how they work, lets briefly digress into what they have done for Laporia. In a predominantly pastoral area, the chaukas have proved their utility over the past decade or so. In a village where selling milk is the main source of livelihood, the villagers still managed to earn 21 lakh rupees (2.1 million rupees) in an area where drought has been the order of the day.
{{/usCountry}}Before we get into what chaukas are and how they work, lets briefly digress into what they have done for Laporia. In a predominantly pastoral area, the chaukas have proved their utility over the past decade or so. In a village where selling milk is the main source of livelihood, the villagers still managed to earn 21 lakh rupees (2.1 million rupees) in an area where drought has been the order of the day.
{{/usCountry}}And a recent visit to the village, organised by Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment revealed that the not just are the milch animals still feeding, fodder for them is still growing in many fields of the Laporia.