Short description of the best practice

Wasundhara approach: implementation through Village Development Committee (VDC) -a subcommittee of Gram Panchayat; VDC -every section of the society is represented & women have 49% - 51% representation; village envisioning by villagers; wealth ranking for obtaining contribution in equitable manner.

Location

Wankute village which is located at the foothills of the Sahyadari ranges of Western Maharashtra in Sangamner taluka of Ahmednagar District

If the location has well defined boundaries, specify its extension in hectares:

1486.0

Estimated population living in the location:

1377.0

Brief description of the natural environment within the specified location.

Wankute is situated in Sangamner taluka of Ahmednagar district which is a rain shadow region. River Godavari forms the major drainage system of this watershed. The average rainfall in the area is about 600 mm.
The village is in a hilly terrain
the soil type is predominantly clay having a depth of 7.5 cm to 22.5 cm

Prevailing socio-economic conditions of those living in the location and/or nearby

Income from agriculture and allied business (68% of the total income) and non farm income (32% of the total income). 32% of the households have agriculture as their primary livelihood while 31% depend on farm labor income with 15% depending on Livestock for income
7% population comes under very poor category and is landless. Another 60%- 65% population fall under poor category and would also fall in BPL category. 20% population falls in medium category and 5% population is comfortably above poverty line.
Most of the people in the village own land. Average gross landholding per household in Wankute is about 3.69 ha.

On the basis of which criteria and/or indicator(s) (not related to The Strategy) the proposed practice and corresponding technology has been considered as 'best'?

Consensus evolved during the National Consultation process.

Main problems addressed by the best practice

Environmental-
- Sufficient water now available throughout the year
- Large number of plantation has increased the green cover preventing soil erosion.
- Soil is conserved by the land treatment which in turn enhances the productivity of the land for agri. Drainage line treatment helped in water conservation|Economic-
- Agricultural employment has increased from 3 moths/ year to 8 months/ year.
- Increased fodder and biomass availability. Fodder is now available throughout the year and extra fodder available can be sold|Social-
- Water, fodder and fuel availability has reduced women‟s household labour
- Fodder innovation project helped people to get sense of unity and they have started using the “networked approach” wherever possible.
- Reduced distress migration as a result of continuous availability of agricultural work
- Increasing attendance of school-going children, especially girls|Infrastructure-
- Villagers were involved in construction of structures such as drinking water wells, farm bunds, continuous contours, nala bunds, check dams, etc.
- Initiatives have also been taken to construct individual latrines, anganwadi (child care centre), high schools (8th to 10th), roads, Public Health Centre etc.

Specify the objectives of the best practice

Address the issue of water availability through watershed development.|Address the issue of fodder availability through „convergence/ networked approach‟ and promote the mechanism to negotiate improved fodder access in public (waste lands) and private grazing areas|Promote renewable and safe energy technologies to improve environmental quality of the area|Linking soil and water conservation activities to holistic development|Promote Wasundhara Approach for watershed development

Brief description of main activities, by objective

Promote sustainable agricultural practices like organic farming, micro farming, drip irrigation, water budgeting, etc|At present work is being carried out at Wankute for agro-met stations which will help farmers plan their agriculture activities|Promotion of kitchen gardens and soak pits|Villagers own initiative to construct individual latrines, anganwadi (child care centre), high school (8th to 10th standard), roads, Public Health Centre etc.|Formation of Self Help Groups (SHGs) and Samyukta Mahila Samitees (SMSs) to undertake a number of activities for drudgery reduction and enhancement of the quality of their lives|Women empowerment by organizing them into groups, training them on growth monitoring of their children as well as nutrition using locally available food, educational programs, personality development, personal care advisories etc.|Objective 5. Promote Wasundhara Approach for watershed development
1. Success of Wasundhara approach at Wankute helped WOTR to adopt the same in different project areas where watershed development has been conducted.|Wankute has been promoted as a “model village” for the same reason. Exposure visits have been arranged to Wankute to help others understand the benefits the integrative watershed development
Locating the missing actors related to the issue of fodder availability in the area and understanding the reasons for their absence|Baseline data collection and analysis|Joint consultation with Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI), Revenue department and forest department for fodder development in their respective areas|Linking up with District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) for complimentary programs|Organizing regular visits to project villages by different actors|Six monthly meetings of all the players to track the progress|Formation Consultation groups at village level, block level and district level
Promoting solar lights, smokeless chullas, biogas, hot water chullas and gas cylinders through involvement of Women Self Help Groups|
Training to the villagers, exposure visits to neighboring villages, farmer to farmer extension, experience sharing workshops and gatherings|Participatory Net Planning (PNP) to study each plot of land and design its treatment together with the land owner/farmer|Wealth Ranking is done, and displayed, and is used to avail of the various government schemes and benefits as well as for the share in local contribution|Construction of drinking water wells, farm bunds, continuous contours, Hortipasture, nala bunds, check dams etc. through 'shramdan'or volunteer labour|Plantations (110,000) on wastelands and mountains to increase the ground water level

Short description and technical specifications of the technology

Soil and water conservation through a systematic ridge to valley area treatment (Continuous contour trenches (CCT), afforestation, farm bunds, followed by cpacity building with 'Wasundhara approach', Fodder management through convergence; Promotion of renewable energy sources, hot water chullas,etc|

Name and address of the institution developing the technology

Watershed Organisation Trust (WOTR)|2nd Floor, "The Forum" Sr. No. 63/2B, Padmawati Corner, Pune Satara Road,
Parvati, Pune - 411 009
Maharashtra, India

Was the technology developed in partnership?

Yes

List the partners:

Jai Malhar Village Watershed Committee, Wankute|District Animal Husbandry Officer, Ahmednagar Zilla Parishad|Dy. Director. Social Forestry, Ahmednagar|Dy. Conservator of Forest, Ahmednagar Forest Division, Ahmednagar|Asst. Conservator of Forest, Sangamner Forest Division, Sangamner|Suprintending Agricultural Officer (SAO), Department of Agriculture, Ahmednagar|Director of Research(DoR), Mahatma Phule Agricultural University (MPAU), Rahuri, Dist-Ahmednagar, Maharashtra|Dy.Manager, Ahmednagar District Central Co-operative Bnak, Head office Ahmednagar

Specify the framework within which the technology was promoted

• Local initiative
• National initiative – non-government-led

Was the participation of local stakeholders, including CSOs, fostered in the development of the technology?

Yes

List local stakeholders involved:

Local Village Development Committee (Jai Malhar Village Watershed Committee), which is a subcommittee of Gram Panchayat, formed under Wasundhara Approach|Funders: Misereor, Community Action for Poverty Alleviation, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, forest department, International Livestock Research Institute, Agricultural Department, Minor Irrigation department|For Fodder Innovation Project: Social forestry department, Forest department, Animal Husbandry department, an Agricultural University- Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, villagers

For the stakeholders listed above, specify their role in the design, introduction, use and maintenance of the technology, if any.

Local Village Development Committee (Jai Malhar Village Watershed Committee) - President of the Village Watershed Committee helped in arranging monthly meetings, village mobilization, village level problem solving and implementation of village development activities|

Was the population living in the location and/or nearby involved in the development of the technology?

Yes

By means of what?

• Consultation
• Participatory approaches
• Other (please specify)

Specify:

they have given a share in local contribution based on wealth ranking and also through shramadan

Describe on-site impacts (the major two impacts by category)

Fuel wood, dung cake and kerosene were earlier used for lighting and cooking purposes and in order to meet this need trees had to be cut down but as a result of women‟s initiative, the village now has 160 solar lamps, 15 smokeless chulhas and 32 hot water chulhas.|
Wasundhara approach created the necessary dynamics and incentives to the VDC, the Samyukta Mahila Samiti and the Panchayati Raj Institutions to demonstrate a positive discrimination in the favor of the disadvantaged. Village Development Committee gives special attention to its poor.|
In case of fodder innovation project the emergence of pro-poor mechanism to share the benefits from the reseeded land in terms of the grass output. As per this norms the first right to harvest/cut the grass from this land is given to the land less poor livestock keepers.
Waste land reduced from 300 ha pre-watershed to 55 ha post-watershed.
Increase in land use area from 600 ha to 800 ha for Kahriff crops, from 30 ha to 400 ha for Rabbi and from 0 ha to 10 ha for summer crops. And increase in per acre production (Quintals) of rice from 10-12 Bags to 20 Bags|
Fodder which was available only for six months earlier, now is available throughout year and extra fodder is sold which has become a source of income for the villagers.|

Describe the major two off-site (i.e. not occurring in the location but in the surrounding areas) impacts

Convergence approach which was adopted for fodder management and demonstrated successfully at Wankute village is now being spread to other WOTR project areas in its Climate Change Adaptation project
The Wasundhara Approach has been adopted by WOTR in its all project areas which amount to over 200 project areas. Also ridge to valley approach as demonstrated by WOTR has been adopted by NABARD and Government of Maharashtra for their project areas

Impact on biodiversity and climate change

Explain the reasons:

One of the approaches for this is “adaptation through mitigation”. The proposed automated agro-meteorological stations at the village level will help the local farmer link their agriculture planning to data obtained from their local station thereby helping them to act according to the climate
One of the approaches for this is “adaptation through mitigation”. The proposed automated agro-meteorological improved resource base, Ban on cutting of trees and afforestation (plantation of 110,000 trees on wasteland) helped in greening of the area. These together with the promotion of clean energy|

Has a cost-benefit analysis been carried out?

Has a cost-benefit analysis been carried out?

No

Was the technology disseminated/introduced to other locations?

Was the technology disseminated/introduced to other locations?

Yes

Where?

The Wasundhara Approach and Ridge to Valley approach for watershed development has been adopted by WOTR in its more that 200 project areas covering 126,525 ha land, and 176,274 population.|The fodder innovation project was done in Kelwandi village along with Wankute and will be spread to another 24 villages where WOTR is implementing Climate Change Adaptation Project

Can you identify the three main conditions that led to the success of the presented best practice/technology?

Wasundhara approach that led to local initiative to take up the activities. Participative nature of all the activities ensured the community‟s continuous support throughout the project period and after the completion of the project also.
Addressing the issue of equitable distribution of benefits and involving community to distribute benefits to the poorest of the poor. And it is village's better off who need to take concrete steps towards it.
Village envisioning helped villagers to see their future and design their own path for development of their village

Replicability

In your opinion, the best practice/technology you have proposed can be replicated, although with some level of adaptation, elsewhere?

Yes

At which level?

• Local
• Sub-national
• National

Related to human resources

If one needs response to the adaptation the whole village must come together and manage it together for their children tomorrow|All communities must be given their equitable space and representation to voice their demands|Equity needs to be addressed and it is village‟s better off who need to take concrete steps towards it

Related to financial aspects

Villagers receive the money and that was transparently handled|Villagers created funds for maintenance of watershed structures

Related to technical aspects

A systematic ridge to valley approach for watershed development is essential|A detailed Participatory Net Planning is important because all structures that need to be put have to be site specific. If it‟s not done with people nothing can be achieved|Village envisioning creates a sense of accountability and responsibility among the community to shape their own future