Short description of the best practice

'Gharats' or water flour mills run on a stream's kinetic energy to turn the shaft of the grinding mill. The water is diverted from the stream or river along a channel or canal to the water wheel. The force of the water's movement drives the blades of a wheel or turbine, which in turn rotates an axle that drives the mill's other machinery. The water leaves the wheel through the continuation of the channel. This may in-turn feed another mill. The passage of water is controlled by sluice gates that allow maintenance.
The project undertook the task of rebuilding and rejuvenating these watermills as  these Gharats had low efficiencies ranging from 10%- 15% only.
Under the project this abundant and renewable waterpower resource was exploited more effectively with appropriate and modernized equipment, and concrete structures which required less maintenance cost every year.  These changes increased the processing capacity of the Gharats from 5-6 kg to 10-15 kg of wheat per hour. This played a key role in driving sustainable economic development in the hilly regions Improving the food quality of the milled cereals available to the inhabitants of this project area was another major concern. We know that the flour from these water mills is rather coarse as compared with the ones from the power mills of the plains and has more roughage (fibre content) hence, considered healthy. Operationalization of large number of Gharats is a indicator that eco-system services have improved (water flow).

Location

Nainital and  Augustyamuni, Divisions of Uttarakhand|

Brief description of the natural environment within the specified location.

Warm temperate conditions prevail in the Middle Himalayan valleys, with summer temperatures usually hovering about the mark of 25° C and cooler winters. Cool temperate conditions dominate the higher areas of the Middle Himalayas, where the summer temperatures are usually around 15 to 18° C and winters drop below the freezing point.|
In the north, the soil ranges from gravel (debris from glaciers) to stiff clay. Brown forest soil—often shallow,
gravelly, and rich in organic content—is found farther to the south.
There are three distinct topographical belts - the Shivaliks in the sub Himalayan tract (300-600m amsl), the Himachal ranges in the lower Himalayan region (1,500 2,700m amsl), and the Himadri ranges in the upper Himalayan region (4,800-6,000m amsl). The Garhwal and Kumaon regions of the State together form approximately 350km of the 2,500km long Himalayan range. The middle hill region that lies between 1,800-3,000m is mostly forested, thinly populated and  has poor water supply.|

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

Main income sources- are through sale of farm produce, livestock products, livestock and other non farm based activities.   |

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'?

• Revival of traditional practices
• Eco friendly.
• Decrease in fuel consumption for grinding purposes.
• Increase in Income of local people.

Main problems addressed by the best practice

Time saving |Energy efficient  

Outline specific land degradation problems addressed by the best practice

The technology involves diverting water from the stream or river along a channel or canal to the water wheel. The water leaves the wheel through the continuation of the channel thus the flow of water is channelized which helps to check soil erosion. The channelized water is used for irrigation purposes which helps to increase agriculture productivity.

Specify the objectives of the best practice

To revive the traditional practices which are eco friendly and a source of  alternate renewable energy.|Health benefits- the flour from these water mills is rather coarse as compared with the ones from the power mills, thus health benefits to local people|Livelihood option- The watermills would be used to harness the natural water flow for grinding purposes which would provide an additional source of income to the local people.

Brief description of main activities, by objective

Rejuvenation of gharats – These Gharats were rebuild and rejuvenated to enhance their grinding capacity and for health and hygiene purposes.|Promoting use of technology- Local people  had to be encouraged for using this technology as a livelihood option.
Awareness generation-People were made aware about the usage of locally available alternate renewable energy sources and significance of this on the ecosystem. |Organizing into self help groups (SHG’s)-Local people were organized into self help groups for ease of mobilization, social interactions and economic interactions for sustainable use of renewable energy resources and revival of traditional practices.|Promoting use of technology- The technology of floor grinding using gharats is well known to people of Uttarakhand. They had to be encouraged for enhanced usage of this technology.
Awareness generation- People were made aware about the benefits of using flour from these water mills as it is  coarse as compared with the ones from the power mills of the plains and has more roughage (fibre content) hence, more healthy. |Promoting use of watermills - People were motivated for using watermills for grinding purposes.

Short description and technical specifications of the technology

• 'Gharats' or water flour mills run on a stream's kinetic energy to turn the shaft of the grinding mill. The water is diverted from the stream or river along a channel or canal to the water wheel. The force of the water's movement drives the blades of a wheel or turbine, which in turn rotates an axle that drives the mill's other machinery. The water leaves the wheel through the continuation of the channel. This may in-turn feed another mill. The passage of water is controlled by sluice gates that allow maintenance.
• These Gharats are popular due to its simple and cost effective mechanism, besides this they are eco-friendly. After slight modifications in the technology, these gharats are now producing more healthier and coarser flour. Maintenance cost of Gharats has also reduced very much and their efficiency has increased from 5-6 kg. to 10-12 kg./hour.

Name and address of the institution developing the technology

Watershed Management Directorate Uttarakhand|Forest Colony, Indiranagar
Dehradun

Was the technology developed in partnership?

No

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

No

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

N.A.

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

No

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

Increase in income of local people.
Controlling land degradation
Improved health of people

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

N.A.

Impact on biodiversity and climate change

Explain the reasons:

Promotes use of alternate renewable energy resources like hydro power thus decreasing the use of fossil fuels.

Was the technology disseminated/introduced to other locations?

Was the technology disseminated/introduced to other locations?

Yes

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

Motivated local People- Local people for want of livelihood options readily adopted the practice as the basic infrastructure and the technical knowhow was already existing. People were organized into self help groups to promote the activity on a larger scale.
Availability of funds under the project facilitated rejuvenation of this age old practice.
Traditional practice of using Gharats – In Uttarakhand people since ages have been using water energy to run these gharats for grinding cereals however it was on decline due to lack of financial resources.

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?

• Sub-national

Related to human resources

Awareness generation leads to change in the mind set of local people. |Organizing the people into self help groups ensures sustainability of the activity. |Capacity building facilitates the rural people in accounting and record keeping.

Related to technical aspects

Simple Technology helped in adaptation. |Easy operation and maintenance cost helps in acceptability of the technique. |As the machine runs on hydro power so it is eco friendly which thus reduces the cost of production