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Women Leaders

Story of Rameshwari Devi. Women Leaders. Photo: Prashant Panjiar.

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Women Leaders

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  1. Story of Rameshwari Devi Women Leaders Photo: Prashant Panjiar Strategies that took women’s needs into account and worked directly with the women made big impacts. The women were empowered to take charge of their lives and reduce the vulnerability of the communities living in these harsh environments.

  2. Photo: Amit Chakravarty, ICRISAT The Thar desert covers 60% of the state of Rajasthan, India. Food, fodder and water are perennially in short supply. Women trek miles to fetch water which may not even be fresh water, but brackish instead. Cattle perish due to lack of fodder and migration is a common coping strategy to supplement household incomes.

  3. Photo: Prashant Panjiar RameshwariDevi gets up at 4 am to fetch brackish water from a source 3-4 kms away. “We use brackish water for cooking and other needs,” she says. There is no fresh water source nearby. Across India it is estimated women spend 150 million work days every year fetching water. (unwater.org)

  4. Photo: Amit Chakravarty, ICRISAT “If it rains then there is fodder for the animals. Else they will die. One maund (40 kg) of fodder costs ₹400 (USD 6.6) which is very expensive,” says Rameshwari Devi.

  5. Photo: Prashant Panjiar She grows bajra (pearl millet), moth beans, til (sesame), and moong (pulses) but cannot produce enough to sell in the market. She has a small kitchen garden where she grows palak (spinach), muli (radish) and dhaniya (coriander).

  6. Photo: Prashant Panjiar To improve nutrition and supplement livelihoods, fruit trees have been provided to Rameshwari Devi and other women. “These trees will not only provide nutrition but if there is a good harvest we can also sell in the market,” she says.

  7. Photo: Prashant Panjiar A taanka (traditional water harvesting system) has a catchment area to collect rain water and store it underground. But they had fallen into disuse. Based on scientific inputs the taankaswere revived and modernized. This can mitigate the water crisis faced by the community. Scientific solutions, by addressing basic concerns, are providing hope to marginal communities.

  8. Photo: Prashant Panjiar As president of the self-help group, set up under the project, RameshwariDevi plans to start livelihood activities for women. The group has petitioned the local government authorities to lay a water pipeline to their village. She is working to improve the anganwadi(child day-care centre run by the government) in her village.

  9. Photo: Prashant Panjiar Rameshwari Devi has been instrumental in encouraging other women in her village to be part of the project.

  10. Photo: Prashant Panjiar Women and scientists working together have helped reduce risks and provide hope for the community. Story: Amit Chakravarty

  11. Project Title: CRP 1.1 on DrylandSystems: Integrated Agriculture Production System for the Poor and Vulnerable Funded by: Project Team

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