How drought-hit farmers are building a canal via crowdfunding

Moneycontrol BureauHorti is a small village located close to Latur in drought-stricken Marathwada region of Maharashtra. The farmers at Horti have been fighting a never-ending battle every year with lack of water, irrespective of the rainfall they get during monsoons.That is thanks to the depleted ground water levels, poor rainfalls over time and their inability to manage their water resources. So with rains expected to arrive soon, the farmers have hit a novel idea to store water, in order to prevent themselves from again ending up in a situation like today. Enter Suryoday Parivar an NGO located in Indore, which has started building unique canals for farmers that allows them to trap rainwater, run offs and leverage this reservoir of water to both water their fields and replenish their ground water tables. In its latest initiative in Horti, it plans to build an 8 km long canal that runs through and along the fields of the 700 odd farmers and which, it plans to complete in just 15 days. Further, the soil that is pulled out from the digging and excavation will be used as topsoil by farmers in their fields to improve yields. The initiative is the brainchild of Bhaiyyu Maharaj, who leads the NGO.In order to meet the cost of the canal, said to be about Rs 6 lakh, 700 farmer families have come together to contribute about half. For the remaining Rs 3 lakh, Suryoday Parivar is leveraging technology and crowdfunding. It has created a campaign on crowdfunding website, FuelaDream, where donors have been contributing. At least check, about 48 percent of funds have been raised. Project particularsName of the village: Horti, Osmanabad District, MaharashtraLength of the Canal being constructed: 8 kmsTime taken for construction: 300 hrsFarmers Impacted: 700Individuals impacted: 3200 Canal dimensionsThese canals are about 10 feet deep and 16 feet wide, and are built to store water in such a way that farmers who have fields on either side of this canal can draw water from them. The soil dredged to make the canal is used to fertile soil in the fields and greatly enhances yield.