Water scarcity affects rural India by dramatically reducing agricultural productivity for both nutritional and financial needs. A shortage of water storage facilities leads to a lack of irrigation, which disproportionately affects the women in the village who have to regularly walk and fetch water themselves and carry it back to their families. To lessen the harmful effects of water scarcity in the region, Asia Initiatives has funded the construction of two earthen nala bund water structures, each of which will hold 4,000,000 liters of clean water. This Asia Initiatives’ program assisted by local partner, Dilasa Janvikas Pratishthan, is targeting the Babra and Sonari villages in Maharashtra, India to ensure water conservation through Earthen nala bund water storages tanks. Earthen nala bunds are drainage line treatments that help water to percolate, prevents water loss due to run-off increasing the surrounding water levels in bore wells and other collection structures. The construction and maintenance of the units will ensure that 103 households have direct access to dependable water sources for personal and agricultural use. 

The participants earn SoCCs through planting trees and seeds around the tanks, cleaning the water tanks and assisting during the structures’ construction. SoCCs are redeemed for the funding of construction of earthen nala bund.