Our queries are regarding a Social Welfare Organisation for Tribals and Backward Communities that we are members of. The name is "Vanalakshmi Unmesh Samiti". It is a rural development project which has been functioning from 1964 and is registered under the Societies’ Act since 1983. We are located in Birbhum, West Bengal, 10 kms from Santiniketan. Our Founder (my husband Gautam's maternal uncle), Lt Niranjan Sanyal (1929 – 2001), had planned a project of Sustainable Development and Rural Uplift. Please go through attachments Founder, Location, Vision & Mission and Current Activities. Currently, there are 17 members in the Society and our main activities include Agriculture (paddy, wheat, maize, mustard, potatoes and other vegetables), Fruit growing, Food processing, Retailing of farm produce and local village handicrafts and Eco-tourism through a modest Eatery. Villagers from the nearby localities are employed for all the activities in our farm. Our orchards and paddy fields cover about 35 acres with 3 water bodies included. The acreage is spread over 3 locations close to each other. We are facing a major problem with water as our rainfall is restricted to only 3 months of the year. Water is drained off because our land is at a higher elevation than the neighbouring areas. In the recent years, several resorts have come up in the area. There is rampant misuse of water. They use deep borewells to extract water to constantly feed artificial waterbodies for beautification resulting in the ground water table going even lower. In this situation, we desperately require expert advice and guidance on : · Water harvesting · Ground water recharging · Used water recycling · Drip irrigation system for the orchard Looking forward to your response, Yours faithfully Sushweta Chakraborty Member & Project Coordinator Vanalakshmi Unmesh Samiti Dwaranda, via Sriniketan Birbhum - 731236 Cell - 09431702975 My husban Gautam Mukerjee can also be contacted - Cell : 09431112636 Attachments founder vision-mission location1 current-activities