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January 13, 2022 The water structures constructed during the Gond period continue to survive the test of time and provide evidence of the water wisdom of our ancestors.
Kundeshwar lake, Kundam in Jabalpur (Image Source: K G Vyas)
January 2, 2021 Lack of community ownership and local governance are spelling doom for the once royal and resilient traditional water harvesting structures of Rajasthan.
Toorji Ka Jhalara, Jodhpur (Image Source: Rituja Mitra)
December 7, 2020 The new farm related bills will spell doom for women workers who form the bulk of small and marginal sections of Indian agriculture, warns Mahila Kisan Adhikaar Manch (MAKAAM).
Farm women, overworked and underpaid (Image Source: India Water Portal)
December 11, 2019 Dry toilets have long been hailed as a sustainable solution to the sanitation and waste management crisis facing India today, but have been overshadowed by more modern toilet designs.
A traditional dry toilet. Image: India Science Wire
December 4, 2019 To adapt well & build resilience, climate change strategies need to factor in efforts towards water security, writes Vanita Suneja, Regional Advocacy Manager (South Asia), WaterAid.
Image credit: WaterAid/Prashanth Vishwanathan
December 2, 2019 Water stewardship is an approach predicated on the concept that water is a shared resource and so water risks are also shared risks that everyone in a catchment will face
Picture credit: Romit Sen
Rainbow Drive Layout : A model for urban water management
Posted on 22 Nov, 2014 10:29 AM

Bangalore's sprawling expansion outpaces the public utility's ability to accommodate skyrocketing demand for water and sanitation services, and it is increasingly common for new residential communities to assume total management for their own water and sanitation services through their resident welfare associations.

Source South Asia Water Sanitation NewsIssue 8 30 Sep 08
Posted on 22 Nov, 2014 10:29 AM

Since its foundation in 1968, the IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre (IRC) has facilitated the sharing, promotion and use of knowledge so that governments, professionals and organisations can better sup

Utility of ecosan in floodprone rural Bangladesh
Posted on 22 Nov, 2014 10:29 AM

Subject: Ecosan

Duration: 1:20 mins

A collection of short films on Ecosan
Posted on 22 Nov, 2014 10:29 AM

A quick introduction to Ecosan

Eco-san in a city

EcoSanitation resources compiled by Solutions Exchange
Posted on 22 Nov, 2014 10:29 AM

Solutions Exchange recently compiled its discussion on "Use of Human Excreta for Agriculture" , closely related to the concept of Eco-Sanitation.

Visit to two villages in Chhattisgarh that have been awarded Nirmal Gram Puraskar
Posted on 22 Nov, 2014 10:29 AM

Just back from a trip home (Chhattisgarh).

Local weather stations greatly improve local crop production
Area- and crop-customised agro-advisories in Sangamner taluka of Ahmednagar, Maharashtra, have helped farmers deal with weather-based events and minimise their related losses. Posted on 19 Nov, 2014 05:06 PM

“In gram crops to control gram-pod borers, use pheromone traps”. While a statement like that most likely won't make sense to average people, it does to the farming community in the Sangamner taluka of Ahmednagar, Maharashtra. They have been trained to make sense of the agro-advisory provided by Vasundhara Sewaks.

Onion seeds in farms (Source: WOTR)
Toilets and social networks: Is there a connection?
Studies have shown links between social dynamics and behaviour change, especially with regard to toilet use. Intervention efforts should focus on communities, and not individuals. Posted on 06 Nov, 2014 10:54 PM

Of late, there have been plenty of discussions around the topic of sanitation, which have focussed on building toilets on a massive scale. These are in the aftermath of the new and recently released Millennium Development Goals Report 2014 by the United Nations that shows that India has the world's largest population that defecates out in the open, with it being as high as 66% in rural India [1

Toilet use (Source: Sourabh Phadke)
It's not just about rape!
Women need toilets, not only to protect themselves from rape but to also preserve their dignity and health. Sanitation is a fundamental human right and not just temporary media hype. Posted on 05 Nov, 2014 11:17 AM

Nandatai and her 16 year old daughter Phula creep out of their houses quietly in the wee hours of the morning into the dark fields to relieve themselves before everyone wakes up. It is an everyday story as this is the only time in the day that they have privacy. “It is so shameful to go out in the fields during the day”, says Nandatai. “We have to hold our urine till it gets dark.

Women in rural areas (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Gender inclusive development in mountains
Perspectives that aren't the norm must be examined while talking about gender-related development in the mountain regions. Posted on 04 Nov, 2014 03:00 PM

This introduction to the special issue on "Gender and sustainable development in the mountains- Transformative innovations, tenacious resistances" by Ritu Verma et al published in the journal Mountain Research and Development, highlights the poor situation of women as well as gender discrim

Mountain women in Uttarakhand
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