Water conservation and management

 At Lipok Social Foundation, we are dedicated to building sustainable livelihoods for small farmers in the drought-prone Marathwada region. A major focus of our work is water conservation and management, where we mobilise communities to implement water budgeting and undertake Mahashramdhan (mass volunteerism) for local water conservation actions. This has empowered communities for collective actions to transform water deprived villages to water sufficiency - approximately 4000 vulnerable persons have benefited from this. Our integrated approach is built on the belief that resilient water infrastructure is the fundamental precursor to stable agricultural livelihoods and improved community health. 

 To combat severe groundwater depletion and seasonal water stress, we successfully implemented a high-impact infrastructure project benefiting approximately 300 households. This initiative provided immediate relief to women and children burdened by long-distance water collection, while securing vital water resources for resource-deprived small farmers and livestock.

Key Interventions:

• Resilient Infrastructure: Constructed a 50-foot deep shared open well in Ranjangaon to reliably support non-domestic and livestock water needs for vulnerable communities.
• Household Drinking Water: Built two 5,000-litre reinforced cement storage tanks equipped with multi-tap stand systems, bringing accessible domestic water directly to the communities in Dongaon Tanda and Padali.
• Community Governance: Established and trained three Water User Committees (WUCs). To ensure long-term sustainability, these community-led committees have taken ownership of the assets, managing a dedicated Maintenance and Repair Fund through nominal user contributions