In November last year, Baran district in Rajasthan was in the news after residents of Kalupura locality in Loh Siswali town went without drinking water for six days. Protesting the disruption in supply, men and women blocked the main road and pointed to the inaction by officials. Like much of Rajasthan, Baran receives most of its rainfall during the monsoon and remains dry for the rest of the year. Agriculture is the main source of livelihood, along with labour and animal husbandry. Shortage of water for both drinking and irrigation continues to affect many parts of the district, putting pressure on communities that rely on seasonal farming.
In this context, a new initiative in Bhoyal village has brought much-needed relief to the community. A large rainwater pond, developed entirely by the social enterprise Grow-Trees.com with support from residents, is now offering a practical solution to the area’s acute water shortage. With the capacity to store over 700,000 litres of rainwater, the pond is expected to support irrigation from July to December, recharge groundwater, and improve crop yields, especially benefiting farmers who solely rely on monsoon rainfall for cultivation.
Constructed over approximately 1.5 months (May to June 2025) & Measuring 120 feet in length, 25 feet in width, and around eight to 10 feet in depth, the pond can hold approximately 154,514 gallons of water. This is expected to meet a large share of irrigation needs in the surrounding areas. Completed in just one and a half months, the project marks a practical move toward long-term water security and improved farming stability.
According to Mr. Pradip Shah, Co-founder of Grow-Trees.com, the site was chosen because of its reliance on seasonal water availability and the community’s long-standing demand for a dependable source. “The pond will help address irrigation needs during the rainy and winter months and contribute to better agricultural output and income for farmers. It will also help improve groundwater recharge levels in Baran district,” says Mr. Shah.
Soil excavated during the pond’s construction was used to level nearby farmland, directly benefiting farmers in the vicinity. Mr. Shah said that community support was key to completing the initiative on time. “The area around the pond is already seeing healthier vegetation and improved water access. Since this is a community-owned project, we are confident it will be well maintained,” he adds.
Grow-Trees.com a social enterprise has also launched the Trees for Farmers project in Shahbad tehsil of Baran. A total of 90,000 trees will be planted under this initiative, out of which 25,700 have already been planted.
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