Thrithala’s sustainable water revolution

DW (English)

Thrithala turned a groundwater crisis into a model of innovation – harvesting rain, reviving ecosystems, and mobilizing communities via a conservation project.

Transcript

00:00The southern Indian state of Kerala is the first to welcome monsoon rains in India.

00:06It drenches the region in over 3,000 millimetres of rain each year,

00:10but many towns have long faced water shortages,

00:13according to local sustainability volunteer, Neeraja Ramadas.

00:19Nowadays, by the month of December, many wells already start drying up.

00:25She works with the school children, women's organisations and farmers

00:28in the region on sustainability projects under the Susthira Tritala or Sustainable Tritala Initiative.

00:36Together, they have built a large number of water-holding structures like this pond

00:40since the start of the initiative in 2022

00:43to help address the falling groundwater levels in and around their town.

00:49There are three main focus areas in the Susthira Tritala Initiative.

00:54These are water conservation, sustainable agriculture and better waste management.

01:03In addition, we are also working to clean up and desilt rivers to restore their natural flow,

01:10which had been degraded or neglected in the name of development.

01:14Her work involves convincing farmers to free up parts of their land for water conservation projects.

01:24Over time, the benefits outweigh the costs.

01:26For farmers like V. V. Balachandran, who relied on water tankers for their daily needs.

01:31I used to stop coconut cultivation after the month of March due to water scarcity.

01:37But this year, thanks to the improvements brought by the project,

01:41I was able to continue farming beyond that period.

01:45The groundwater around his farm has gradually risen over the past couple of years

01:48thanks to the recharged tank built in his village.

01:51In the past, we had to supply water to all the wards via tankers.

01:58This year, however, water only had to be sent to a handful of locations.

02:05Tritala's administration wants to lead by example

02:08and is using government buildings as groundwater recharge infrastructure.

02:14Here at the local school, a small forest is being planted

02:17to stop the rainwater from running off over the soil surface.

02:22And the roofs of the school building have been turned into collection funnels.

02:26They harvest the rainwater and direct it behind the building

02:29into a percolation tank.

02:34Neeraja shows us how the old and new water storages work together.

02:40This is an old open well on the school grounds.

02:43By the time summer came around, this used to be dried out.

02:49So the rainwater tank was set up just next to it

02:52to collect the runoff water during the rains.

02:59Building such infrastructure takes many hands

03:02and the government is supporting the initiative

03:04by making workers from the MGNREGA Rural Employment Scheme

03:10available for these projects.

03:12We can build all kinds of infrastructure

03:17like wells and farm ponds.

03:21We have recently built two new ones.

03:25We have also learnt how to build canals and clean rivers.

03:29Their most recent project was a rainwater harvesting system

03:33at the local child care centre known as Anganwadis.

03:37The Sustirathri Thala initiative trained the employees here to segregate

03:41and recycle the waste they produce.

03:44Before the rains, they are taught to check and maintain the water collection structures.

03:50Rainwater harvesting is now considered part of their work responsibilities.

03:54When we first came here, we didn't know what to do.

03:59But the resource persons helped us a lot by guiding us through training

04:03and helping us understand everything.

04:07That's how we reached a point where we felt inspired to do better and contribute more.

04:12Meanwhile, floods are becoming more frequent all over Kerala.

04:18Small agricultural towns like Trithala are growing.

04:22And even while they attempt to save enough water to last the year,

04:26new construction is struggling to adapt to the effects of climate change.

04:29In areas like water conservation and agriculture,

04:34people often view sustainable and traditional development as opposing ideas.

04:40So it's important to first explain and make people aware

04:43of the necessity of sustainable adaptations.

04:50Local water management expert Vasudevan Pillai says

04:54that disasters have driven home the extent of the challenge facing the region.

04:59Back then, we weren't fully utilising the rivers to channel water effectively

05:05and many water bodies have been neglected or clogged,

05:10making them incapable of holding water and causing flooding.

05:14Learning from that, we took steps to restore the rivers,

05:17clear the canals and ensure proper water flow.

05:24The farms and woods around Trithala are now drained by newly cleaned canals

05:29and waterways, now full with this year's monsoon water.

05:35Proper channeling and collection of the abundant rainwater is already showing results

05:39and has raised Trithala's groundwater by about 10 percent.

05:43The success of this project in Trithala can largely be attributed to strong leadership

05:51and effective inter-departmental collaboration.

05:55While the work isn't fully complete yet,

05:57it's clear that the project must continue and sustain and build on this progress.

06:02It must go on.

06:04So, Stira Trithala's ponds have become a favourite with the children,

06:08who are also essential for the future of the initiative.

06:11And the government is keen to extend this initiative all over Kerala

06:15in an attempt to end the cycle of floods and water shortages.

06:19markets.

06:19Indeed,

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