Using water games for economic gains

It is rightly said that "what is measured is managed better". And we observed this happen at Sagapali village in Keonjhar district of Odisha. This village is in the Nayakote gram panchayat, and has an undulating terrain surrounded by five hillocks. It has forests around it with limited plainlands for cultivation. The farmers in the village have historically grown only one rainfed crop per year using the water from a perennial stream.

The water flow in the stream is regular but slows down seasonally, which discourages farmers from having the confidence to grow a second crop on their land based solely on it. Phuleshwari, a panchayat resource person from the gram panchayat who frequently visits the village, came to know about the stream and tried to motivate the villagers to take a second crop. But none of them would take her advice. 

After a few months, Phuleswari was introduced to the water game, designed by the Foundation for Ecological Security, and found this tool to be very useful to motivate the villagers to plan a second crop. She took the game kit and reached the village. She brought the community together and played a few rounds of the game. After the game and several discussions following it, eight families from the village came forward and accepted the plan for the second crop.

But they faced an issue taking the water to the higher lands where they wanted to grow the crops. They solved this by using stone bunds to divert water. Now, they have sufficient water in their fields to cultivate paddy and pulses. Seeing the success of these families, other villagers have also gotten motivated and are planning to take a second crop next year.

The game helped the villagers visualise the amount of water they needed and the supply they had from the stream and imagine how they could utilise the resource efficiently. They also planned and started to create trenches on the hills through the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee (MGNREGA) programme. This has now increased the water recharge and ultimately the flow in the stream. This is an example of how such interactive games can make communities aware and plan resources efficiently.

The authors work at the Foundation for Ecological Security. Foundation for Ecological Security (FES) is committed to strengthening, reviving, or restoring, where necessary, the process of ecological succession and the conservation of land, forest and water resources in the country.