As a volunteer rolled out mats in a temple in the village of Borgaon Budruk, preparing for a meeting, some of the members streamed in. The women, with their beaming smiles, had a relaxed vibe about them. They were members of the Village Development Committee (VDC) VDCs and VWMTs A VDC is a voluntary association formed by village residents to solve local problems. The members of these VDCs also became members of the Village Water Management Teams (VWMTs). VWMTs play a crucial role in developing and implementing the village's water stewardship plan. Each of the 16 villages where WOTR's project was implemented has a VDC and a VWMT. Four out of every ten members of VWMTs are women. Struggles Galore Seated in a circle on the floor, one by one, the women recounted how water shortage was their daily struggle until a few years ago. “I fought many times with women in my street because they would skip the queue to fill water from the water tanker,” said Panchfula Dinkar Chavan, recalling the summers from 2017 to 2019, when the communal taps received water supply only once a week. The government sent tankers to the village but even that water was scant. Back then Panchfula worked as an agricultural worker, labouring on other people’s land for daily wages. “It was a very difficult time for my daughters. They would skip school to fetch water. We had no time to relax,” she said. “The women who couldn’t get water from the tanker travelled three hours daily to get water,” added Suvarna Kisan Fadat. Both Panchfula and Suvarna are VWMT members, who actively worked towards helping their community understand the importance of groundwater conservation and rejuvenation. The Initial Days - Fears, Exposure and Training “There was talk of making farm bunds and constructing other structures but people didn’t want to do these things on their land out of the fear of losing fertile soil,” talks Lata Prakash Fadat about the time when watershed develoment work was started in Borgaon Budruk, a farmer and agricultural worker who serves the village as a Jal Sevak (Water Steward). To start with, VWMT members received training on the A to Z of water-saving methods, right from farm bunding, desilting ponds, deepening nallahs, using drips and sprinklers to making vermicompost ( an organic fertiliser). Ten members went on exposure visits to Dariwadi, Hivre Bazaar and Patoda to see how these villages were using their water with care. “We came back and told our community how well the others were doing,” said Lata. All Aboard To Prosperity Ever since the VWMT brought villagers on board to contribute voluntarily through cash and labour on water-saving structures, Borgaon Budruk has made 496 farm bunds, ten check dams, 11 nallah bunds and deepened 4 nallahs. “Nowadays even though we have less water in the summer, we have enough water for our needs,” said Panchfula, adding that the fights over water in the community had stopped. “We were inspired to do the work by visiting other villages. Today, other villages are learning from us.”Dinkar Mahipat Chavan, Panchfula’s husband and a VWMT member. Source: WOTR wesite By Vandana K