Skip links

Skip to Content
play

Live

Navigation menu

  • News
    • Middle East
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • US & Canada
    • Latin America
    • Europe
    • Asia Pacific
  • Ukraine war
  • Features
  • Economy
  • Opinion
  • Video
    • Coronavirus
    • Climate Crisis
    • Investigations
    • Interactives
    • In Pictures
    • Science & Technology
    • Sport
    • Podcasts
play

Live

In Pictures

Gallery|Poverty and Development

Women lead the way out of poverty in an Indian desert

In an arid and inhospitable Thar desert, women have taken the struggle against poverty into their own hands.

Please Do Not Use/ Dryland communities in Rajasthan
Rameshwari Devi driving force behind the self-help group set up under the auspices of ICRISAT, an organisation that seeks to empower the women left behind to take charge of their lives and reduce the vulnerability of communities living in these harsh environments. [Prashant Panjiar/ICRISAT/Al Jazeera]
Published On 19 Nov 201519 Nov 2015
facebooktwitterwhatsapp

Rajasthan, India – Rameshwari Devi wakes up at 4am each morning and walks the 3km to her nearest water source. Her village Derasar, lies in the Thar desert in northwest Rajasthan, a vast wilderness spread over

320,000sq km and covering 60 percent of the state.

Droughts are frequent and water is scarce for up to 11 months of the year. Soil quality is poor which makes producing enough to eat a monumental task. Communal grazing pastures are a lifeline providing cattle feed, fuel, wood and medicinal plants. To help support their families, the menfolk have been migrating to the cities, leaving the women to fend as best they can.

The women of Derasar are not easily cowed, however. They are both tough and resourceful. Led by Rameshwari, they have set up a self-help group under the auspices of ICRISAT, the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics.

The organisation works directly with the women who are left behind in these communities, taking into account their needs and helping them to adopt integrated farming methods, while capitalising on their local knowledge.

It has provided fruit trees, offered advice on which crops to sow, helped improve water storage arrangements and helped the women petition the local authorities to lay a water pipeline to their village. 

Ramesharwi is also working to improve the government-run village childcare centre.

Through such ICRISAT initiatives women are empowered to take charge of their lives and reduce the vulnerability of communities living in such harsh conditions.


South Sudan’s displaced women hold communities together


Please Do NOt Use/ Dryland communities in Rajasthan
Rameshwari Devi rises at 4am each day to fetch water from up to 4km away. 'We use brackish water for cooking and other needs,' she says. There is no fresh water source nearby. Across India it is estimated women spend 150 million work days each year fetching water. [Prashant Panjiar/ICRISAT/Al Jazeera]
Advertisement
Please Do NOt Use/ Dryland communities in Rajasthan
The Thar desert covers 60 percent of Rajasthan. Food, cattle feed and water are always in short supply. Livestock often die due to lack of food and men often migrate to urban areas to supplement household incomes . [Prashant Panjiar/ICRISAT/Al Jazeera]
Please Do NOt Use/ Dryland communities in Rajasthan
'If it rains then there is fodder for the animals. Else they die,' says Rameshawi Devi. 'One maund (40 kg) of fodder costs 400 Indian rupees ($6.6) which is very expensive.' [Amit Chakravarty/ICRISAT/Al Jazeera]
Please Do NOt Use/ Dryland communities in Rajasthan
To improve nutrition and supplement livelihoods, Fruit trees have been supplied to the village by ICRISAT. 'These trees will not only provide nutrition but if there is a good harvest we can also sell in the market, Rameshwari Devi. [Prashant Panjiar/ICRISAT/Al Jazeera]
Please Do NOt Use/ Dryland communities in Rajasthan
Taankas, a traditional method of capturing water, have a catchment area to collect rainwater which is then stored underground. Recently the village taankas have been upgraded and modernised. [Prashant Panjiar/ICRISAT/Al Jazeera]
Please Do NOt Use/ Dryland communities in Rajasthan
As president of the self-help group, Rameshwari Devi has petitioned the local authorities to lay a water pipeline to their village. She is also working to improve the anganwadi,or child day-care centre, in the village. [Prashant Panjiar/ICRISAT/Al Jazeera]
Advertisement
Please Do NOt Use/ Dryland communities in Rajasthan
ICRISAT works directly with the women left behind in rural communities, taking into account their needs and capitalising on their local knowledge. [Prashant Panjiar/ICRISAT/Al Jazeera]
Please Do NOt Use/ Dryland communities in Rajasthan
Women have been working with scientists from ICRISAT to help reduce adversities and provide hope for the community. [Prashant Panjiar/ICRISAT/Al Jazeera]
Please Do NOt Use/ Dryland communities in Rajasthan
For the women of Derasar, the lack of water is an issue that blights their lives. The region faces water scarcity up to 11 months of the year. 'Water is a major problem for all of us,' says Manibai. [Prashant Panjiar/ICRISAT/Al Jazeera]
Please Do NOt Use/ Dryland communities in Rajasthan
Manibai grows pearl millet, cluster bean, green gram, moth bean, sesame and watermelons on her 6.5 hectares of land. 'Pearl millet is only for self-consumption while the pulses are sold if there is any surplus left over,' she says. [Prashant Panjiar/ICRISAT/Al Jazeera]
Please Do NOt Use/ Dryland communities in Rajasthan
ICRISAT offers science-backed research to improve water storage technology and advice on crops to help the villagers increase their income. [Prashant Panjiar/ICRISAT/Al Jazeera]


    • About Us
    • Code of Ethics
    • Terms and Conditions
    • EU/EEA Regulatory Notice
    • Privacy Policy
    • Cookie Policy
    • Cookie Preferences
    • Sitemap
    • Community Guidelines
    • Work for us
    • HR Quality
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise with us
    • Apps
    • Channel Finder
    • TV Schedule
    • Podcasts
    • Submit a Tip
    • Al Jazeera Arabic
    • Al Jazeera English
    • Al Jazeera Investigative Unit
    • Al Jazeera Mubasher
    • Al Jazeera Documentary
    • Al Jazeera Balkans
    • AJ+
    • Al Jazeera Centre for Studies
    • Al Jazeera Media Institute
    • Learn Arabic
    • Al Jazeera Centre for Public Liberties & Human Rights
    • Al Jazeera Forum
    • Al Jazeera Hotel Partners

Follow Al Jazeera English:

  • facebook
  • twitter
  • youtube
  • instagram-colored-outline
  • rss
Al Jazeera Media Network logo
© 2023 Al Jazeera Media Network