Parobai Gahote and Shakuntala Kalamkar, representatives of the Mahila Bhachat Gath, Babanrao Tulshiram Kalamkar, Sarpanch of Kalamkarwadi village in Ahmednagar district (some 70 km away from Pune) and other members of the village never thought they would be able to enjoy fruits of their labour on their barren land, and reap two to three crops a year.

Their once barren land has now turned lush green helping the villagers earn a reasonably decent livelihood. Thanks to the three year efforts of the members of the Watershed Organisation Trust (WOTR), a non-government organizations propagating the benefits of water harvesting, through the Indo-German Watershed Development Programme assisted by the Germany's Kreditanstalt fuer Wiederaufbau (KfW) under the aid agreement between the German and the Indian Government. The objective of the programme is to develop micro-watersheds in an integrated and comprehensive manner for achieving and supporting sustainable production system.

Three years ago, the villagers of little known Kalamkarwadi were able to have barely 200-300 litres of milk per day from the poorly fed milch animals; there was hardly any water available in the village after the meagre monsoon ended; to earn their livelihood, the poor landowners had to trudge up to six miles to earn Rs 30-50 per day. These days, the 1,500-odd villagers of Kalamkarwadi claim their well-fed milch animals give over 1,200-1,500 litres of milk every day, which is pooled in the nearby dairy to be supplied to consumers to the adjoining villages, upto Pune. At Rs eight per litre of milk the total amount earned from selling milk itself works out to Rs 9,600 to Rs 12,000 per day, which when multiplied 30 times gives a return of Rs 2.88 lakh to Rs 3.60 lakh each month.

Add to this, the returns these farmers earn from two-three crops (including cash crop) each year from their once barren land, and one can understand how the economy of Kalamkarwadi has changed over the last three years.The villagers now have their own methods of financing their activities through the bachat ghats (saving schemes, kitty purses) -- one each for men and women. From their reasonable earnings, they voluntarily contribute Rs 500 each month raising the collective savings of Rs 5 lakh in both these bachat gaths.

And they have their own ways of financing their activities -- as there is no bank branch nearby. At the rate of Rs two per Rs 100 per month -- that is 24 per cent-- the villagers can raise the required amount. "Till date there are no defaults", said a beeming Shakuntalabai Kalamkar, chairperson of the women's bachat gath. "Members of the gath know that defaults are not good and once defaulted, will not get funds from the common pool." And above all, the women members of the village have been successful in preventing their men folk from the getting entangled in the menacing habit of country liquor, thanks to the satisfying fruits of labour on their own lands. Once a liquor peddlar sneaked in the village at night.

The women folk gave him a good lesson, and got Rs 1,000 in the women's bachat gath in the bargain. Till date no liquor peddler has thereafter ventured in our village and neither do the men folk have the habit of excessive liquor.