Green Tree Foundation Water Harvesting
Location: Talupula, Andhra Pradesh, India
Start Date: May 11, 2009
Expected Completion Date (i.e. when financially self-sufficient): December, 2009
Project Concept:
The goal of this project was to demonstrate permaculture water-harvesting techniques to the staff of a local NGO, the Green Tree Foundation, so that they may replicate them to assist with their agroforestry work. The project also serves as an example of land restoration potential in the region.
Detailed Project Description:
A 7-acre portion of an innovative local organic farm was selected. As the farmer had great success with the advice of the Green Tree Foundation, he was willing to let us do whatever we wished with this section of his land. Not only was the site adjacent to a national highway (increasing exposure), the success of the farmer was gaining him respect in the community, increasing the likelihood of our water-harvesting approaches being replicated.
The designer, Douglas Barnes, mapped the site boundaries by GPS and contour on 3 levels. It was mapped out for the creation of 4 swales, totalling 400 metres in length and having a maximum capacity of just over one million litres. To reduce erosion, the swales were built large. Since the top of the mound was about 1 metre from the bottom of the trench, the width of the trench was made to be from 3 to 4 metres across. This allowed a gentler slope on the mound, reducing the risk of erosion. Level-sill spillways were built into the swales to make them more durable in the event that torrential rains should ever exceed their holding capacity.
 The swales were completed just at the onset of the monsoon season. Within 3 weeks, the swales had already captured and stored half a million litres of water that otherwise would mostly have washed down the hill, contributing to erosion.
Shepherds in India move their herds across country grazing anywhere possible. This means that grazing is essentially communal in practice. The biotic pressures of man and grazing animals have changed the landscape from a dry tropical one to a semi-arid desert. While this has been going on for many centuries, the changes in the past 30 years have accelerated to the point where desert is starting to form in Western Andhra Pradesh, not too far from the site.
Because of this, we sought to choose windbreak species for the site that would also serve as a living fence to keep out grazing animals. Three species in particular were selected: Gliricidia sepium, Caesalpinia crista and Sapindus trifoliate. G. sepium is a fast-growing nitrogen fixer with medicinal properties. C. crista makes a good windbreak and has anti-malarial properties. Sapindus trifoliate, as the name suggests, is rich in saponins, meaning it makes a great soap. Its fruit, which resembles a date, is a valuable crop that fetches a good price on the local market. Green Tree Foundation reports that these windbreak trees have already been planted on site and are doing well.
Project Duration & Schedule:
The swales were completed on May 22, 2009. After Douglas left, the windbreak trees were transferred from the Green Tree Foundation’s nursery and planted on the site.
The Green Tree Foundation is working on getting an herbaceous groundcover for the swales to control erosion and assist in water retention and soil building.
The farmer will next be planting an orchard of mango trees with nitrogen-fixing support trees selected by the Green Tree Foundation. The project should be entirely finished by the end of 2009.
Project Needs:
This project requires no additional funding to complete. However, those wishing to support the work of the Green Tree Foundation are invited to make donations through Trees for the Future.
Other Info:
More information about the project is available at:
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