Older people – especially older women – living in the arid areas of western Rajasthan often experience extreme poverty. Development projects frequently exclude these older people and their families.

Water is in very short supply and the cost of clean drinking water is prohibitive. Low rainfall, coupled with poor water retention in the soil, limits agricultural production and communities' ability to support livestock.

Aims

The project, supported by the European Union, aims to:

• improve the availability of, and access to, water for daily household needs for older people and their families in 550 households in 18 villages
• increase agricultural productivity by using a traditional water- harvesting system that uses mud banks to collect rainwater and increases moisture content in the soil
• increase family income by providing livestock, and training in stock management
• build the capacity of older women and men through the formation of village older people’s associations
• build the capacity of HelpAge International’s partner organisation, GRAVIS, to work with, and for, disadvantaged older people.
  

Activities

• A baseline survey of the 18 villages identified the poorest groups. Participatory exercises were carried out to study the communities' resources and their external environment.
• Technical surveys were carried out to help with the construction of khadins (traditional rainwater-harvesting system) and tankaas (underground water tank collecting rainwater). 59 older people now have their own tankaas for water, 54 have khadins built on their farm land, three nadis (village ponds) are being de-silted and one will be built.
• Eighteen village older people’s associations have been formed, in addition to sub-committees at hamlet level. A total of 717 older people (361 men and 356 women) are committee members, including 167 widows and 52 widowers.
• Awareness-raising workshops were held in the 18 villages and training was organised on public health, veterinary skills, and the construction of tankaas and khadins.
• 100 older people have received milking cows and another 120 are receiving seed and fertilizer to start vegetable plots.

Achievements

• Older people have become committee members and attend meetings. This is a new experience for many, especially older women, and gives them status and recognition in their families and communities. Two women are members of the project-management committee.
• Awareness-raising camps and training have improved hygiene and have also helped to empower older women to break away from the constraints of purdah (the seclusion of women).
• The project also appears to have affected girls in the community. In one village, the number of girls enrolled in the local school has risen from 4 to 23 since the project started. These young girls used to be involved in fetching water. Now that water is available, their parents are willing to send them to school.

The future

The project is expected to change the lives of older women and men in the 18 villages as they gain status and respect in their families and communities, and take on ownership of water sources, animals and other ways of making a living.

The older people’s associations will also give the older people a forum to liaise with their community and the government.