This document summarizes a project to enhance livelihoods and quality of life for small and marginal farmers in India by providing drinking water and irrigation. The project: 1) Provided irrigation to over 1000 farmers cultivating 335 acres of land across 10 villages, generating additional annual incomes of $150-800 per acre. 2) Formed water user groups and farmers' cooperatives to maintain infrastructure and facilitate crop planning and water distribution. 3) Introduced new farming techniques like System of Rice Intensification to increase yields. 4) Benefited women by reducing water collection time and enabling kitchen gardening and other agricultural activities.

1. Enhancing Livelihood and quality of life by providing drinking
water and irrigation to small and marginal poor farmers
Supported by SDTT, Mumbai
Grameen Sahara
(In Support of Sustainable Livelihood)

2. Enhancing Livelihood and Quality of life by providing Drinking water
and Irrigation to small and Marginal Poor Farmers under DBI Project
Objectives-
a) To provide irrigation facilities to the small and needy farmers.
b) To increase production through use of lands available in multi-cropping
practice
c) To improve the food and nutritional security of the target families;
d) To introduce System of Crop Intensification practices in various crops;
e) To reduce drudgery for the women
f) To organize farmers to water user and producers’ groups and finally
organizing them into a vegetable producers’ entity;
g) To facilitate marketing the surplus produces through market linkage

3. Overview _DBI projects implemented by Grameen Sahara
Phase-I Phase-II Phase-III
Year 2009-2010 2011-2013 2013-2015
Type Canal Pipe Pipe
Fund (Lakh) 24.81 27.39 72.73
Village 9 4 10
Family 1750 398 1000
Area Covered(Acre) 500 135 335

4. Location wise stretch
Location Pipes (Mtr)
Bargarang 2964
Tulsibari 2682
Jupangbari 1986
Sanyashipara 1590
Bargaonpara 1860
Sengmari 1350
Barmohora (Old location ) 2120
Balijuri (Old location ) 1130
Muduki (Old location ) 2225
Goalpara (Yet to be installed) 1950
Total 19857

5. Coverage
Name of village Development
block
District No. of families
covered
Area of land
covered (Bighas)
Area of land
covered (Acre)
Bargarang Chayani
Barduar
Kamrup 115 89 29.67
Tulsibari Chayani
Barduar
Kamrup 85 128 42.66
Jupangbari Chayani
Barduar
Kamrup 105 90 30.00
Sanyashipara Chhaygaon Kamrup 93 98 32.67
Bargaonpara Chhaygaon Kamrup 100 77 25.66
Badakha Kushdhowa Goalpara 87 119 39.65
Sengmari Krishnai Goalpara 102 94 31.33
Balijuri (Old) Chhaygaon Kamrup 96 119 39.66
Muduki (Old) Rani Kamrup 112 86 28.66
Barmohora
(Old)
Krishnai Goalpara 105 106 35.33
Total 1000 1006 335.29

6. Community contribution in the form of labor
Sl.
No
.
Name of DBI
location
Length of
trench (Mtr.)
Total quantity of earth
excavated (Cum)
Community
contribution
(Rs)
1 Bargarang 2326 995.06 97200
2 Bargaonpara 1844 788.86 108000
3 Sanyashipara 2014 861.59 92000
4 Tulsibari 1758 752.07 98500
5 Jupangbari 1488 636.57 98280
6 Sengmari 1342 574.11 94000

7. Irrigated area before DBI (Acre)
Location Kharif Rabi Summer Total
Bargarang 0 0 0 0
Tulsibari 3.5 2.5 2.5 8.5
Jupangbari 3 2 2 7
Sanyashipara 0 0 0 0
Bargaonpara 0 0 0 0
Sengmari 0 0 0 0
Balijuri 1.5 3 1 5.5
Muduki 2 1 0 3
Barmohora 2 2 0 4
Total 12 10.5 5.5 28

8. Irrigation potential generated after DBI (Acre)
Location Kharif Rabi Summer Total Additional income
generated per acre due
to irrigation facility
Bargarang 29 12.5 7 48.5 16375
Tulsibari 42 14 11 67 12832
Jupangbari 30 13 9 52 7120
Sanyashipara 32 8 7 47 8060
Bargaonpara 25 7.5 9 41.5 8565
Sengmari 31 11.5 7 49.5 5600
Balijuri 39 16 7 62 59450
Muduki 28 19 5 52 55500
Barmohora 35 21 14 70 47800

9. Impact
This DBIS encouraged the farmers to expand the
areas of cultivable land.
The beneficiaries have started to use their
homesteads in various agricultural activities even in
dry season also.
This assured irrigation facility has increased the
involvement of the farmers (male and female) in
farming activities.
It has increased their households’ income and their
nutritional status has also been improved.

10. Achievement of DBI Project
• 335 acres of land of 1000 small farmers of 10 different villages of Kamrup,
Kamrup Metro and Goalpara districts of Assam has been brought under
this project.
• 122 acres of land for Rabi and 76 acres for summer crops have been
brought under this Diversion Based Irrigation system in project areas.
• 10 WUGs and 30 farmers’ groups and 22 women SHGs have been formed
and along with the technical training they have been trained on proper
maintenance of pipe system and they have been also given some tips on
crop planning and punctuality for better distribution of water among the
farmers and now they are functioning in a better way.
• SRI has been introduced with the farmers for better production of paddy
in the project areas.

11. Activities performed
Land Mapping at the Locations

12. Trench Digging Through Community Contribution

13. Transparency
Balijuri Tulsibari

14. Community in actions (Pipes Laying)

15. Head Work

16. Capacity Building Training
Class room & in the field

17. Capacity Building of team members and FEW

18. Inauguration

19. Community Utilization

20. Seedlings with EM1 distribution: Inaugurated by CEO of
Grameen Sahara

21. Proper utilization of water

22. Crops in the DBI fields

23. Representatives from SDTT & other organization in
the DBI villages

24. Impact on women
The women have got the relieves from going distant sources
for bathing and fetching water as the water is now available
at their door steps.

25. The women have also started to use their spare time
in agricultural activities in their kitchen garden and
they have been able to help to increase the income of
their family .

26. The women empowerment in terms of health and
family welfare, decision in income spending has begun
to improve step by step.

27. Major challenges
• It is possible to implement pipe based DBI project only in the places where
there is a source.
• Some good sources are there but the distance from the source to the
village is very long. We are not sure about its feasibility.
• In many places the number of families in less and it causes more
proportionate investment.
• In the places where we work the number of Job card holders is less so
linking with MGNRAGA has been a challenge for us although we have the
scope of using Job card.
• In some locations the availability of water has decreased drastically
although at the time of survey - one or two years back – we found high
LPS.
• Although the production of various crops has increased post DBI
implementation, the marketing has remained a problem as some locations
are very remote and market accessibility is difficult.
• Resolving conflict (When water decreases) has been a big
challenge. Drastic change in availability of water places us in an odd
situation.
• Water is extensively used for drinking purpose and also for livestock
although water is not safe for drinking.

28. Suggestions
• Suggestion and support may be given from DBI secretariat
on the issue of long distance from the source to village.
Will it be feasible?
• It would work on sustainability of water source if step on
catchment area development - like extensive plantation - is
taken,
• Do we need to examine the storage tank devise created
near the source as we have experienced that discharge of
water has decreased drastically, is it caused by the change
of its course? If, so how we go about it?
• Creation of Mini lifting devices from perennial sources like
rivers, preferably through solar energy, may be explored.
• DBI could be linked to drinking water and sanitation
project in almost all locations.

29. Thank You
Sri Amiya Kr. Das