Beyond migration: How water helped Banswara women reclaim their future

By Vikas Meshram 

In the Ghatol block of Rajasthan's Banswara district lies the village of Lamba Ghata. The journey this village has undertaken over the past few years stands as a remarkable example of transformation. Today, the women here grow vegetables in their fields, raise livestock, sell their produce in local markets, and create sustainable livelihood opportunities for their families. But this picture was not always so bright.

Turn the clock back five years, and the soil of Lamba Ghata depended almost entirely on the monsoon. Irrigation facilities were scarce, and even the limited water available from local streams reached only a handful of farmers during the rabi season. For most households, farming was never a dependable source of livelihood. When the rains arrived, the fields turned green; when they ended, the land became barren.

This uncertainty forced many families to migrate. Industrial cities such as Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh and Ahmedabad and Surat in Gujarat became temporary homes for the village's labourers. Every year, the same cycle repeated itself: return to the village with the monsoon, cultivate the fields, and then leave again in search of work once the harvest was over.

Maju Devi remembers those days with sadness. "When my husband left for work, months would pass without any news. The fields remained dry and barren, and I would wait — sometimes for rain, sometimes for him to return."

Life within the village was equally challenging. When VAAGDHARA began community meetings in Lamba Ghata in 2021, women's participation barely reached 30 to 40 per cent. Even those who attended rarely spoke. Kala Devi recalls that period clearly: "Even going to a meeting felt like a big step. Speaking there was something we could not even imagine. We thought, what do we know? Who would listen to us?"

It was during this period that Vaagdhara introduced concepts such as "Sachcha Swaraj" (True Self-Governance), "Sachchi Kheti" (True Farming), and "Sachcha Bachpan" (True Childhood), while facilitating the formation of groups such as Saksham Samuh, Gram Swaraj, and Bal Swaraj. The organisation faced a dual challenge: encouraging women to step beyond their household boundaries and helping them develop the confidence to speak, ask questions, and participate in decision-making.

Community facilitator Indira Devi played a crucial role in this process. She went door to door, speaking with women, elders, and men, while sharing examples from neighbouring villages where improved irrigation and vegetable cultivation had reduced the need for migration. In meeting after meeting, she would remind villagers: "Until water reaches our fields, our children will continue to wander in search of work. Even one well can change the fate of ten families."

These words gradually resonated with the women of the village. Built upon this sustained dialogue and collective effort, the first major breakthrough came when a group of women initiated the construction of a community well near their fields. The proposal was approved under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), with approximately ₹2.5 lakh sanctioned for the project.

When water arrived, it opened up new possibilities for cultivation during the zaid (summer) season. One of the first women to seize this opportunity was Sapna Devi, a member of the Saksham Samuh. She began cultivating bottle gourd, round gourd, cucumber, cluster beans, sesame, moong, brinjal, and okra.

Even today, the memory of her first harvest brings a smile to her face. "We used to think this land could survive only on rainfall. But when water came, we realised that the real strength had always been in our own hands. The first time I sold bottle gourd in the market, the money I earned belonged to me — it was the result of my own labour."

As news of Sapna Devi's success spread across the village, other women followed her example. Kala Devi, Pooja Devi, Rama Devi, Suka Devi, Maju Devi, Radha Devi, Jeev Devi, Toli, Meera, Kesar Devi, Jija, and Katuri gradually began cultivating vegetables such as okra, cluster beans, cucumber, bottle gourd, ridge gourd, sponge gourd, chilli, brinjal, and sesame.

The conversations among women began to change. At water collection points, during school runs, and at evening gatherings, discussions increasingly revolved around crops, yields, and market prices.

Pooja Devi describes this transformation simply: "Earlier, when we met, we talked about who had enough rations at home and whose husband had sent money from the city. Now we talk about whose okra yielded more and who got a better price in the market. This is not a small change — it is a change in the way we think."

As the fields became greener, women's voices in community meetings became stronger. Kala Devi reflects on this shift: "Now I am not afraid to speak in meetings. Earlier we wondered what we could possibly say. Now we know that speaking is necessary; otherwise, who will raise our concerns?"

Behind these simple words lies a profound social transformation. Inspired by these successes, other families also began constructing wells and borewells through collective effort and mutual support. Farming gradually evolved from a seasonal activity dependent on rainfall into a year-round source of livelihood.

Community solidarity reached another milestone in 2023 when villagers formally raised the issue of water scarcity during a Gram Swaraj group meeting. A proposal for well construction was prepared at the panchayat level. Group members gathered evidence, documented local needs, presented data during meetings, and maintained regular dialogue with government officials.

Their efforts bore fruit in August 2024, when the well was completed, providing drinking water access to more than ten surrounding families.

Today, nearly every woman associated with the Saksham Samuh grows seasonal vegetables either in her fields or near her home, earning an average additional income of ₹600 to ₹700 per day. Many families have also integrated livestock rearing into their livelihood strategies. Improved nutrition, timely access to educational materials for children, and reduced dependence on borrowing have become visible outcomes of this change.

Yet the most significant transformation extends beyond economics. It lies in the changing identity and confidence of the women themselves.

Suka Devi expresses this shift clearly: "Earlier, whenever something had to be purchased for the household, I had to ask my husband for money. Now I go to the market myself, earn my own income, and decide what the household needs."

Women now maintain records of their earnings, manage the sale of vegetables in local markets, and participate more actively in household decision-making. Economic independence has naturally translated into greater agency and confidence.

Perhaps the most human dimension of this transformation is the significant decline in migration. Children whose education was once repeatedly interrupted can now attend the same school consistently.

Radha Devi says, "Now my daughter goes to school every day, and her books arrive on time. Earlier, I thought she would spend her life working on the farm just like me. Now I believe she can become something else, and that hope itself is my greatest earning."

Indira Devi, whose persistent efforts helped catalyse this change, describes the journey with humility: "We did not do anything extraordinary. We simply helped every woman believe that she could change her own life. Once that belief took root, everything else followed."

The essence of this remarkable journey is perhaps best captured in Sapna Devi's words:

"We are the same people, and this is the same land. But now there is water. And when there is water, there is hope. And when there is hope, there is everything."

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Pix: Mukesh Maida, Block Facilitator, Vaagdhara