Johads are one of the oldest and most effective traditional rainwater harvesting structures in India. They are primarily found in the Rajasthan region and have been used for centuries to collect, conserve, and store rainwater for human and animal use in this arid/semi-arid landscape.
Rajendra Singh won the Stockholm Water Prize (2015) — often called the 'Nobel Prize for Water' — for his work in reviving traditional johads in Rajasthan. He is popularly known as the 'Waterman of India'.
A Johad is a small, earthen check dam or embankment built across a seasonal stream or on a slope to trap rainwater. The collected water:
Johads are typically community-built and community-maintained structures, representing a rich tradition of collective water management in rural India.
In the 1980s–90s, the NGO Tarun Bharat Sangh, led by Rajendra Singh (later awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award and called the 'Waterman of India'), began a mass movement to restore thousands of abandoned johads in Rajasthan's Alwar district. This campaign successfully revived several rivers that had dried up (including the Arvari, Ruparel, and Sarsa rivers) and dramatically improved water access for hundreds of villages.
Johads are small, decentralized, earthen structures built and maintained by local communities using minimal technology and resources. Modern dams are large, centralized concrete structures requiring massive engineering and capital. Johads are more sustainable for rural, traditional communities.
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