In May 2024, farmers in Jeliakhali gave up parts of their farmland.

They dug into their fields to create ponds that could hold rainwater, a decision shaped by years of watching water arrive with the monsoon and fade soon after. The ponds were meant to store rain for irrigation and reduce pressure on drinking water sources once the dry months set in.

This experience reflects a larger reality across the Indian Sundarbans.

Here, water shapes everyday life. It determines which crops survive beyond the rains, how long farming continues through the year, and whether families have enough drinking water during summer. As salinity increases, sea levels shift, and freshwater sources shrink, these decisions grow heavier. Most households depend on fishing and farming, and once the monsoon recedes, crops rely on sweet water (fresh, non-saline water) that often falls short.

Jeliakhali sits in Sandeshkhali Block-II, about 72 kilometres from Kolkata. Four saltwater rivers surround it: Betnai, Dasha, Kalagachi, and Raimangal. Salinity makes these rivers unsuitable for irrigation. Over time, farmers turned to submersible pumps, which steadily lowered groundwater levels. Eventually, even drinking water became difficult to access during summer.

The village covers 576.7 hectares. Of this, 488.7 hectares are agricultural land. Yet around 463.9 hectares remain unirrigated, with only about 24.8 hectares receiving water from other sources. Jeliakhali, home to 5,084 people and 1,254 houses as recorded in 2009, reflects conditions shared by nearly 1,100 villages across the Sundarbans.

This was the setting in which the idea of storing rain began to take shape.

The change did not begin with machines.

Gram Samriddhi Foundation (GSF), a Kolkata-based organisation, holds weekly meetings with farmers to discuss income generation, farming practices, and ways to reduce cultivation costs. Over time, these conversations began to focus on rainwater harvesting.

Farmers spoke about what happened........

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