In 1995, the Indian NGO Watershed Organization Trust (WOTR) worked with the villagers of Darewadi to develop and implement a watershed restoration scheme. Five years of regeneration activities followed, including tree and grassland planting and sustainable crop cultivation. Soil and water conservation measures to nurture the regenerating land included the construction of simple water harvesting and irrigation systems such as hillside contour trenches and rainwater-harvesting dams.
The work was carried out by villagers themselves, following training by WOTR field staff in simple conservation-based agricultural practices and management techniques such as land measurement and record-keeping. Wherever possible, the NGO worked with landowning couples, to boost local women
