14-05-2014, 11:33 AM
Neeru, a Rainwater Harvesting Project for Rural India
Introduction
The project titled Neeru is a proposed
Rain Harvesting Project for usage of
rainwater in poultry and farming in
Sivaganga farm, located in Kanakana
Halli(45km from Bangalore), Sivagange
Road, Solur Hobli Bangalore Rural
District.
Included in this project are the study of
current water requirements and the
need for rainwater harvesting to meet
water requirements.
A prototype project is proposed on a
1.75-acre land area which houses a 1000
sq m area of poultry shed; the roof of the
poultry shed is used as a catchment
basin for rainwater harvesting.
Site Description
The Farm site is a triangle (formed after the BMRDA Satellite Town Ring Road
bisection) with an approximate area of 1.75 acre. This farm has 3 rectangular
poultry sheds with dimension of 33mx6.75m, 50mx6.75m and 70mx6.75m for a
total shed area of approximately 1000 sq m.
These sheds are located as shown in the figure below; these sheds could raise 9000
chicken birds. In addition, the farm has a workers quarters, 30,000 liter over head
tank and its present vegetation includes 300 Arecanut trees, 60 coconut trees, 50
silver oak/teak trees and 5 other trees.
Need for Rainwater Harvesting :
Currently all water requirements excluding rain is provided by a bore well located 250
meters across the farm, but the new proposed BMRDA’s Satellite Town Ring Road (STRR)
would obstruct the water pipe line and would prevent water flow into the farm. This will
have both economic and social impact on livelihood and will also effect the environment.
Hence there is an urgent need to save the vegetation on the farm and to continue poultry
farm cultivation. One of the solutions proposed to solve the water problem was to bore a
well at the farm but the success rate of such a bore well is very low. This had induced us to
look to rains to solve the problem. Hence it has become imperative to go for Rainwater
harvesting.
Rain Water Harvesting Strategic
Rainwater Harvesting is essentially collecting rainwater and using it
during the dry period. Rain or precipitation falling on land (ground
vegetation etc.) is either absorbed into the ground or travels as surface
run off to a low lying area.
But if precipitation falls on a structure, predominantly it travels as
surface run off.
Hence the basic strategy for rainwater harvesting for farmland is to not
allow any water that falls, to travel out of the farm as runoff.
For the structures on the farmland the strategy is to set up a rainwater
harvesting system that comprises of catchments, transportation through
pipes/ filtration, and storage in tanks for reuse.
Project Implementation
The project will bring back a way of life that is both respectful of tradition as it
is of significance to eco-friendly living in rural India. Hence the design and
construction shall be insightful to the local tradition of the place.
The architecture will be rural in spirit and will use native materials and
construction methods to create buildings that are appropriate to the climate and
history of the place, and will be built by resident of the village.