The majority of rural residents with whom Seva Mandir works rely on subsistence agriculture in a region where the challenges of weather extremes, soil degradation, and uncontested encroachment on common lands are intensifying and exerting a negative pressure on livelihoods.
Over the last 35 years, Seva Mandir has helped protect and manage roughly 8,000 acres of common lands, develop sustainable watersheds
for 6,000 families and enable another 10,000 farmers to improve their agricultural yields. The effort has been to balance economic gains with environmental concerns.
I visited this village on World Environment Day to capture the people raising awareness of environmental issues through a march staged in the village.