Neglect of the environment turns into drought and unsustainable livelihoods

Ours, an inland district of the state of Tamil Nadu, India is one of the rainfall deficient,
groundwater over-exploited regions, with relatively high temperatures. In addition, decades of environmental neglect in the form of

• Depleting forest cover: less than 6% of land and going down
• ‘Dying soil’: due to the removal of trees, poor agricultural practices (pesticides, single and cash cropping)
• Poor water management: Neglected maintenance of natural water bodies, exploitation of groundwater

has led to severe drought threatening the livelihoods of most of the population

One of our key initiatives is Project Bandham — partnering with local community to desilt catchment waterways and restore waterbodies to conserve every drop of rain and recharge groundwater in the Chettikulam Micro watershed area of 20,000 acres.

Payir undertook Phase I and Phase II of Project Bandham from 2019 to 2022. Our work during these 4 years include:

Lakes Covered	5 Lakes
Total irrigation area covered	2500 acres covered
Total water area cleared	600 acres
Total Water ways cleared	80 km
Total nurseries raised	25,000+ saplings
Total trees planted	30,000+ trees
Total activities to create awareness	25 street plays and 100+ meetings

Ending drought after 17 years in 4 villages, for 5000+ families, 25000+ people!

2500+ Farmers started agriculture covering 2500+ acres of Farmlands!

Extending our commitment to conserve every drop of rain and recharge groundwater, we are setting onto Phase III of Project Bandham to desilt 20 km of catchment waterways and restore 100 acres of waterbodies and plant 1000 more trees extending the benefit to another 10,000+ people in 2023-2024

Dear patrons of Chinmaya Mission, we request you be a part of

• Protecting Our Environment
• Preserving Livelihoods
• Creating sustainable change