Greening the landscape
Hindustan Lever's (HLL) soap factory in Khamgaon is in the Buldhana district of Maharashtra. The barren region depends on rainfall for its water requirements. But poor rainfall has led to an acute crisis of water for irrigation. The topography of the region causes high surface water run-off which leads to excessive soil erosion and damages biodiversity. Scarcity of water also leads to shortage of green fodder for cattle.
Now the landscape around the factory is green with vegetation that provides timber, fuel and fodder. The change has come about through the development of a soil and water conservation model, followed by a tree planting drive, which resulted in the factory receiving awards for being the 'greenest precinct' in the region.
Thanks to a water catchment system whereby rainwater is channelled through ditches and low earthen banks ('bunds'), all the rain falling on the Khamgaon facility now accumulates in ponds on site. This helps renew groundwater reserves, which are running at critically low levels in the region. We also use it to irrigate the surrounding area within our premises.
The need for water conservation influences the way we operate our factory. We call it our '5 Rs' strategy - reduce, re-use, recycle, recover and renew. All our effluent waste, for example, is now treated and re-used for irrigation. We have also succeeded in reducing our water use by half when compared to 1998 - 2000. In turn, this saves us the energy costs for drawing, pumping and processing the water we previously consumed. Since 2003 all HLL sites have begun to harvest rainwater to replenish sub-soil water tables.
As well as saving precious water resources and cutting our operating costs, our watershed management plan has visibly transformed the local area. In the six-hectare 'green belt' around the factory, for example, there are nearly 6 500 trees. We have planted 1 000 kilos of vetiver grass to make hedgerows and vegetative barriers. Vetiver provides green fodder for cattle too.
Sharing our experience
To share the learning from this model, we wrote up our experience in a booklet that we have distributed to government departments and non-governmental organisations in water-scarce areas. We hope that others will use and adapt the model to suit their local conditions.
Our Khamgaon factory is also working with BAIF, a respected national NGO, in adjacent villages to help the villagers implement watershed development projects of their own. In the community of Parkhed, for example, we have supported the construction of a complex conservation system, including more than 1 600 trenches. We've also assisted with the planting of more than 30 000 saplings spread across 140 hectares of land and are working with local farmers to encourage them to grow drought-resistant, soil-conserving crops.
Supporting local communities
By building such things as check dams, earthen bunds and continuous contour trenches, villagers in Parkhed are now able to collect water and use it for irrigation after the annual monsoon season.
These techniques also help in raising the groundwater table, so increasing water availability in the post-monsoon period. In 2005, fifteen acres of land went into harvesting a second crop thanks to the check dams. This will increase to over 70 acres as more dams are built.
Individual farmers are also trying innovative horticulture projects on their own initiative. Gooseberries, lemons, mangoes and other seasonal crops are now growing in Parkhed – something previously unheard of in the village.
Meanwhile, self-help groups operating in the village are bringing women to new income-generating opportunities like composting, plant nurseries and similar activities. The local community can also expect to earn additional revenue through the sale of fruit, fuelwood and fodder. Major returns are expected after 25 years when the trees Hindustan Lever has helped plant can be harvested for timber.
To date, 153 families have benefited under the project’s various programmes and more than 200 000 Rupees (€3 600) worth of crops have been produced.
