Kishan Rao Advirao

Kishan Rao Advirao is a social science teacher at the High School section of the Government Pre-University College, Hanumasagara, Koppala district. He is passionate about water conservation in the region and constantly looks for innovative ways to bring awareness among students and the community.

Water is a community asset. Documenting indigenous methods of water conservation that have been followed by communities for generation is an urgent need today. Also, the cultural value of water and what it means to communities is disappearing steadily in the politics of water management. The broad theme of Kishan Rao’s project is ecology, focusing on sustainability, conservation and regeneration with rainwater as central to community life. Gullava is worshipped as the goddess of rainwater across these regions of Hyderabad Karnataka. Water conservation practices associated with her are performed by the farming community as a sacred duty, and it is integral to good local self-governance and social responsibility for them.

It is in this context that the project intends to engage eight grade students to explore and document the traditional systems of water management. Each of the activities in the project investigates the different stories and practices of various communities locally, as well as in similar contexts in other countries, its methodology and impact on community lives and the ecology of the region. The project also aims to gain a broader understanding of the timeless and intrinsic relationship between people and water in every culture. Collectively this reveals the tremendous richness that exists in the indigenous knowledge systems within the community.

The common thread that links the various activities in the project is the involvement of the community in understanding the older techniques and evolving new ones for water conservation based on the local geographical conditions and which could meet the local needs in an equitable manner. Aided by a series of workshops conducted by local resource persons, the project will culminate in a series of performances and a publication. The deliverables from this project would include a publication, and photographs and video documentation.

This grant is made possible with support from Citi India.