Water Literacy Foundation [1] is a non-governmental environmental organisation based in Bangalore, Karnataka, whose high goal is to make India a "water efficient nation" by raising awareness about water scarcity and establishing rainwater harvesting in all areas of India.
History
Ayyappa Masagi,[2] who had been working as mechanical engineer at Larsen & Toubro for 23 years, started to experiment with rainwater harvesting and non-irrigational agricultural methods in 1994.[3] After a few years of successful results in his native region, Gadag, Karnataka, India , he quit his job to focus on working in the field of rainwater harvesting.
It was in 2004 when he earned the Ashoka fellowship for his work on water conservation.[4] One year later, with the support of Ashoka: Innovators for the Public, he started Water Literacy Foundation, located in Bangalore, India. To obtain a change in India by 2020, the NGO is working to support farmers by giving them knowledge about non-irrigational agriculture and rainwater harvesting and realising projects that fight water scarcity.[5] The activities of the foundation expand to individual houses and industries, trying to create solutions to the shortage of water linked to the fast-growing population of Bangalore.[6]
In 2008, the foundation became associated with a new project: Rain Water Concepts Pvt Ltd (I) [7] in a cross subsidisation model. The social business implements rainwater harvesting systems for industries. Besides, it is funding the campaigns of the foundation among farmers and schools.[8] Ayyappa Masagi was awarded the Jamnalal Bajaj Award in 2009.[9]
Only four years later, the associated organisation entered the Limca Book of Records for constructing 500 lakes - that is the highest number of artificial lakes created by one company.[10] Furthermore, the NGO claim to have indirectly recharged more than 70,000 borewells and reached around 1.5 million people in 36,000 locations.[11]
Activities
The goal of the foundation is raising awareness about water shortages and implementing rainwater harvesting systems in to farms, houses, and industries. It offers several systems:[12]
- Rooftop rainwater harvesting
- Lake type borewell recharging
- Infiltration wells
- Stream water harvesting
- Seepage recharging
- Sump type borewell recharging
- Non-irrigational agricultural practices
- Tree-based agriculture
To raise awareness, the foundation attends rallies, sponsors lectures, and gives talks at conferences such as TEDx conference,[13] school education programs, or world water day events.
The foundation publishes books that instruct farmers to implement rainwater harvesting systems by themselves.[14] The foundation is helped by international volunteers mainly hosted through a program of FSL India.[15]
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