Glen’s take · Why we chose this story
A true story, researched by hand and told with AI.
Primary source stockholmwaterfoundation.org
Open the original on stockholmwaterfoundation.orgIn short the story, from stockholmwaterfoundation.org
Rajendra Singh is the 2015 Stockholm Water Prize laureate, recognised for restoring water in rural Rajasthan by working with villagers to rebuild johads, traditional earthen dams that capture monsoon rain. According to the Stockholm Water Foundation, he went to Rajasthan in the mid-1980s to set up health clinics, and villagers told him their greatest need was water. Source · stockholmwaterfoundation.org
The Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation records that in 1985 he and four companions from Tarun Bharat Sangh travelled to Alwar district, where he began organising villagers to repair and deepen old johads. Tarun Bharat Sangh says its first johad was built in Gopalpura village in 1986 with the local community. In his own 2001 account, the Arvari River was found flowing at the peak of summer in 1996, recharged underground by structures in its catchment, and a river parliament (Arvari Sansad) formed to settle sharing. Source · stockholmwaterfoundation.org
The Stockholm Water Foundation reports that two decades after his arrival, 8,600 johads and other water structures had been built, water had returned to 1,000 villages, and several rivers of Rajasthan flowed again. Source · stockholmwaterfoundation.org
The read Glen’s take, in his words
In 1985, Rajendra Singh left his job in Jaipur. With four companions from Tarun Bharat Sangh, the organization he led, he rode a bus to a village at the end of the line in Alwar district, Rajasthan. He had studied Ayurvedic medicine, and he came to set up health clinics. Source · stockholmwaterfoundation.org
The villagers told him their greatest need wasn't health care. It was water. Wells had dried up. Crops had wilted. Rivers and forests were disappearing, and many people had left for the cities.
I'm Glen Kerby. What I love about this story is what he did next. He didn't insist on the clinics. On the advice of a local sage, he began helping villagers repair and deepen their old johads, small earthen dams that catch the monsoon rain.
It wasn't his invention. It was their ancestors' way, long fallen out of use. When the repaired ponds filled after the rains, they did more than store water. They put moisture back into the soil and recharged the wells and streams. And villagers could build them with their own skills.
Then, in 1996, a surprise. The Arvari River was flowing at the peak of summer. Years of johads in its catchment had been recharging the river underground. With water came the question of sharing it, and a river parliament was formed to represent the villages. Source · stockholmwaterfoundation.org
The Stockholm Water Prize announcement says that two decades after he arrived, 8,600 johads and other structures had been built, water had come back to a thousand villages, and several rivers were flowing again. In 2015, he was named the Stockholm Water Prize Laureate. Years earlier, accepting another award, he said it really belonged to the communities of Rajasthan. Source · stockholmwaterfoundation.org
He listened first. The villagers did the building. And a river ran again in summer. That's living water in the most literal sense.
This is why we're making space for Rajendra Singh in the I Drink Living Water Research Library.
Questions answered from this page
What is this story about?
Rajendra Singh is the 2015 Stockholm Water Prize laureate, recognised for restoring water in rural Rajasthan by working with villagers to rebuild johads, traditional earthen dams that capture monsoon rain. According to the Stockholm Water Foundation, he went to Rajasthan in the mid-1980s to set up health clinics, and villagers told him their greatest need was water.
Why did Glen Kerby choose this story?
I chose Rajendra Singh because he listened first. He came to open clinics, the villagers asked for water, and he helped them rebuild what their ancestors already knew how to build. A river running again in summer is living water in the most literal sense.
Where can I read the original?
It was published by stockholmwaterfoundation.org as “2015: Rajendra Singh - SWF”, at https://stockholmwaterfoundation.org/stockholm-water-prize/laureates/2015-rajendra-singh.
Go to the source their work, in full
“2015: Rajendra Singh - SWF”
Published by stockholmwaterfoundation.org. Read it where it was reported.
