A Small Check Dam, A Lasting Difference in Thottalingi

RDO’s work in the Nilgiris featured in Deccan Chronicle

We are delighted to see RDO’s work at Thottalingi village in the Nilgiris featured recently in Deccan Chronicle, highlighting how a relatively simple water conservation intervention can have a much wider impact on farming, livelihoods and the life of a community.

At Thottalingi, near Bokkapuram, RDO constructed a check dam with the financial support of the Supraja Foundation. The initiative was created in response to one of the most fundamental challenges faced by farming communities in this part of the Nilgiris: holding on to water.

In a hilly landscape, rainfall alone does not guarantee water security. Much of the rain can disappear quickly as surface run-off, leaving farmers with limited water once the rains have passed. Small, carefully located structures such as check dams slow this flow, retain water within the landscape and support the gradual recharge of surrounding soil and groundwater.

For the families of Thottalingi, the difference is practical and immediate. Better availability of water helps sustain cultivation, supports livestock and makes farming more viable through the year. For tribal households whose livelihoods remain closely connected to the land, these changes can have an impact far beyond a single agricultural season.

Water, farming and resilience

The Thottalingi check dam forms part of a much broader effort by RDO and the Supraja Foundation to strengthen climate-resilient livelihoods in the Nilgiris.

Through our Innovative Resilient Agriculture programme, RDO is working with thousands of farmers across the district to encourage natural and low-input farming, improve soil health, strengthen farmer groups and create better links to markets and institutions.

The work includes demonstration farms, farmer training, preparation of on-farm bio-inputs, livestock management and support for Farmer Producer Organisations. More than 5,800 acres have already been brought under natural farming practices through the programme, with farmers seeing the potential to reduce cultivation costs while building healthier soils and more resilient farms.

But resilience begins with the basics. And very often, that means water.

The check dam at Thottalingi is a good example of RDO’s approach: identify a local problem, work with the community, create a practical solution and ensure that the benefit continues long after the physical work is complete.

Recognition that helps tell a larger story

We are grateful to Deccan Chronicle for bringing attention to the work being done at Thottalingi.

For RDO, the significance of the story is not simply that a check dam has been built. It is what that structure makes possible — cultivation that can continue, land that can remain productive, stronger rural livelihoods and families better equipped to adapt to an increasingly uncertain climate.

It is also a reminder that meaningful rural development does not always require large infrastructure. Sometimes a carefully considered intervention in the right place can change how an entire community uses and lives with its natural resources.

Read the full Deccan Chronicle article:“NGO’s Check Dam Sustains Farming, Tribal Life in Nilgiris Village”

RDO thanks the Supraja Foundation for its continued partnership and support for climate-resilient farming and rural livelihoods in the Nilgiris.