ARTICLE 2
How We Harvested Rainwater Across 20 Acres at Meri Mati Farm
When we first acquired the land that would become Meri Mati Farm, one of the biggest challenges was also one of the most important opportunities.
Rainwater was reaching the land, but much of it was leaving the land.
The property had slopes, rocky areas, red and black soil, and very little established vegetation. During rainfall, water moved naturally across the land and eventually flowed away toward neighbouring agricultural fields.
We did not want to fight this natural movement of water.
We wanted to understand it.
And then we wanted to create a landscape where more of that rainwater could slow down, spread, soak into the land and remain within the property.
This became the foundation of our water-conservation work at Meri Mati Farm.
Over the following years, we created pits, trenches, swales and water-holding structures across the approximately 20-acre property. What began with more than 100 small and large structures eventually developed into a network of more than 200 water bodies and water-holding structures.
This is the story of how we did it.
## Starting With the Land We Actually Had
There was no single blueprint that could be applied to all 20 acres.
The land was different from one area to another.
Some portions were rocky.
Some were sloping.
Some had red soil.
Other areas had black soil.
Some locations naturally received more rainwater runoff than others.
Because of this, we did not want to create identical pits or water structures at fixed distances throughout the property.
Instead, we observed the land and worked according to its natural character.
This became an important principle for us:
Work with the land rather than against it.
The slopes told us where water was moving.
The rocks told us where excavation would be difficult.
The soil told us something about the character of different areas.
And rainfall showed us whether our interventions were actually helping.
## Why We Needed More Than One Type of Water Structure
One of the things we learned early was that there was no single solution for water conservation across the entire farm.
A small depression in one part of the property could be useful as a water-holding pit.
A steeper section could require a different intervention.
A natural runoff path could be connected to a swale.
A larger concentration of water could eventually be directed toward a larger pond.
So instead of creating one large structure and expecting it to solve everything, we developed a network of different water-holding structures.
These included:
– Small pits
– Larger pits
– Trenches
– Swales
– Small water bodies
– Larger water bodies
– A main pond
– Connecting channels and pathways for water movement
Each had a role within the larger system.
The goal was not simply to store water at one location.
The goal was to slow the movement of water across the landscape.
## From More Than 100 Structures to More Than 200
During the initial stages of the work, we created more than 100 small and large pits and water-holding structures.
As we continued working on the property and understood the land better, the system expanded.
Eventually, there were more than 200 small and large water bodies and water-holding structures across Meri Mati.
This expansion happened gradually.
We were not trying to reach a particular number.
The number was simply the result of responding to the landscape over time.
As we worked on different sections of the property, we identified additional places where water could be slowed, held or connected to another part of the system.
Some structures were very small.
Others were much larger.
Together, they became part of a connected water-conservation landscape.
## Some Pits Were Dug Manually
Not all the work required machinery.
Many of the smaller pits and structures were dug manually.
Manual work allowed us to work on smaller areas and respond to the specific conditions of the land.
It was slower, but it also gave us a very direct understanding of the ground.
You could see the soil.
You could encounter stones and rocks.
You could understand how hard or soft the ground was.
You could see the slope from the ground itself.
For us, this was not simply labour.
It was also part of learning the property.
Every section of land had something different to tell us.
## Larger Excavations Required a JCB
Some water bodies and excavations were simply too large to create manually.
For those, we used a JCB.
The larger excavations allowed us to create water-holding areas that could receive significantly more runoff than the smaller pits.
But even with machinery, the objective remained the same.
We were not randomly excavating the land.
The location, size and shape of larger structures were influenced by the terrain and the movement of water.
The JCB made the physical work faster and possible at a much larger scale, but the basic decision still came from understanding the land.
## Working With Natural Slopes
The slopes of Meri Mati played an important role in deciding where water-conservation structures were created.
Rainwater naturally follows gravity.
If land is sloping, water tends to move downhill.
When the land is barren and vegetation is limited, that movement can become rapid, carrying soil along with the water.
Instead of trying to stop water completely, our approach was to slow it down at different points.
A pit could hold some water.
A trench could interrupt or slow runoff.
A swale could collect and guide water along the landscape.
A larger water body could hold water for a longer period.
By combining these different interventions, we could work with the natural slope rather than trying to completely change it.
## The Swales: Slowing Water Along the Landscape
One of the most important elements of our water-conservation work was the use of swales.
A swale is a landscape feature designed to intercept and slow surface water while following the contour or natural shape of the land.
At Meri Mati, swales became part of the wider network of water-holding structures.
One particularly important swale was created along the side of Burra Pahadi, the hill above our property.
That continuous swale became an important part of how runoff from the hill was handled.
But because the Burra Pahadi system is such an important story on its own, we will explore it in much greater detail in Part 3 of this series.
For now, the important point is that the swales were not isolated structures.
They were part of a larger system.
## Connecting the Water-Holding Structures
One of the biggest differences between simply digging ponds and creating a landscape-based water-conservation system is connection.
At Meri Mati, we created smaller channels and swales connecting different sections of the property.
There were water-holding areas in different corners and in the middle portions of the land.
Some were smaller.
Some were larger.
The intention was to create opportunities for water to slow down and remain within the landscape rather than quickly escaping the property.
The system therefore developed almost like a network.
Rainwater could encounter one intervention and then another.
A small structure could slow water before it reached a larger one.
A swale could intercept runoff and guide it toward another water-holding area.
Eventually, larger amounts of water could make their way toward the main pond.
The landscape began to behave less like a piece of barren ground and more like a connected water system.
## The Main Pond at the Far End of the Property
At the far end of Meri Mati, we constructed a large pond that became an important part of the overall system.
The pond was not intended to work independently.
It was connected conceptually and physically with the wider water-conservation work across the property.
The swales, smaller water bodies and other water-holding structures helped manage rainfall across different portions of the land.
The main pond provided a larger place where water could ultimately be retained.
This became particularly important because the property had previously had no established water source.
The pond therefore became one of the most visible symbols of the transformation we were trying to create.
But the pond was only one part of the story.
The real water-conservation system was the entire network.
## Expanding the Main Pond
After approximately two years of working with the land and observing rainfall and runoff, we returned to the main pond.
By then, we had gained a much better understanding of how water moved across the property.
We decided to expand the pond.
The main pond was enlarged to approximately twice its original capacity.
This was not simply about making a bigger pond.
By this stage, the surrounding landscape had changed as well.
The pond was part of a larger system of swales, pits, trenches and water-holding areas.
Our experience during rainfall had also helped us understand where water was coming from and how it was moving toward the pond.
The expansion was therefore part of the evolution of the entire water-conservation system.
## Planting Around the Water Bodies
Water conservation was never intended to remain only an earthwork project.
As we developed the water bodies and swales, we also planted trees and encouraged vegetation around many of these areas.
This was important because our ultimate goal was not simply to create places where water could collect.
We wanted to create a landscape where water and vegetation could support each other.
As vegetation developed, the appearance of the land began changing.
Bare sections became greener.
Grass appeared.
Plants became established.
Trees grew.
The water bodies increasingly became part of a living landscape rather than looking like isolated excavations.
This was when we began seeing that the water-conservation work was creating effects beyond water itself.
## The First Monsoons Taught Us More Than Any Plan Could
The real test of the work came with rainfall.
Rainfall showed us what happened after we had altered the landscape.
Some water bodies filled quickly.
Runoff followed the paths created by the terrain and our interventions.
We could observe where water collected and where it moved.
In the early years, when the land was still largely barren, we observed that water could remain in some water bodies for around a month after the rains.
But as vegetation developed, the landscape began responding differently.
Grass, plants and trees increasingly covered the land.
The soil became more protected.
Water encountered more vegetation as it moved across the property.
By 2025, we observed that water could remain in some of the water bodies for approximately three to four months after the rainy period.
These are our observations of what happened at Meri Mati over time, rather than scientific measurements intended to represent every location on the property.
But for us, they were powerful observations.
They showed us that the landscape was changing.
## What We Learned From Creating 200+ Water-Holding Structures
Looking back, one of the biggest lessons was that water conservation is not necessarily about one spectacular structure.
The main pond is important.
The continuous swale is important.
The larger water bodies are important.
But so are the small pits and trenches that might look insignificant on their own.
When many small and large interventions work together, their combined effect can become much more meaningful.
A landscape can be changed gradually.
One pit.
One swale.
One trench.
One pond.
One tree.
Then another.
And another.
Eventually, these individual interventions become a system.
That is what happened at Meri Mati.
## Working With the Land, Not Against It
If we had to summarize our approach in one sentence, it would be:
Work with the land rather than against it.
We did not try to make every part of the 20 acres look identical.
We accepted that some areas were rocky.
Some were sloping.
Some had red soil.
Some had black soil.
Some received more runoff than others.
Instead of seeing these differences only as difficulties, we began treating them as information.
The terrain told us where to work.
Rainfall showed us how the system behaved.
The soil showed us how the landscape was changing.
Vegetation showed us where life was returning.
The work became a continuous process of observing, acting and learning.
## More Than Rainwater Harvesting
Today, it would be easy to look at the more than 200 water bodies and simply describe the project as rainwater harvesting.
But for us, it became something larger.
The purpose was never simply to collect water.
We wanted to create the conditions in which the land could become greener and more alive.
Water supports vegetation.
Vegetation protects the soil.
Trees and plants contribute to habitat.
A healthier landscape can support more life.
And gradually, the relationship between all these elements begins to change.
This is why our water-conservation work was the beginning of a much larger vision for Meri Mati Farm.
## The Water-Conservation Journey Continues
The work we carried out between 2021 and 2023 changed the physical landscape of Meri Mati significantly.
We started with a property where rainwater largely moved away from the land.
We created more than 200 small and large water-holding structures.
We dug some structures manually and used a JCB for larger excavations.
We created pits, trenches and swales.
We developed a connected system across different parts of the property.
We created a large pond at the far end.
Later, we expanded the main pond to approximately twice its original capacity.
And then we watched.
We watched the rains.
We watched the water.
We watched the soil.
We watched the grass, plants and trees begin to establish themselves.
The most important lesson was not simply how to dig a pit or construct a swale.
It was learning to read the land first.
Because once you understand where the water wants to go, you can begin helping it stay.
And sometimes, that is where restoration begins.
SEO INFORMATION
SEO Title:
How We Harvested Rainwater Across 20 Acres | Meri Mati Farm
H1:
How We Harvested Rainwater Across 20 Acres at Meri Mati Farm
Meta Description:
Discover how Meri Mati Farm created 200+ water-holding structures across 20 acres using pits, trenches, swales and ponds to conserve rainwater.
Primary Keyword:
rainwater harvesting
Secondary Keywords:
water conservation
rainwater conservation
water harvesting
farm water conservation
land restoration
soil erosion control
swale
rainwater harvesting on farmland
sustainable water management
Meri Mati Farm
water conservation in agriculture
Suggested Tags:
Rainwater Harvesting
Water Conservation
Water Management
Land Restoration
Soil Conservation
Swales
Sustainable Farming
Meri Mati Farm
Suggested Category:
Water Conservation
Suggested URL Slug:
rainwater-harvesting-20-acres-meri-mati-farm
IMAGE SEO
1. Early water-conservation work
Filename:
meri-mati-farm-water-conservation-2021.jpg
Alt text:
Water conservation work at Meri Mati Farm in 2021
2. Manual pit excavation
Filename:
meri-mati-farm-manual-pit-excavation.jpg
Alt text:
Manual excavation of water-holding pits at Meri Mati Farm
3. JCB excavation
Filename:
meri-mati-farm-jcb-water-conservation.jpg
Alt text:
JCB excavation for water conservation at Meri Mati Farm
4. Multiple water bodies
Filename:
meri-mati-farm-200-water-bodies.jpg
Alt text:
Water-holding structures across Meri Mati Farm
5. Swale
Filename:
meri-mati-farm-swale-water-conservation.jpg
Alt text:
Swale used for rainwater conservation at Meri Mati Farm
6. Main pond
Filename:
meri-mati-farm-main-pond-water-conservation.jpg
Alt text:
Main rainwater pond at Meri Mati Farm
7. Pond after expansion
Filename:
meri-mati-farm-expanded-main-pond.jpg
Alt text:
Expanded main pond at Meri Mati Farm
8. Water after rainfall
Filename:
meri-mati-farm-water-bodies-after-rain.jpg
Alt text:
Water bodies holding rainwater at Meri Mati Farm
INTERNAL LINKING
Link this article back to Article #1:
From Barren Land to a Living Landscape: The Beginning of Meri Mati Farm
Suggested natural anchor text:
“the beginning of Meri Mati Farm”
or
“our 20-acre land restoration journey”
When Article #3 is published, link this article to Article #3 with wording such as:
“The continuous swale along Burra Pahadi became one of the most important parts of this wider water-conservation system.”
Article sequence:
Article 1 → Article 2 → Article 3 → Article 4 → Article 5 → Article 6
