Four years ago, Ram Krishnan, along with 17 of his friends from US, went on a five-day trip to the Tamil Nadu countryside. After travelling through many dry villages, they realised that Ramanathapuram and Thoothukudi were the driest places in Tamil Nadu.
Ram Krishnan chose to start his work in Vilathikulam. "Everybody warned me that nothing grows in Vilathikulam. I was wasting my time there as it rains only nine days a year," he says.
Today, Vilathikulam has donned a new look. The villagers have collected 7 million litres of water in three ponds, which can be used for agricultural purposes, drinking as well as shared with three villages nearby.
Ram Krishnan plans to clean the water, collect in it 20 litre cans and ferry it to other villages in a bullock cart! Vilathikulam has sufficient water supply till the next monsoon.
Image: The nursery at Vilathikulam.
Also see: Inside tiger territory, a forgotten village
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