In the driest region of India, Dr. Rajendra Singh has helped bring water back to 250,000 wells, revive 13 rivers, increase the number of harvests possible in a year, and decreased the temperature in the region by 2 degrees.
Trained as an ayurvedic doctor, Rajendra found himself in Rajasthan, India at the aid of sick, elderly patients. In this region, people had to walk many miles a day to retrieve their water. Women and girls weren’t able to go to school, as it took many hands and many hours to carry the water needed for their family’s daily life. Sickness and hunger were commonplace. The young people had all migrated to the cities, in search of a better life.
One of these elderly patients showed Rajendra a more powerful way to help the community - by bringing their water back, storing the seasonal monsoons in the earth. Over 35 years Rajendra, through his organization Tarun Bharat Sangh, has brought water back to thousands of villages throughout Rajasthan. This was done through the process of Community Driven, Decentralized Water Management. Through simple techniques of creating earthen water bodies called Johads, rivers in the driest part of India were revived.
If there has ever been a time for this approach to spread, it is now - and if there has ever been a place that needs it, it’s California.
We had an overwhelming response to our initial events, selling out in just 3 days. So many have asked if they could join. So we've created this additional evening event on March 30th for you to be able to learn from and meet Rajendra.
This event is the same format and content as the March 31st event, at a venue with a bigger capacity so that more people are able to join. This is very last minute, so please help us fill the event and bring your friends! Donations collected beforehand and at the event help support Rajendra's water work directly.
Thursday, March 30th at 6:30 pm come join us in San Rafael California at the Angelico Concert Hall for an Evening with Dr. Rajendra Singh the Waterman of India. Learn how to revitalize and heal landscapes through community-driven decentralized water retention. This evening will include a screening of the award winning film “Reviving Rivers” followed by a presentation from Rajendra. Then a brief panel discussion with Dr. Rajendra Singh (Tarun Bharat Sangh), Zachary Weiss (Elemental Ecosystems), and Ethan Hirsch-Tauber (The Water Folk), and questions from the audience.
Tickets are $30 online beforehand,
or $50 at the door (cash only)
• Doors open at 6:30 pm, film starts at 7:00 pm
• $20 per person, 70 person limit, advanced registration required
• Donations collected at end to support Rajendra's work
• Full Day, 8am to 4pm
• $150 per person, 40 person limit
• Organic Vegetarian Lunch Included
• Full Day, 8am to 5pm
• $75 per person, 30 person limit
• Lunch NOT Included
Come join us at the beautiful Occidental Arts & Ecology Center (OAEC) Friday, March 31st at 6:30 pm to discuss how to revitalize and heal landscapes through community-driven decentralized water retention. This evening will include a screening of the award winning film “Reviving Rivers” followed by a presentation with Rajendra. Then a brief panel discussion with Dr. Rajendra Singh (Tarun Bharat Sangh), Brock Dolman (The Water Institute), Zachary Weiss (Elemental Ecosystems), and Ethan Hirsch-Tauber (The Water Folk), and questions from the audience.
On Saturday, April 1st, spend a day learning how the land can be reshaped to facilitate healing and abundance with Dr. Rajendra Singh. Discover practical solutions and techniques that have been successfully implemented around the world to help promote positive ecological and social change. Learn about real-world success stories for bringing water and life back to landscapes. Discover how these practices could be applied to heal California, as well as the rest of the United States. Saturday’s workshop will also take place at the wonderful Occidental Arts & Ecology Center and includes an organic vegetarian lunch.
On Sunday, April 2nd, spend the day deepening the learnings from Saturday’s workshop and turning it into practice during this one day workshop with Zachary Weiss of Water Stories. This will include reading land, interpreting observations from a 40 acre landscape and looking at the specifics for what interventions could be done there. This will also include a model building exercise to get your hands dirty and learn some of the specifics at a smaller and quicker scale. If the opportunity presents itself and the landowner agrees, we may engage in some kind of water retention intervention on the landscape as well. Sunday’s workshop will be held at a different site in Healdsburg, a 40 minute drive from Occidental. Lunch is NOT included for Sunday’s workshop, please bring your own bag lunch.
We will be collecting donations to help support Rajendra's work at the end of the evening on March 31st. If you feel moved to help support his work, even a small contribution helps. Donated funds are used for water conservation efforts, as Rajendra works to spread this message around the world. His recently formed People's World Commission on Drought and Flood aims to make community driven decentralized water retention a global movement. Let's help him make that dream a reality.
Please reach out via email with any questions about the event.
You can reach us at Workshop at WaterStories.com