Paani Foundation's Water Cup Transforms Community Watershed Restoration in Maharashtra Across Thousands of Villages

The Paani Foundation's Water Cup competition (2016–2019) trained over 51,000 villagers in watershed management and prompted them to build water conservation structures across drought-stricken villages in Maharashtra; Savagontal village, which faced water shortages five years prior, now has approximately 500 farm ponds, continuous contour trenches that recharge groundwater within 8–10 days, and 90% adoption of drip irrigation systems, transforming the landscape from water crisis to agricultural abundance with rising milk production and crop diversity.