ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on some insights on the capacity-building elements of the Managed Aquifer Recharge through Village level Intervention (MARVI) project conducted in five villages in Rajasthan and eleven villages in Gujarat. It describes a set of activities and exercises undertaken by the team on increasing knowledge, skills and ability of the various stakeholders. The chapter examines how information and engagement activities can be used by village communities to discover, develop and assess their own viable options for groundwater management, including managed aquifer recharge (MAR) and measures to reduce water demand whilst sustaining livelihoods. Bhujal Jankaars (BJs) have now become an integral part of the MARVI engagement process and data collection activities in the project in both study areas. The Bhujal Jankaars played an important and unexpected role in cohering the diverse attitudes and disciplinary methods and objectives of the bio-physical and behavioural science practitioners, thereby improving integrative research capacity.
