Mr. Sanjeev Patil approached Biome for help to recharge the borewell on the larger plot. It is 360 ft deep and had water at around 200 ft when Mr. Patil removed the submersible pump that the previous owner had left in it.
Aside from the mango trees, both the plots have been planted with other edible fruit trees and biomass rich trees. Mr. Patil also grows vegetables, paddy, sugarcane, pulses, and millets during the monsoon. Earthworks have been carried out on the land (the swales can be seen in the figure). The entire farm was rainfed – no irrigation was carried out.
Based on Biome’s recommendations, Mr. Patil got 3 recharge wells dug on the farm in December 2018. They were 4 ft in diameter and 20 ft in depth and could recharge up to 30 KL per rain. Two recharge wells were dug near the borewell, and the third in one of the swales. Mr. Patil also installed a handpump on the borewell, as he did not wish to use an electrical pump that would pump out a lot of water. The borewell water was to be used only for domestic purposes, not for irrigation.