History

The Setting

They started their work in Alwar district of Rajasthan, which is 8,380 sq. km with a population of nearly 2.3 million. The climate is semiarid. With a meager 620 mm average rainfall. Forest comprise of deciduous trees and shrubs harboring abundant bio diversity. Many endangered species of animals are also found here. The well known Sariska national Park is also here.

Two major communities, the Gujjars and the Meena tribals live here. Animal husbandry and Agricultural are their main occupation.

The development process

TBS started with a mission to move the people out f their feeling of helplessness in the face of the ravages of nature and an indifferent administration. At first the communities were suspicious of their motives. They thought that TBS was another NGO, that came, saw and disappeared. But that was not to be. This group came and stayed.

They lived in the villages and shared their joys and sorrows, while providing unobtrusive assistance by facilitating the rural folk in actualizing their own potential. In initial stages, people did try to oust the TBS, even throughout this period there was confrontation with the government agencies. Local administration chief brought outsiders to be resettled on the villagers community land. The 'mining Mafia ' was encouraged and forest preservation laws were flouted. The TBS on the other hand used Gandhi means like undertaking protests, marches and networking with other NGO's in searching for peaceful solutions.

In all these situations, the focus remained firmly on rebuilding johads and on generating and managing their flow. From this activity all other progressive activities flowed, water generation, water management, its conservation and economical use. These activities also highlighted that water-protecting, support systems, like afforestation and hill slope protection were inter linked.

All these efforts were motivated by the desire to maintain an ecological balance between the nature and man. This was an ongoing process. The prime motivation of TBS was to be vigilant and togetherness.

The TBS has also hosted many international and national deliberations to further understand these issues. An international inter-coperation regional seminar," and partnership in Changing Environment" was held in TBS Ashram in Bhikampura in February, 1997. The participants also observed the work of TBS. They saw the forest plantations, the constructed johads, anicuts and several check dams. The process of decision making and the decentralization of work within the communities were witnessed first hand.

At a National meeting of activists, reformists, conservationists and concerned individuals, held on the 11th April 1997, there was an increased emphasis that the ecosystem should not be disturbed.. The participants underlined two harmful events against community interests: destroying forests for industry and mining and encroachment on human dwellings. Laws in this regard remained largely on paper.

Interaction with the communities in the early phases

TBS came and settled down in Bhikampura. They were outsiders , unknown and thus were looked upon with skepticism. The group however , stayed and began talking to the villagers about anything, everything, including their joys and sorrows. Their was a process of constant pursuit, and hardship, barriers to build the inner strength of a people who were poor, illiterate and unskilled in modern ways. It was not easy, and most times it was painful, frustrating and often despairing. They had no money, no political backing, and still they persisted, day and night.

The birth of TBS took place in 1975, when the teachers at Jaipur, got together a group of like-minded colleagues, who wanted to operationalise the Gandhian philosophy. Among them was a young activist Rajendra Singh, who was stirred by the movement launched by Vinoba Bhave. TBS first became active in rehabilitating a group of poor laborers whose shanties were gutted in a fire. From there, their work started to spread to other people. Then in one of the meetings, they decided to take a plunge and moved en masse, as a group of nine - all professional in health, agriculture, women and child - to kishori village in the tehsil of Thanagazi, and thus began their long tryst.

A villager, Sumer singh, who found their intentions sincere, gave them a small house in Bhikampura village. From a little two room building, the TBS has grown into a huge complex with a campus that supports residential staff, a hostel for trainees, a clinic for ayurvedic medicine, a common mess and administrative offices.

Many workers live in the villages in which their specific activity is going on, and stay on till it is necessary, and then move on the next village where they are needed.
TBS members leave the process to the traditional and collective wisdom of the villagers. They teach by initiating the work themselves and by experience, the villagers develop the necessary skills. These skills were not new to the villagers, but they existed for years, communicated through the age old wisdom of intergenerational ways.,which the communities had coped with their environment . Now they were reawakened to take a hold on the system for their common good.

The Focal Point of Water Management and Community crampon

The land in Thanagazi was arid and unproductive, when the small band came in 1985. The Aravallis rising all along the plains, looked deserted. Everywhere the ashes from mining operations were visible. The greenery had all but vanished with rock and sand pouring down the rains, leaving huge grooves on the hill sides.
The TBS first focussed on Gopalpura. Like most of Rajasthan, this village was also in the grip of a severe drought. Water levels in wells had all disappeared. In such a scenario, TBS approached the Block development officer for assistance, as irrigation was under the latter's jurisdiction. The officers pleaded their helplessness in using the Govt. funds, instead they assured the villagers technical help, if the villagers themselves did the work. TBS returned to Gopalpura and persuaded the villagers to offer help. As a test case, a village johad was taken up for desalting and deepening. Two years later, the villagers could see the results of this reconstruction. The monsoon helped the johad to retain the water for a longer period, and this enthused the villagers and a bigger task, that of masonry repair was taken up. With TBS'' encouragement and Engineers technical guidance, the reconstructed johad was an incredible success.

Taking inspiration from Gopalpura, Govindpura followed suit. CASA offered food for work assistance and with 20,000 man - days of work, the 2000 by 15 by 50 ft dam was fully restored.

Power peddlers could not stand the successful community development action, and so resorted to harassing the villagers and TBS, reversing the previous positive technical help given to them.. They declared the restored structures as "illegal". People protested and the Govt finally revoked the order. Now the Govt agencies started requesting TBS and villagers to restore their dams. Currently, in 315 villages, 1105 water harvesting structures have been restored.