Pune, 8th August 2022: Watershed Organisation Trust (WOTR) a globally recognised nonprofit organization today announced that it has initiated a new watershed development project in ten villages of Aurad block in Bidar District, Karnataka. It aims at holistic development of the villages through watershed development, skill training programmes, leveraging agro-based livelihoods for creating diversified sources of income for rural communities. With this new development,WOTR has expanded its footprint to the southern Indian state of Karnataka. Currently it has projects in 8 states of India which includes Maharashtra, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Odisha.

Supported by Wells Fargo International Solutions Private Limited,the new project inKarnataka is focused on improving farm-based livelihoods through the watershed development approach. The project is scheduled for three years and the activities which form a part of the project include area treatment, drainage line treatment, promotion of water saving technologies, soil testing, promotion of CRA Practices and agri-allied livelihood activities in the selected ten villages of Bidar district.

“Our foray into Karnataka is based on ground research and need assessments of the villages selected and the region at large. Conserving and strengthening the ecosystem to address the pressing issues faced by the village will form the crux of the project implementation. We are grateful to Wells Fargo, who share the common vision for a poverty free rural India.” said WOTR’s Executive Director, Prakash Keskar on the new project.

Wells Fargo is committed to the inclusive and sustainable growth of communities in the regions where we work. Strengthening economic opportunities while also being environmentally sustainable has been a key focus of all our social interventions. WOTR’s strength of implementation in both these areas makes them a natural fit for this project,” added ArindamBanerrji, Managing Director, Wells Fargo India & Philippines.