Lots of people are talking about water right now in the village. No great surprise when wells are running dry and when even when we seem to be irrigating continuously, the crops still don't show that they are getting the water they need. I think there is pretty much universal agreement amongst gardeners, that irrigation water simply doesn't have the same effect on plants as freshly fallen rainwater. But when the rains don't come, then what? What is becoming clear to us is that we need to develop a robust water strategy for our farm, which can't be fully achieved in isolation. We need to team up with our neighbours in the village to think this through, and probably try to persuade the local government to take an active part in a longer-term water strategy for the village. Almost certainly this alone won't solve the problem. Climate change, and changing rainfall patterns are a global problem, which need to be solved both globally and nationally. Governments need to strategically think through (and implement) long-term plans which can assure good quality water supplies for their citizens, but globally as world citizens we all have a responsibility, not just to individually save water (that is a valuable step in itself), but also to look for every opportunity in our lives to influence how rain can be made. This means reforestation, this means reducing carbon emissions, this means farming in a way to increase carbon reserves in the soil, not burning up carbon like it doesn't matter.
