Water Conservation · 2016–2018 · Bharat Mata School, Bilaspur & statewide, Chhattisgarh
Innovative Soak Pit
A low-cost fix for groundwater recharge, built by students
Where it started
Rainwater that isn't given a way back into the ground is rainwater lost - and most groundwater recharge structures are too expensive or technical for a school or small community to build on its own.
What Nature Bodies did
Nature Bodies' students designed a low-cost, easily replicable soak pit for groundwater recharge - simple enough to build at school scale, effective enough to matter statewide. The design won recognition at the Western India Science Fair (2017, Nehru Science Centre, Mumbai) and INSPIRE MANAK NLEPC (2018, IIT Delhi, selected among 864 exhibits nationally).
The idea scaled from classroom to state: over 700 soak pits were eventually built across Chhattisgarh, earning a UN Water Prize in 2017. On Mother's Day, 14 May 2017, a 12-person Nature Bodies team built 60 soak pits in 60 minutes at Bandhwapara Talab, Bilaspur - recognised in the Children's Book of World Records.
Key activities
- ◆Design and refinement of a low-cost soak pit for groundwater recharge
- ◆Statewide installation drive across Chhattisgarh
- ◆60 soak pits built in 60 minutes, Bandhwapara Talab, Bilaspur
Impact
Soak pits built statewide
Pits built in 60 minutes
Visual story
What remains
This work continues - new campaigns build on what this one started. Your support carries it forward.
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