The Thar Desert is an extreme example of how a region can suffer from a sparse availability of water. With an average rainfall of 200 mm a year, it becomes extremely difficult to sustain agriculture and livestock, almost the only livelihood options available for the rural inhabitants. When the drought strikes everything becomes even more challenging – the distances to fetch water increase, people suffer from malnutrition and diseases because of the loss of crops and livestock, and many of them have to migrate to the cities to find better income generating possibilities.

GRAVIS has been assisting the poor and the destitute through its drought relief programs. Drinking water, food grains and animal fodder has been distributed in the drought affected areas during drought years. GRAVIS has also organized Food-for-Work programs in order to provide supplementary food and water commodities to the rural inhabitants in exchange for their labor to restore and rebuild common water harvesting structures.