Kothapally village comprises 465ha of mainly cultivated undulating farmland with a population of 1,492 supported by semi-subsistence agriculture in the area. The level of resource degradation before project implementation was serious – characterized by low rainwater use efficiency, high soil erosion and a lack of soil stabilization or infiltration enhancement mechanisms. The project placed an emphasis on community-based integrated watershed management, engaging all tiers of the community. Interventions have resulted in improved infiltration, reduced soil loss, increased groundwater levels, improved land cover and vegetation, increased productivity, and positive changes in cropping patterns.

At a program cost of US$90,000 the project, in its three years of implementation, succeeded by increasing groundwater storage (equivalent to nearly 1,000,000m3 of water, or 330,000m3 / year), changing cropping patterns, increasing yields, and reducing soil loss thereby positively impacting downstream quality.