On Permacultre Systems used for Water Regeneration, Maude Barlowe points me to Rain Man of India:  

Shree Padre   a 'farmer by profession and journalist by obsession', has been studiously collecting and documenting information about rainwater harvesting & water scarcity

'Rainwater harvesting is the only sustainable solution for water scarcity. Rainwater is like a blank cheque. You deposit it in mother earth's bank during the monsoon, it acts as an ATM in summer,' Padre told IANS. He has done studies on unique traditional water harvesting systems like surangas (man-made caves for collecting water) of Kasaragod in northern Kerala and madakas (traditional percolation ponds) of coastal Karnataka as well as Kasaragod.

'Rainwater harvesting is the only sustainable solution for water scarcity. Rainwater is like a blank cheque. You deposit it in mother earth's bank during the monsoon, it acts as an ATM in summer,' Padre told IANS.

He believes that unless we start depositing rainwater, we won't be able to draw water even for our basic needs -- it is like a bank transaction. He has also headed a movement called 'Krishikara Kaige Lekhani' (Pen to Farmers) that trains hundreds of farmers to write about their experiences

By Frederick Noronha (Staff Writer, © IANS)