OUR
IMPACT

Real Lives. Measurable Impact.

The Power of
Rainwater Harvesting

Illustrated map showing the power of rainwater harvesting.

Beehives

Ferrocement Cisterns (Calabash / Pumpkin Cistern)

Ferrocement Cisterns (Calabash / Pumpkin Cistern)

Ferrocement Cisterns (Calabash / Pumpkin Cistern)

Gutters

First-Flush Filter

House Water Treatment (HWT)

Terracing

Spring Rehabilitation

Retention Ponds (Pokharis, Boulis)

Retention Ponds (Pokharis, Boulis)

Gabions and Earth Bunds

Tree Nursery

Bocage - Hedgerow Landscapes

Mangrove Replanting

Half Moons Zaï Pits

Stone Bunds / Vegetative Bunds / Earth Bunds

Seed Bank

Mushroom Farm

When captured, filtered, and stored, it sustains households, feeds crops, and recharges soils.
When guided through terraces, bunds, or vegetative barriers, it prevents erosion and floods.
When combined with trees, roots, and local knowledge, it brings life back to degraded land.

These techniques are applied in highlands, midlands, drylands, and even cities, proving that rainwater harvesting is relevant and powerful everywhere !

In schools, on farms, and across fragile ecosystems, nature-based and community-led approaches form IRHA’s Water–Soil–Tree Triptych, a living cycle where each element supports the other and strengthens ecosystem resilience.

From hilly regions to drylands:
Nature-based Solutions at work.

Our Impact up to Now

Blue school staff and children standing together in front of a rainwater harvesting tank in Sri Lanka

Reach & Beneficiaries

Total people impacted
0

See our detailed results

direct beneficiaries
234215
indirect beneficiaries
782950

Rainwater for Water,
Sanitation & Hygiene

litres of safe rainwater delivered

0

See our detailed results

Blue Schools

72

school toilets constructed
for boys and girls

534

urinals installed

283

handwashing units built

56

water storage tanks constructed

118
Integrated Water Resources
Management trainings delivered
911
Boy collecting water with his hands from a rainwater tank through water improved access in Nepal
child drinking water senegal
Boy washing his face with rainwater after improved access to water in Nepal

Rain-Fed Agriculture
& Food Sovereignty

hectares of farmland restored
145

See our detailed results

schools and community gardens established
72
meters of earth bunds built
16198
half-moon rainwater infiltration structures completed
300
meters of hedgerows planted
36260
Women planting rice in terraced fields in Nepal
Farmers working in rice fields in Nepal with animals guided by a wooden yoke

Disaster Risk Management
& Ecosystem Restoration

trees planted
232991

See our detailed results

meters of stone bunds built
150000
meters of gabions constructed
10113

Community-led

management committees established <br> for all restored areas

Reforestation

and watershed rehabilitation

Biodiversity

recovery in restored sites <br> increase of vegetation cover and pollinator presence

Before After Before After

When Water Is a Walk

A Strong Impact on Time,
Dignity, and Opportunity

In many rural contexts, such as in Nepal, girls spend 2 to 4 hours every day walking to fetch water. Time taken from school, rest, and childhood.

When rainwater infrastructure is available at home, that journey ends. The impact is immediate. Hours are given back to learning, safety, and opportunity.

For Sushmita, water used to mean hours of walking...

Sushmita walking with a water basket among hay bales
Sushmita carrying a water basket in the Himalayan mountains during her daily journey
Sushmita carrying a water basket while looking up at the sky during her journey in Nepal

You can change a girl's life.
It starts with one simple act.

Global Impact
and the UN SDG’S

IRHA and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

10 goals,
one drop at a time.

IRHA contributes directly to ten of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, by linking water and health outcomes with climate-smart development, resilient infrastructure, education, land stewardship, and gender equality.

Reduce economic vulnerability

Enable resilient rain-fed farming

Prevent disease through safe water and hygiene

Safe, dignified learning through blue Schools

Women-led farming & decision-making

Rain for WASH

Urban rainwater & green infrastructure

Mitigation + adaptation at the grassroots level 

Reforestation & ecosystem regeneration

Networks and global-local cooperation

From water to dignity.
From soil to sovereignty.