Photovoice for understanding groundwater management issues and challenges of villagers in Rajasthan, India

Water access issues pose continual problems for villages in arid areas of Rajasthan, India and the common response has been technological solutions through water management projects. Qualitative participatory research can provide alternative approaches to these issues, and this article examines role of grassroot activities to develop engagement, ownership and vision for local groundwater problems and solutions in rural development projects. The study used a participatory photography process to allow villagers to take and select photographs that represented what surface and ground waters meant to them in the present and future, along with how they saw their own responsibilities for water security of their villages. The visual and textual data was analysed using two different analytical approaches (empirical and relational), which provided complementary results. As well as allowing for exploration of basic questions about what water means to villagers amongst themselves and provided them with an opportunity to make meaning of their water situation, what they value the most, and what they can do to improve their situation. Overall, the study illustrates that participatory photography is an effective engagement process for understanding complex problems such as groundwater overexploitation and water scarcity, from the perspective of villagers. This also has the potential to create community awareness and facilitate collective action to address complex natural resources management issues and challenges.