Participatory research using coir geotextiles in watershed management – A case study in south India

This paper deals with participatory research on the introduction and use of coir geotextiles for soil and water conservation in a small community pond in a watershed in south India. The results demonstrate that a participatory approach enables the community to visualize and evaluate the impact of innovative technologies. As a result, farmers readily adapt a technology when they have experienced the positive research outcome. This reduces the adoption time, and can bring significant increase in yield, or decrease in labour costs, helping to enhance productivity, sustainability and improvement of livelihood.