અણ્ણા હઝારે realized that the only way to increase agricultural production in a sustainable manner was to build a better irrigation system. Taking into account the geographical location of Ralegan , located in the foothills, અણ્ણા હઝારેpersuaded villagers to construct a watershed embankment to stop water and allow it to percolate and increase the ground water level. He motivated the residents of the village into shramdan (voluntary labour) to build canals, small-scale check-dams and percolation tanks in the nearby hills for watershed development; efforts that solved the problem of scarcity of water in the village that also made irrigation possible. The first embankment that was built using volunteer efforts developed a leak and had to be reconstructed this time with government funding.