nagaraj: back in the old days, we only farmed if it rained. if it didn't, we wouldn't farm.s water in the tank, for the past four years, there's been water in our wells. we use a motor to pump out the water for farming. subramani: i used to buy 200 to 300 liters of water every day. it's much better now because i can get water whenever i need it at home. my savings have increased as a result. manikandan: once this tank was able to hold water again, it's not only people who have benefitted from it and from the groundwater regenerating itself. this tank has now also become a habitat for various species. reporter: that's because volunteers went beyond just cleaning the tank. they planted over 10,000 trees of native varieties using the miyawaki method, a japanese afforestation technique. this strip of forest protects the water in the tank. it's also attracted dozens of bird and butterfly species to the vellalore tank and the green zone surrounding it. manikandan i cannot express the joy i had when i saw the tank fill up with water in 2018. we used to water these plas with wer fro