Authors have tried to follow up a recent trends in people's self development efforts and its impacts on rural dynamics in drought prone areas by taking up sample village, Dahiwadi, Shirur district, in Maharashtra state, which is situated outside the reach of command area on large scale irrigation project. Unlike flourishing regions within the reach of well irrigated suburbanized front, the sample village is located at the valley head of small stream, connected by jeepable kacha road with adjacent major traffic network. Poorly maintained unpaved road has long kept village isolated and lagged behind in terms of socioeconomic conditions. This small-sized village with population of 997, and households of 134 (1990) has suffered severely from unevenly distributed scanty rainfalls up to present time. Mainstay of economic activities have naturally tended to extensive rain-fed dry farming. Dahiwadi is basically categorized as multi jati village, composing of 13 Hindu-castes and Muslim. However, before peopling by newly settled migrants, Maratha communities of 9 households in 1920, this village was nothing but poverty-stricken hamlet traditionally ruled by handful Brahmins, mainly depending on dry farming and shepherd. Incoming of the self-innovative peoples, within which group has been internally tied up with the feeling of togetherness and mutual cooperation, have set spurt on intensive use of slope and upland by introducing various kind of commercial cash crops as onion and perennial tree crops as orange. A series of land reforms in 1950's and electrification of this village in 1980's accelerated acquisition of piecemeal land and enabled them to introduce technical innovations such as electric/diesel pumps and pipeline along with new farming practices, causing far reaching repercussive echoes among the native settlers. This suggests one of possible alternatives of self-development paths just less-favored isolated village as Dahiwadi in drought prone areas.

<特集> インド干ばつ常習地域の村落変化