‘Roots of Datia’ is the story of the natural regeneration carried out in the Datia region, 120 km away from Agra. Once a dense forest and surrounded by people following a pastoral economy, Datia became a wasteland due to urbanization and improper management of resources. A Delhi-based NGO, Development Alternatives, took the initiative with the help of the government to bring back the charm of Datia. Under Mr. S. Sahni, a retired Air Vice Marshal, the model in which rainwater was captured in the land itself, became a success. The film shows in detail how the project was carried out and how it became a model adopted in different regions of India such as West Bengal or Northern Himalayas, where women took over the responsibility and even added sericulture to the initiative.
