A khadeen is a sort of temporary lake. On one or two sides, a pal is raised and on the third side, a strong stone bund for overflow of excess water is fixed. The pal of the khadeen is called dhora. The length of the dhora is calculated according to the infow of water. Pals of khadeens can be upto 5 to 7 kilometres long.

The ephemeral streams which flow during the rainy season are held in the khadeen. Resting there, the stream slowly dries up but while doing so it helps moisture to seep into the soil of the khadeen. The moisture of the soil allows for wheat and other crops to grow.

If one goes by the rainfall of the desert, then it would seem impossible for wheat to grow there. But at so many places, especially in Jaisalmer, several centuries ago, numerous khadeens were made, so much so that one region of this district is called Khadeen.

~ Anupam Mishra ji in his book ‘ Rajasthan Ki Rajat Boondein”

Derasar is a khadeen in Ramgarh region of Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, that was built by the Paliwals some 500 years ago.

This khadeen belongs to farmers of 12 villages of Ramgarh region. Farming on the khadeen is managed by the local community, who take all decisions about when to drain the water from the khadeen, what crop to sow and when, and taking care of the crop while it is growing and harvesting it when it is done.

They also take care of maintenance work such as repair of the pal / dhora (embankment) and the neshta (overflow), removal of Prosopis, extension of the embankment so as to generate new land under the khadeen etc.

Farming in khadeens is not done on a ownership basis. Only those who actually work on the farms will get to reap the harvest.

If it is time to sow and if there is still water in the khadeen, the farmers drain the way through a nallah that is located roughly at the centre of the embankment and sell that water for a price to farmers downstream of the khadeen. The downstream farmers then grow crops using water from Derasar as a source of irrigation.

Like all community-managed khadeens, Derasar also has social security systems to support owners of the farms who do not have the capacity to till and grow the crop such as widows or disabled. All farmers put aside a proportion of their harvest at the end of the season and give the grain to such families at their doorstep.