Participatory design approach to address water crisis in the village of Karkatta, Jharkhand, India

•Experiential learning approach aided identification of multidimensional challenge.•Participatory design method enabled stakeholder engagement and capacity development.•Kolbe's Experiential Learning Theory aided in transforming experiences to design.•Human-centered design yielded an integrated solution for multidimensional challenge. Several Indian rural communities are marginalized due to the multi-dimensional sustainability challenges prevalent in their communities. The interrelationships between these challenges are also very complex. Previous remedial measures were unable to address the intricacies of the interconnected challenges. This study reveals how water scarcity during the summer months, experienced by a community residing in an Indian village named Karkatta, obligates the community to abandon agricultural practices during summer, culminating in significant risk of poverty. Students and faculty of the Live-in-Labs® program undertook diverse approaches to experience and engage in solving the challenges of this community. This work proposed a Human-Centered Design approach to analyze the water scarcity problem and elucidate potential solutions. The participatory methods, including co-design, were marshalled to get a handle of the multidimensional challenges from the stakeholder perspective, and develop the design requirements for the recommended solution. Meteorology, hydrology, geology, agriculture and mechanical engineering disciplines were unified in the derivation of a solution to ensure multi-dimensional sustainability of water, agriculture, and livelihood in Karkatta. The proffered design exploits advanced knowledge from these multiple domains towards combining rainwater harvesting, irrigation strategies, and less water-intensive crop-based agricultural choices while converting a water-scarce region to one of a water surplus.