Derasar, Rajasthan

The population of Derasar consists about 600 persons, including 70 Muslim families.[1]

Derasar lies within the arid Thar Desert and for eleven months of the year, water is scarce.[3] As such, rainwater is collected in taankas which "have a catchment area to collect rainwater which is then stored underground".[3] The nearest water source to the village is five kilometers away, requiring residents to walk at lengths to retrieve it.[5][3] In recent times, men have had to find work in larger cities leaving the women to tend to the crops.[3] The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics has provided fruit trees to Derasar, in addition to knowledge on which crops would be successful in the dry region.[3] Crops that are grown in Derasar include "pearl millet, cluster bean, green gram, moth bean, sesame and watermelons".[3]

Derasar has communal grazing pastures that provide nutrition for the residents' livestock.[3]

The culture of Derasar is centered around the historic customs of the South Asian region of Rajputana.[4] Men wear a tradition Indian garment known as an angarkha, along with scarves and jewellery.[4]

With respect to marriage customs, teenagers do not date but have their marriages arranged or alternatively, choose celibacy.[4]

Unique to the culture of Derasar is the practice of polygamy, in which it is normative for men to have two wives.[4] The husband's first child is usually from the first wife, with the second wife bearing a child later.[4] The reason for this custom is said to be practical: with the nearest water source being five kilometres away, the first wife is tasked with fetching water as Derasar locals believe that it would be quite difficult for a pregnant woman to accomplish this.[5]