In the desert landscape of western Rajasthan, how communities use water has long depended on an intimate understanding of soil. Water management systems such as khadeens, bavdi, beris, tankas, johads, naadi, naada and talab were built on a deep, practical knowledge of how soils behave in extreme aridity in the region characterised by low rainfall. Long before the language of “soil and moisture conservation”, “recharge”, “infiltration” entered policy vocabulary, localised systems of water harvesting were already in place.