In the remote village of Sakti, located around 4,000 meters above sea level and with almost zero rainfall in the Indian Himalayas, the life of a farmer is intrinsically challenging.
“The Ladakh region has an extremely difficult growing season, allowing for only one harvest per year,” explains Gelak Gutme, a farmer who has been growing wheat, peas and potatoes in the area for almost 65 years.
“It’s a desert with a harsh climate”, adds the farmer, describing the extreme conditions of the place.
Throughout his life, Gutme witnessed a significant deterioration in climatic conditions, with global warming causing the melting and disappearance of smaller, low-lying glaciers that were the main source of irrigation for local crops.
“Now we face water shortages. Last year, I lost all my production, my entire field dried up due to lack of water”, laments Gutme, highlighting the direct impact on his livelihood.
The growing season is remarkably short for those who work the land in the Himalayas, requiring crops to be sown by May so that they mature before the harsh winter sets in.
“For several generations, small glaciers located just above the valleys functioned as natural deposits of frozen water, storing the resource throughout the winter and releasing it in early spring, when agriculture began,” details Lobzang Fardod, member of the water management committee in Ladakh.
However, reality has changed drastically. “With the complete disappearance of these lower glaciers, transformed into a desert of arid rock, there is nothing left on top of the mountains to melt and provide water,” adds Fardod, illustrating the scale of the crisis.
The summer period in the mountains is brief, which means that farmers need to plant their crops by May at the latest, otherwise they risk not being ready before the arrival of winter.
Ensuring a reliable water supply in early spring is absolutely vital to the survival of these communities.
Faced with this urgency, in the early 2010s, some communities in Ladakh began creating their own artificial ice reservoirs.
The pioneering system involved collecting water from the highest areas of the mountains during the winter and spraying it into the air. This process resulted in freezing and, over time, the formation of large towers of ice, known as ice stupas.
Although these structures successfully provided meltwater in the spring, their maintenance proved a “nightmare” under harsh winter conditions, as reported by Fardod.
The main difficulty arose when temperatures quickly fell below -20°C, or sometimes below -30°C. In these scenarios, the water inside the pipes would freeze, causing cracks and destroying the entire irrigation system.
To overcome the problem, during the winter, teams of four to five farmers camped at high points, close to the water source, to clear possible blockages with boiling water, often at night, when temperatures dropped further.
However, the requirement of enduring these freezing nights high in the mountains has become an increasingly unsustainable and dangerous task.
“With the failure of traditional water systems, Leh-Ladakh has established itself as a hub of innovation in community-based hydraulic engineering,” says Murtaza Ali, executive engineer at the Irrigation and Flood Control Division of the Ladakh Autonomous Hills Development Council.
Leh, the capital of Ladakh, is a disputed-status region in Indian-administered Kashmir and borders China to the east and Pakistan to the west.
Context on political challenges in Ladakh
In addition to the risk of pipe cracks, the initial ice stupa system had low efficiency, according to Ali.
Due to the continuous flow of water, on days with higher temperatures, the newly arrived water ended up melting the ice that had already formed, wasting the effort.
In the last two years, however, this methodology has undergone significant technological modernization.
In collaboration with the private company Acres of Ice, a new system was developed capable of controlling ice formation and production with high precision.
Called Automated Ice Reservoir (AIR), the process also involves conveying water from higher mountainous altitudes through a network of pipes.
The water, driven by pressure, emerges from the valley floor and gushes from a vertical nozzle, creating a “gigantic fountain,” describes Dr. Suryanarayanan Balasubramanian, founder of Acres of Ice.
This flow is meticulously controlled by a computerized system housed in a weatherproof box, powered by solar panels and a battery.
The control system is connected to a weather station that continuously monitors environmental conditions, including the temperature of the water inside the pipes.
If the sensors detect a sudden drop in air temperature, or if the water temperature inside the pipe approaches a critical freezing limit, the control system is activated immediately.
It closes the upper flow valve and opens a valve at the bottom to completely empty the water trapped in the pipe, thus preventing freezing.
This feature not only prevents the costly problem of cracked pipes, but also optimizes ice formation. Unlike continuous spraying, AIR releases a concentrated mist, covering existing ice, and then turns off.
“The system waits for the exact moment for this layer of water droplets to freeze completely, adjusting to the current wind and humidity conditions, and then fires the jet again”, details Balasubramanian.
The founder of Acres of Ice assures that the AIR system is capable of converting practically all diverted water into ice, maximizing the efficiency of the process.
The entire system operates autonomously, using a local wireless network to connect the control box to the various valves. However, village residents also have the option of activating it manually, if necessary.
The results of this innovation appear to be generating significant positive change in the lives of the local community.
“When we talk to residents, they report that the water table is being recharged and the springs are revitalized. They are receiving water at the right time for their crops. We are also planning a scientific study to exactly quantify the real impact”, comments Ali, highlighting the perceived benefits and the search for scientific proof.
In winter 2025, Acres of Ice and the local government implemented ten AIR (Air Environment Respiratory) system projects across the Ladakh region.
“Our big challenge now is to push the limits of technology to see how we can multiply the number of ice reservoirs we are building. Can the same system that was previously used to create just one ice reservoir build a dozen?”, asks Balasubramanian, projecting the future of expansion.
Back in Sakti, farmer Gutme displays renewed optimism about the future of his village. The AIR system, with its more reliable water source, has already led the farmer to hope that the community will build at least two more artificial glaciers, ensuring the future of agriculture.
“I’m a farmer, the land is all I have to survive. I don’t understand technology, but all I know today is that I have water to grow my crops,” says Gutme, expressing the practical importance of innovation for his life and that of his community.
“We live in a very harsh climate that already makes our existence difficult, and the lack of water was creating even greater problems. Many young people from the village were considering migrating to the cities in search of work, which would have been a real disaster for our community and its traditions”, concludes the farmer, emphasizing the crucial role of water not only for subsistence, but for the social and cultural preservation of the place.