Pilot Launch | Acres of Ice: Improving Water Supply for Farmers through Automated Ice Reservoirs in the Himalayas
Image courtesy of Acres of Ice
Mercy Corps Ventures and Acres of Ice launch a pilot to delay the desertification of four villages by supplying additional irrigation water through automated ice reservoirs (AIRs). This pilot will test the performance of AIRs in boosting farmer resilience in four villages in Ladakh, India in preparation for an expansion to the Andes region in South America.
This post is the first of a two-part series. The second blog will share key insights after the pilot is completed. Written by Maria Gomez, Innovation Manager at Mercy Corps Ventures, and Suryanarayanan Balasubramanian and Basit Afzal from Acres of Ice.
The Problem
Melting glaciers threaten the livelihood of traditional farming communities
“During my childhood, it was very cold; now, because of global warming, glaciers are melting faster, and the amount of snowfall has significantly decreased, and that causes problems. It’s all the water and ice that make farming possible in Ladakh. If there is no snow or glaciers, there is no agriculture,” says Mr. Stobgyas, the former village head (ex-sarpanch) of Igoo village.
“Water is an issue, and it’s not just our village; all villages in Ladakh face similar problems. I’m 66 years old, and when I was younger, we couldn’t walk from house to house because there was so much snow. We couldn’t see bare ground. Animals used to have a hard time walking in the snow when we took them out for grazing. Now, there is very little snowfall, and we cannot trust when the water will appear; it is totally unreliable.”
In Shara, a village in Ladakh, India, where glaciers are shrinking at a rate of 1% annually, the impacts of melting glaciers are already being felt. Traditionally, Shara’s farmers thrived by growing crops and bartering, but the steady loss of glaciers has made agriculture unsustainable. Water scarcity during the summer months has left communities struggling to irrigate their crops, while excess meltwater in the winter flows unused into the oceans. As glaciers continue to retreat, more villages may face similar challenges, pushing people to abandon their homes and become climate refugees in overcrowded cities, where they often seek precarious livelihoods.
Globally, glaciers are an essential part of the water cycle, acting as natural reservoirs that store ice and snow in the winter and gradually release water during the summer months. This process ensures a steady water supply for rivers, streams, and the millions of people who rely on them, particularly in regions like the Hindu Kush Himalayas, which provide water to 1.9 billion people across Asia, and the Andes mountains in South America, supplying water to 90 million people. However, due to climate change, more than half of the world’s glaciers are expected to disappear by 2100.
This alarming trend threatens countless glacial-fed communities, particularly farmers in mountain regions, who are becoming increasingly vulnerable to water shortages.
Traditional ice reservoirs are falling short
Ice reservoirs, also known as ice stupas, represent a remarkable community-driven, man-made solution to address seasonal water scarcity in mountainous regions. In more than 50 villages across the globe, including regions in the Hindu Kush Himalayas, Andes, and the Alps, farmers have constructed these ice structures to store winter meltwater, which is then released gradually during the dry summer months. By increasing the availability of water when it’s needed most, these ice reservoirs offer a lifeline to communities whose livelihoods depend on agriculture. However, while these structures are innovative, their current construction practices require significant manual effort and maintenance, making them difficult to scale.
In Ladakh, for instance, more than 20% of villages have attempted to build ice reservoirs, but two-thirds of these villages have abandoned the practice after the first attempt due to a range of challenges. Pipelines often freeze, blocking the water supply needed to build the structures. Inefficient fountains deliver too much water, leading to waste and poor ice formation, and the lack of detailed data analysis prevents communities from improving the design and effectiveness of the reservoirs. These challenges are not limited to India; similar issues have been reported across other regions using ice reservoirs. As a result, while these structures are a promising solution, they remain limited in their effectiveness and scalability.
The Pilot
Acres of Ice is pioneering a new approach to overcome these limitations. By automating the construction process, they aim to create maintenance-free ice reservoirs that can increase ice reservoir water supply. This innovation has the potential to scale across the world’s major mountain ranges, providing a more reliable solution to water scarcity in high-altitude communities without the labor-intensive maintenance that has hindered ice reservoir projects thus far.
Through this pilot, Acres of Ice aims to showcase the potential of automated ice reservoirs (AIRs) to address water scarcity in Ladakh. Acres of Ice will deploy AIRs in four villages, where they will provide 30% more irrigation water without the need for maintenance. The pilot will not only demonstrate the technological advantages of the AIRs but also introduce a sustainable solution to water management that can be scaled across other high-altitude regions. Each AIR will be accompanied by a software platform, enabling real-time monitoring and control, further ensuring the system’s effectiveness and ease of use for the local communities.
When temperatures stay below 0 C for two weeks, the AIRs spray water through a specially designed fountain to form ice efficiently. In colder conditions, it drains the water to protect the pipes. Villagers can monitor and control the system through an app, making it easy to manage the reservoir. The AIRs aim to solve common issues with traditional ice reservoirs, like frozen pipes and water waste. The automated system prevents pipes from freezing, while advanced fountains improve ice formation, even in challenging weather. A data platform provides real-time monitoring and analysis, and local water management communities will be set up to operate and maintain the reservoirs, supporting smart water use and sustainable agriculture in the village.
At the conclusion of the pilot, Acres of Ice will have tested both the AIR systems and their impact on local communities. The results will guide the development of AIR kits, complete with hardware, software, and installation instructions, ready to be distributed to other communities through local governments. Additionally, we will identify other mountain villages in the Hindu Kush Himalayas, Andes, and the Alps suitable for further AIR installations, expanding the reach of this innovative solution for water scarcity.
Our Hypotheses
Ice reservoir meltwater supply increases agricultural output and profitability for farmers, therefore improving climate resilience. Our north star is to increase farmers’ incomes. Other KPIs include:
Amount of water released to farmers.
Date of first irrigation cycle
Frequency of flood irrigation
Increase in farmer yields
2. Automated ice reservoirs delay the desertification of glacial-fed villages. Our north star is to increase the percentage of ice reservoir water supplied compared to total village water supply. Other KPIs include:
Total liters of ice reservoir meltwater supply. This is measured through drone surveys that provide the total ice volume, providing an estimate for the ice reservoirs meltwater supply. This is different to the amount of water released to farmers because some water is lost in the way through evaporation and groundwater seepage.
Perennial ice reservoirs are compounded every consecutive winter. Perennial ice reservoirs refer to ice reservoirs that last from one winter season to the next. So, if Acres of Ice’s ice reservoir lasts until next September it satisfies this criterion and automatically compounds next winter.
3. Automated ice reservoirs are commercially viable. Our north star here is to attain a positive profit margin for Acres of Ice. Other KPIs include:
Construction cost per liter
Number of pipeline freezing events during construction
Higher ice storage (baseline: 2 million liters)
Number of pre-bookings of the automation kits
We hope that by creating AIRs, we can delay desertification of glacial-fed villages and create a sustainable solution for these regions. Testing AIRs and the kits will help local governments or community organizations easily install and manage their ice reservoirs.
Stay tuned for updates, evidence, and insights on our other Mercy Corps Ventures pilots responsibly testing technology solutions to increase climate resilience of vulnerable populations in emerging markets.
