When ICIMOD and NWCF teamed up to pursue an action research programme to help understand the role of springs in the livelihoods and water security of hill hamlets, they were guided by a certain moral prodding. In meetings with scientists, senior political leaders have always asked that our research efforts bring quick and concrete benefits to farmers and the poor, especially in rural areas. Although villages in the midhills of the Himalayas are dependent on springs for drinking water, and increasingly experiencing problems with water availability, little research has been devoted to springs and there have been no development programmes focussed on their conservation. It is only recently, as springs have started drying up, that they have begun to receive some media attention. The research programme was designed to address this important gap, which potentially affects millions of farmers across the Himalayas.