rice farming on dry land.saving rain water.

Hello guys,I have been thinking about this idea about how to grow Rice on dry land.not necessarily grow rice but a way to save the moisture n water  from the low rainfall we are gatting annually.the shortage of rainfall causes more loss every year.
   First im thinking of digging to make the entire farm surface lower by 60cm.i know its labour extensive but if i could do it.
 Then i will use the part of the dug up sand to raise the borders higher
 I want to find ANY water proof sheets to cover the whole surface.
 The rest of the dugout sand will be mix with compost and put back on top the cover. the thickness of about 40cm.
Please i want your views on this.
Its possible for me but do think its worth it.

Hey,

If having access to water is the priority and you find a village to help you out, you can mirror what was done in the arid regions of India by building a stepped well:
http://www.citylab.com/design/2014/11/can-indias-ancient-stepwells-help-solve-the-countrys-water-crisis/383045/

It sounds like your project is more about getting vegetation to grow in an area that it wouldn't normally by creating a sealed pond and then back-filling it.  If that's what you're trying, look at some methods of sealing that would give you better (and less plastic-intensive) waterproofing than trying to join a bunch of sheets together.  One available mineral resource would be: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bentonite#Groundwater_barrier.

There are also many discussions on how to make ponds using 'Gley' right here in the forums:
https://permies.com/forums/jforum?module=search&action=search&forum_id=89&search_keywords=gley&match_type=all&search_in=ALL&forum=89&groupByTopic=true&sort_by=time&sort_dir=DESC&search_date=ALL&member_number=&member_first_name=&member_last_name=&member_match_type=memberPosted
The longer URL comes about because I copied the search for gley-related posts, instead a specific discussion.
Admittedly, the gley technique seems to be used by members in more moist areas, but the theory of operation is the same; create films of anaerobic microbes by putting microbial-rich and nutrient-dense organic material in a low-oxygen environment.

Is there a reason why you're interested in rice instead of more drought-tolerant crops?

Hope this helps, and best of luck!

~Greg

Thanks Greg,the links will sure be useful.
actually Rice is not must i have the considering of other drought resistance in mind. Depending on how well i can prepared the farm.