For what is referred to as a desert, Rajasthan is amazingly populated: its landscape scattered with a number of village and hamlet (rural community), telltale sighs of tree groves and population of cattle being the only indication that there is such a settlement in close proximity. The typical village has always been difficult to spot till one is actually upon it. The most basic form of civilization with a way of life that has probably remain unchanged since centuries, consists of collection of huts that are circular and have thatched roofs. The walls are covered with a plaster of clay, cow dung and hay, making a termite-free façade that blends in with the sand of the countryside around it. Boundaries of houses and land holdings, called Baras, are made of dry branches of nettle like shrub, the long sharp thorns a deterrent for straying cattle. Decorative facades are limited to creating a texture in the plaster or using simple lime colours to create vibrant patterns at the entrance and outside the kitchen.

Each village is a multi-community settlement, the various castes creating a structure of dependence based on the nature of their work. While changes are being wrought in this structure with ceilings on land holdings and with the young seeking employment opportunities in towns distant from their villages.