Heifer Project International in Beijing Miyun Mountainous Villages

An international non-government organization's operation case
Reported by Mr. Meng Yujian (Staff journalist) and Ms. Zhao Xue (intern)

Check out the Original Chinese Report

Dream Qian Huo Ling is an administrative village of Feng Jia Yu Township of Miyun County of Beijing . It is on the ultimate northeastern outskirt of Beijing, bordered with Luan Ping County, Hebei Province.With a total population of 700 in 250 households, the village only has (540 mu) 36 hectares of arable fields to live on. No any enterprise. Due to scarce natural resources and frequent natural disasters, the villagers have long depended on the government relief for living. In 1999 the annual average income of the village is RMB £¤948( about US$120) per head, ranking the poorest village in Beijing area. Under the influence of China 's rural economic reform, the villagers were eager to do something to shake off poverty.

Opportunity In one of her autumn outing to the Miyun mountains in 1999, Ms. Song Jinpin, an HPI long-term volunteer, saw the poor conditions in the mountain area by chance, she can not believe her eyes at all. So she had an urge to help them. Early in 2000, with the help of Mr. Wang Jinluo, an HPI volunteer, Ms. Song Jinpin met Mr, Liu Fuzhi, Deputy County Magistrate of Miyun, who is in charge of agriculture and mountainous area development. Ms. Song suggested their applying for an HPI poverty-alleviating project for the needy farmers and Deputy Magistrate Liu agreed and promised to join efforts by matching funds to conduct the HPI project in Miyun at once. The application for Miyun poverty-alleviating sheep project was submitted to HPI China and was paid attention to by Prof. Pu Jiabi, Country Director of HPI China . Mr. Cheng Taiyong, Director of Programme Department of HPI China was sent out immediately on an investigation trip.

Progress After an investigation in the mountains, HPI China decided to carry out a poverty-alleviating sheep project in Qian Huo Ling Village . Mr. Chen Taiyong, Program Department Director of HPI China, and Mr. Zheng Bohua, Deputy Director of Miyun Agricultural Commission, visited the villagers and helped the villagers to establish the HPI Qian Huo Ling Sheep Raising Center . With HPI project funds and the funds matched by Miyun government, lines of sheep pens were built in the village and fine bred small-tailed Han sheep from Shangdong Province were introduced to recipient families in December,2000.

Training Immediately after the founding of HPI Qian Huo Ling Sheep Raising Center, a training session on HPI 12 Corner Stones and paticipatory project management was organized by Mr. Cheng Taiyong and HPI volunteers in the village. Several technical training sessions were offered by Miyun Agricultural Commisionn Miyun Animal Husbandry Service Center and Feng Jia Yu Township Government all organized technicials to go to the village to train the villagers.The villagers got to know HPI 12 Corner Stones and sheep production know-how through meetings, lectures, video tapes, CD, etc., which prepared the villagers for sheep production.

Service Due to lack of practical experience at the very beginning, some sheep got ill and some even died. HPI China Office immediately invited technologist from Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences to make a diagnosis and give treatment in the village. HPI organized several trainings to the villagers about the zero-grazing, also asked experts confect the feed additives for the house feeding sheep and send production manual to all families. The follow-up of the technique improved farmers production management and ensure the development of sheep production.

Care HPI Qian Huo Ling Sheep Project has received much attention and care ever since its founding. The top leaders of Miyun government have showed a great care for the development of the project. In May of 2001 Asia-Pacific Region Director Robert Pelant visited the project and made a favorable comment on the efforts and support of Miyun government to HPI project. What's more, the frequent visits of friends and donors from both at home and abroad ever since the founding of the project have given the villagers much encouragement and confidence.

Achievements By the end of 2002 the first recipient families in the village had sold about 500 sheep, earning an income of 200,000 (about US$25,000), still with 400 sheep in their pens. They have passed on their "Living gifts" to another group of recipient families. The success of the project brings incentive and vigor to local economy and brings villagers hope. In the past two years, HPI 12 cornerstones have worked in the village. HPI China and the Mountainous Development Department of Miyun Agricultural Commission have done a lot to enable the villagers to live in a better life. The villagers have worked hard to shake off poverty. In two years, HPI Miyun Sheep project changed villagers mind, helped the villagers to give up the tradition of panhandling for government relief, enabled the villagers to learn necessary sheep production techniques, by which they can make their own living, provided the villagers with a sheep production system, and found a way for villagers to alleviate poverty and become well-off.

Vision In the past two years, although only 27 needy families in Qian Huo Ling Village received HPI help, the HPI project model has changed the poor farmers' mind and helped them to build up confidence in themselves. The effect can be seen not only in but also out of the project village. Based on the agreement of HPI China and Miyun Government, continued efforts from both sides will be made to help more needy families in the area. Now Zhuang - Tou Village and Da -Shu- Wa Village have joined in and become new HPI project villages. HPI has become a household word in the Miyun mountains, and HPI project mode has been widely appreciated. We believe with good management of the project and with kind care from both at home and abroad more poor mountain villagers can alleviate poverty and improve their living quality.

Background Data Heifer Project International (HPI) is an international rural development organization, headquatered in Little Rock, USA . HPI provides livestock and related technical training and services to small farm holders, enabling them to be out of hunger and poverty, and caring for the earth. HPI has conducted projects in 115 countries in the world. HPI started to carry out projects in China in 1984 and established HPI China Office in Chengdu, China . By June 2001, HPI China had implemented 40 projects in 50 counties of 11 provinces,municipalities or autonomous regions. Over 6 million US dollars of original investment has produced a direct economic expasion of 121 million US dollars ( 1 billion RMB yuan).

HPI emphasizes that each recipient family should pass on what they receive to another needy family, which is referred to as " Passing on the Gift ". This makes a recipient also a donor, strengthening the recipient's self-esteem as well as participasory awareness.