Sichuan & Chongqing Regional Program

List of projects in Sichuan and Chongqing Area

SICHUAN-CHONGQING PROGRAM INTRODUCTION

In 1985 HPI officially began its first projects in Sichuan province: Dayi Meat Rabbit Project, Ya'an Dairy Goat Project and Jianyang Meat Goat Project. HPI Sichuan-Chongqing region has implemented 34 projects and assisted 21,211 families. Among these were 9,859 direct recipient households and 11,352 POG recipient households. 182,201 household members received training, of which 71,219 were women. The total number of livestock distributed was 1,742,612.

Currently there are 14 projects in operation throughout Sichuan and Chongqing . They are: Flood Rehabilitation Project Across China (Nanbu Pig Raising Project, Yubei Dairy Cow Project, Xuanhan Goat Project), Xuanhan Dairy Development Project, Tongjiang Meat Goat Project, Nanbu Rex Rabbit Project, Xieyuan Meat Rabbit Project, Ganzi Livestock Development Project, Meigu Women's Meat Goat Project, Daofu County Yak and Tibetan Chicken Project, Xide Women's Pig Raising Project, Lianghekou Township Goat Raising Project, Ganzi TAP Mountainous Area Livestock Development Project, Snow and Rain Disaster Rehabilitation for Remote Areas of China, Tibetan Area Livestock Development Project, and Seda Yak Microloan Project.

Sichuan-Chongqing Progam Characteristics

• The program area covers a large area and encompasses many ethnic groups. The program area coverage includes 15 townships and 37 counties in Ganzi TAP, Aba TQAP, and Liangshan YAP. The program sites are from an elevation of 500 metres in Chengdu Plain to a height of 4500 meters on the Tibetan Plateau. Project recipients include Tibetan, Qiang, Yi, Hui and Han nationality.

• The program emphasizes participation and capacity-building, improving the quality of the projects. The Sichuan-Chongqing office has organized management trainings and workshops many times, and has also organized exchange visits among project partners. The program focuses on technical training on animal raising for recipient households, and at the same time organizes regular opportunities for recipient households self-assessment and action plan development. The Sichuan-Chongqing program has also applied a program management system and improved the quality of program management.

• Support from project partners & project community holistic development. During the process of project implementation, project partners bring great skill and support by providing human resources, matching fund, policies, and providing technical training and services. In Ganzi Prefecture , our projects combine with government projects like Liaoyuan Plan Project, energy sources project. In Nanbu, our projects get support from the government like biogas systems and road construction.

Sichuan-Chongqing Program Special Focus Points

• Holistic Community Development Programs. We strive for this from three aspects: first, by integrating program implementation and community development; second, enhancing the project effectiveness by establishing community self-management; third, focusing on capacity-building through project participation, so that when the program withdraws the project community possesses the capacity for self-management and self-development.

• High Household Participation. Recipient households are the core of the project. From the initial survey and project plan to the project self-monitoring and assessment, recipient households actively participate throughout offering their own ideas and suggestions about project development.

• Increasing Consciousness about Gender Equality Issues, Developing Women's Roles. The program encourages women to participate in training activities. When project leaders select participants, they consider gender equality among other factors. They also develop special training plan for women on issues of health and hygiene.

• Capacity-Building. The program emphasizes capacity-building through training for project partners and recipient households. Through participating in this type of program management training, households have a greater capacity to discover and solve problems; through technical training and organizational development training, households develop stronger skills in animal-raising and have a greater capacity to sustain the program.

• Emphasis on Sustainability. Project sustainability comes from two aspects: First, after "passing on the gift," recipient households develop the capacity to increase their income through animal-raising; the other aspect is, through community organization-building, the project nurtures community leaders and village-level veterinarians to formulate guidelines for project management. After the program ends, a community organization or association can carry on the project management, helping others who are still in need of help.