Oct/Nov 2001

30th November 2001

Integrated Community Development Programme in Ganluo County

As a part of the Kadoorie funded Integrated Community Development Project, we have selected two villages in a townships of Ganluo County, which is part of Liangshan Yi Minority Autonomous Prefecture. In Baikun Village, we have begun constructing fuel-efficient stoves, which uses 1/3 less fuelwood. Each household has agreed to contribute 70 RMB towards the cost of materials, and DORS is contributing the remaining 100 RMB. Mr Bai, an engineer from the Rural Energy Office who previously assisted us in other villages, has been training selected township and village representatives on the technical skills for building the stoves, and they are now responsible for assisting villagers to construct the stoves themselves.

DORS also made a visit to another township in the south of Ganluo County. During this visit, we met with the Township Government of Jimi as well as the PAO, and learned more about the different projects that are being carried out in the area.

The Completion of Autumn Planting for Forestry

In October, DORS completed our Autumn planting in Fuyou village. Over 32,000 saplings were purchased, including new, faster growing varieties of economic trees (such as walnuts, peaches and kiwi fruit) which were planted in Fuyou village in Huangmu Township. Before the planning stage, 11 villagers from Fuyou were taken to visit a village with an example of well-managed forestry. In addition, during the project preparation stage, we organised a two-day training session for the villagers with Mr Bai, a local forestry expert who we have worked with in the past, on the management and care of the saplings. Enthusiasm for this training session was high, with over 100 villagers in attendance. A total of 67, 916 RMB was spent on this project, with 64,436 RMB was spent on saplings and the remainder spent on training session and site visits. We'd like to thank the Methodist Relief and Development Fund (MRDF) for their support of this project.

DORS News and Information

Shiro Gyantsen of Kangding, Sichuan, joined DORS as a trainee for three weeks in November, learning about our approaches to participatory project development and management. While here he has been accompanying us to project sites, and has assisted us with communicating with local villagers. He has also learned more about the process of development work, from grant reporting to monitoring projects.

The Role of NGOs in China's Development - Conferences in Hong Kong and Beijing

The China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation hosted the International Conference on NGO Poverty Reduction Policy in China in Beijing from 28th-30th October. Funded by the Asian Development Bank, the United Nations Development Program, and the World Bank, the conference brought together participants from foreign and domestic NGO's around the country such as World Vision, the Heifer Project, Oxfam, Mercy Corps, and the Red Cross.

The conference highlighted many issues important to development in China, ranging from child labour to micro-finance, and gave organisations a chance to discuss and exchange ideas regarding the role of NGO's in development. Many organisations were given the chance to introduce their work in China, and others presented displays of their project areas. DORS also participated in this, and gave a presentation on our uses of participatory approaches and its limitations in project development at the village level. The conference ended with a joint declaration calling upon the Chinese government to ease registration of foreign NGO's in China. DORS volunteers Guo Yumei and Caroline Legros were able to take part in this conference. We would like to thank the Canadian Civil Society Program for their support towards this opportunity.

The Kadoorie Charitable Foundation in conjunction with ChinaBrief, organised a symposium entitled Partnership and Participation at the Kadoorie Agricultural Research Centre in Hong Kong on the 1st-2nd of November. This symposium focused on NGO experiences in China, and was attended by representatives from Save the Children, Medecins San Frontieres, Appropriate Technology Asia, the Red Cross and the Salvation Army, to name a few. DORS Director, Rose Acock, was invited to make a presentation explaining how DORS uses participatory approaches and its limitations at the village level. Our thanks to Kadoorie for supporting DORS attendance at this symposium.

Capacity Building Sustainable Water Supply Management Project Has Begun

Over the years, DORS has supported the construction of community water supply systems in villages across Hanyuan. Recently, we have started our SGS-funded project which aims to improve the long-term sustainability of our water supply systems, which we introduced in the March/April issue.

The first stage of this project has been completed. This was the training of two local (village) facilitators to visit each of DORS water supply systems to review and report on the current technical and management issues. With this information, a training session is being specifically designed by the county Water Conservancy Bureau. The villagers are being trained in the mechanics of repairing common problems, practices for ensuring the long-term supply of clean drinking water, as well as the importance of developing and maintaining a functioning water supply management system within the village. With this training, communities will be able to devise their own management systems suitable for their local conditions. Thanks to the British Embassy's Small Grant Scheme for their support of this project.

Chongqing Poverty Reduction Project Visits

DORS Members of the Chongqing Poverty Reduction Project, an AusAID funded initiative, visited DORS project sites for two days in mid-November as part of a study tour of different rural development projects in Sichuan Province. This study tour focused on participatory community project management with a concentrated gender focus. The group of 16 participants included representatives of the All China Women's Federation, as well as various township and county leaders, and AusAID consultants.

During the two days, the group was able to visit two different project sites. The first was Chenhe Village of Xixi Township, where they were able to learn about water supply projects, including community participation and management, as well as the road construction project, directly from the villagers. Some were also able to discuss the women's micro-credit program with some of the women of Chenhe. The second day included a trip to Hamlet 1 of Banyang Village in Shunhe Township. Here all the members met with Liu Jinlan, who manages the micro-credit programme in the hamlet and has also managed an electricity project in the past. She explained the way in which DORS works, and how she herself has worked with the community and DORS in managing these projects.