China Program Report 2003
Environmental Action Program (EAP):
Other Impacts
Learning to cooperate and consult in the economic life of the village is an important part of the EAP course. We were pleased to see an example of this behavior learned from the training. In Shujiaba Village, Gansu, flat land is scarce. Each family has only a small piece to work with.A mushroom greenhouse could not be done on one parcel of land; it took several families working together to accomplish it.In December,10 facilitators organized an EAP level 1 course to other villagers.After that few families braved the winter cold to work together to build greenhouses to grow mushrooms at a remarkable pace of one greenhouse a day. We also observed such cooperation, along with consultation, which help to settle conflicts within families and among neighbors.
Ma Chunmei (left) with friends in the
rebuilt greenhouse
In 2002, the whole of Qingjian County , Shaanxi was flooded destroying all farms just a week before the EAPLevel 1 training. After attending the course, these few women consulted with family members and friends and as a result of the support and encouragement, Ma Chunmei (left) rebuilt, with the help of friends and neighbours, her greenhouse to plant a different fruit crop.
Hui Dongmei with husband beside the
newly built pigsty
After returning from EAP Level 1 training, Hui Dongmei from Qingjian county, Shaanxi consulted with her husband to start a small-scale enterprise. They took a small loan to buy some pigs and build a pig-sty, using materials from the surrounding mountain area.
Hui Xiaowei (left) and Han Yunlian built
a toilet facility after attending the EAP
training course
The last example of the EAP impact we wish to highlight involves the social environment. Hui Xiaowei (left) and Han Yunlian from Qiliwan Village, Shaanxi, can be seen standing in front of the toilet facility built by them after returning from the EAP training course.
This is significant because most villages exist without any such facility. Funds for this undertaking came from these two individuals and another family. Also, with the support from the village leaders, they were able to mobilize families to maintain a cleaner environment in their village by removing trash littering the streets and fields.