Projects

The immediate goal of this project is to buy 1 harvest machine for 83 households in Horgyal Village to share. The overarching goal of this project is to solve the problems faced in Horjyal Vvillage during the harvest season and improve their productivity and increase their income.

Funds needed: $7,100(48,470rmb)

Dpalmo gyal (Alison) is from Horgyal Village, Rebgong County, Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, China. Currently, she is studying towards a BA degree in English and Tibetan at Qinghai Normal University.

Project Location
The project is located in Horgyal Village, Ronbo Township, Rebgong County, Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, China. Horgyal Village is 2 km from Rebgong County. Rebgong County is about 181 km from Xining, the capital city of Qinghai Province.

Population
There are 83 households with 447 people: 177 men, 163 women and 107 children. Most of the people in Horgyal Village are Tibetan, but there is one Chinese family.

Agriculture
All the people in Horgyal Village are farmers. Each family has an average of 6 mu (1 mu= 667 square meters) of land, used to plant barley, wheat, potatoes and rapeseed. They eat most of the crops, and sell any extra grain. Most of the land has access to irrigation.

Herding
In Horgyal Village, most of the families do not have livestock, though a few households keep cows. Those families can earn about 600-700 RMB per year selling milk and yogurt. This money is used to buy everyday essentials, such as medicine, salt and tea.

Cash Income
In Horgyal Vvillage, cash income mainly depends on digging caterpillar fungus, which is a medicinal herb. Every year after planting the fields in the spring, villagers are busy preparing to travel 100-800 km away from home to nomadic places to dig caterpillar fungus. Each family sends one or two people to participate. On average, they can earn 3,000-40,00 RMB per year, but the villagers think it is very uncertain to depend on caterpillar fungus for their livelihood because sometimes they can dig more and sometimes they can dig very little, and also the price of caterpillar fungus fluctuates.Another income source is construction work. Every year they have three months of free time to be a migrant laborer, and each family can earn 2,000-3,000 RMB per year. But some families don’t have extra men or women to work as migrant laborers, so their income is lower.
Through farming, they can produce 350-450 kg grain per year per mu. Thus villagers can sell 500-1,000 kg grain in exchange for other necessities.
They can make 900-1,200 RMB per year from farming. In total, villagers can earn 5,900-8,200 RMB. However, each family spends 6,000-7,000 RMB each year on children’s school fees, health care, buying seeds for the next year, and life essentials.

Education
In Horgyal Village, there are 97 students in total. There are 42 primary students (20 girls and 22 boys); 21middle school students (13 girls and 8 boys); 14 high school students (9 boys and 5 girls); 20 college students (12 girls and 8 boys). In the village,
60 percent of the men and women are illiterate. There are 105 children total in Horgyal Village. The rest are married out or staying at home to earn money. In the past, the education level in Horgyal Village has not been good, but nowadays people are aware the importance of knowledge, so the number of children who are attending school is increasing.

THE PROJECT GOALS
The immediate goal of this project is to buy 1 harvest machine for 83 households in Horgyal Village to share.
The overarching goal of this project is to solve the problems faced in Horjyal Vvillage during the harvest season and improve their productivity and increase their income.

Problems
1. Women’s burden: Women spend much more time in the fields than men do. Women need to do all the housework and also they are the main laborers in the fields.Men only help to plant, turn over the soil after harvest, and collect the wheat. But women need to spend their whole summer time in the fields to irrigate, weed, and get rid of the harmful insects. It increases women’s burden a lot.

2. Time consuming: Because of the climate, electricity problems, and lack of harvest machines, sometimes Horgyal villagers spread the crops out on the street to thresh the wheat; but that is unclean because small stones and dust get into the wheat. Also it is not safe for the villagers, because it is possible that they will be hit by cars in the street. There are only two harvest machine for 83 households, which were provided by the government. Villagers need to wait for a long time to thresh the crops, and if it rains, the crops will rot. It usually takes 20 days to one month. Also students need to waste their study time working in the field to help their parents. Sometimes students need to ask for leave from school to work in the field, and sometimes they don’t have time to finish their homework.
3. Waste a lot of money: Because the potential for rain is a serious challenge, sometimes villagers hire women from other villages to collect the crops as quickly as they can. They also hire harvest machines from inner Chinese places to collect wheat. But usually the cost is very expensive: 65-75 RMB for one mu for hiring women and 55-65 RMB for the modern machine. These extra costs can make the investment nearly as much as the income.
4. Lack of income: Villagers can’t make much money, because of the lack of harvest machines and electricity, and unpredictable nature disasters. Each family can only produce 350-450 kg per year per mu. Thus villagers can only sell 500-1,000 kg grain to change for other necessities.

Benefits

1. Reduce women’s labor: Women’s labor will be decreased if they have a harvest machine. According to their customs, women would not work with the huge machines. Men would manage the machine and collect the crops. Thus, the women’s burden is automatically reduced.
2. Save time: Villagers’ time would be saved if they had a harvest machine, because harvest machines work so quickly. The crops won’t rot in the fields anymore and villagers can use the time to work at construction sites to earn money. Before, they needed to spend 20-25 days collecting the crops, but if they have a harvest machine they can finish collecting the crops in just 3-5 days. Children will have more time to study, because they won’t need to spend a long time helping their families with the harvest.
3. Save money: Villagers will save money if they have a harvest machine, because they won’t need to hire people or machines any more. Villagers can invest less money in the harvest and won’t need to worry that their crops will rot. They spend 375-425 RMB per year on harvest. They can save extra money to purchase other needs.
4. Increase income: Villagers can use the extra time to do other work. For example, women could have a small business selling fruit to make a profit.

Beneficiaries
This project will directly benefit a total of 447 people: 163 women, 177 men and 107 children in Horgyal Village.

Gender Equality
In Horgyal Village, women are the main laborers in the fields, and men seldom help . If a man holds a sickle and works in the field, people think it is unusual and ridiculous, which is shameful for that man. So men would not work in the fields except to plant and plough. With a harvest machine, women’s labor would be reduced, because men would be the main workers during the harvest season.
In the past, girls did not have as much access to schools as boys, so most of the women in this village are illiterate. Therefore, they are not able to participate in social and economic life. For example, they can’t communicate with others during construction work or doing some basic business. But now, the importance of knowledge was introduced to the parents and they are sending girls and boys to school equally. With a harvest machine, mothers won’t need daughters’ help in the fields and girls are more likely to attend school.

Governmental Approval
The project manager Dpalmo gya met the leader of Horgyal Village, O rgyan Tse ring during the National Holiday in 2009. He offered full agreement on this project and he will be responsible for the project. And the township leader, ‘Brugthar gyal, gave full permission for this project. The village leader agreed to provide a house to put the machine in and collect money from the villagers to fix the machine if it has some problems.

Time Frame
This project will take one week to complete.
2 days: Purchasing the machine in Chaoynag Market in Xining City.
2 days: Transport the harvest machine from Xining to Horjyal Village, Rebgong County.
1 day: Train some men from the village to use the machine safely.
1 day: Arrange the harvest machine room.

Project Steps
1. Called village leader to find out about the biggest problem in Horgyal Village. (Done)
2. Held a meeting with villagers to figure out what they need most. (Done)
3. Got permission from village leader and township leader. (Done)
4. Found out the price of the harvest machine in Xining City, Qinghai Province.
5. Wrote proposal. (Done)
6. Receive funds.
7. Purchasing the harvest machine in Xining City.
8. Transport the harvest machine to the project location.
9. Hold a meeting with the villagers and arrange the house for the harvest machine.
10. Train some men from the village to use the machine safely.
11. Hold a meeting to set up the rules of using the machine and find a manager of the machine.
12. Take photos of the machine.
13. Write final report.

Project budget

Sustainability of the project
The project manager will buy a high quality harvest machine and set up rules for the villagers to take care and use the machine. The village leader said that he will be responsible for the machine and provided a house to put the machine in. Thus, the machine won’t be stolen or damaged by others. And also the villagers promised that they will fix the machine if it has some problems in the future and they will pay the cost of repairing it. So the project will be maintained for a long time and Horgyal villagers will continue to benefit from the machine.

The map of the project location

Photo of the harvest machine

This is the modern harvest machine; it can collect the crops in the field and thresh the crops at the same time. It divides straw and wheat separately and it works quickly. It also can collect rapeseed.