Reports

The overarching goal of this project is to improve people’s life conditions and health by using this water system. The immediate goal of this project is to build a running water system for 51 households in Lower Mairi Village, and it also benefits five villages with about 600 local people, which also rely on the same source of water in Cuozhou Township of Jiantsa County.

Church Development Service funded this project

Pagmotso is from Kousa Tang Village, Make Tang Township, Jiantsa County, Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, China. She is currently teaching in Jiantsa Nationalities No.2 Middle School, in Jiantsa County, Qinghai Province.

What? Build a running water system for 51 households for an impoverished Tibetan village.

Who? 51 households in Lower Mari Village, Cuozhou Township , Jiantsa County, Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Qinghai Province.

Photos of project implementation

Photo of the spring source where the ditch was dug.

This is very rocky and it was very hard for those old men to dig the ditch, so the old man who is sitting there put a bomb which makes it easier for them to dig the ditch.

These women are digging the ditch at the village nearby, because at noon they need to go back and cook for their old parents and feed their babies. So the project committee asked them to dig the ditch near the village. The men in the village dig other parts of the ditch.

After we loaded all the plastic pipes in Lanzhou, we came directly back to Jiantsa County at about five clock in the morning, but when we arrived in a small village, the truck couldn’t go through to the project site, because it was raining and the small poor road wasn’t fit for such big truck, so villagers unloaded the pipes in this village (it is not the village where we would build the running water, it is nearby village) and then the villagers would use their tricycles to carry the pipes to their village.

This is the market where we purchase cement.


These are the steel pipes we purchased for the project

These are the pictures of both men and women putting the plastic pipes in to the ditch.

These women are also members of the project committee. When they were digging the ditch, there were many large rocks, so they dug the ditch under the rocks and pulled the plastic pipes using ropes.

These women are heating the Lajia (which is a black solid substance that turns liquid when it is heated; professional carpenters from this village said that Liquid Lajia is very useful to connect plastic pipes).

These are the pictures of a distribution water box and soon villagers are going to cover it.


This is the location where the water box was built in the forest; after villagers finished the water box it was very cold and frozen near the drain pipe of the water box. Villagers hung Katak (a Tibetan white scarf which is used for various circumstances such as showing appreciation, wishing good luck, etc.) on the cover of the water box to celebrate the success of the project.

After the villagers finished putting all the plastic pipes in the ditch and built the water box near the spring source, three monks from this village donated some money and villagers got together to celebrate the success of the project.

Summary of the project

 Project title: Running Water Project for Lower Mairi Village

Project goals: The overarching goal of this project is to improve people’s life conditions and health by using this water system. The immediate goal of this project is to build a running water system for 51 households in Lower Mairi Village, and it also benefits five villages with about 600 local people, which also rely on the same source of water in Cuozhou Township of Jiantsa County.

Location of the project: Lower Mairi Village is located in the north of Cuozhou Township, Jiantsa County, Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province. It is about 180 kilometers away from Xining, which is the capital city of Qinghai Province. Mairi is an agricultural village with 51 households which are situated in the middle of a mountain. All the people in this village are Tibetans.

Total beneficiaries: This project directly benefits 51households with approximately 353 people in lower Mairi Village.

Implementation organization/ individual: Pagmotso (the project manger), Mr. Gazang Cairang and Mr. Dongzhi Caidan (village leaders), Mr. SanDan, Mr. Jiatso, Mrs. Dorma Cairang, Mrs. Zhi Mei Tso, Mrs. Ge Ri Tso, Ms. Qion Zhou and Ms. Queji (members of lower Mairi Village’s project committee) and Shem Women’s Group.

Founds received: Source, amounts and Date Received.
The Church Development Service funded this project with a total amount of 17,1840 RMB. To ensure the success of this project implementation, the grant was divided into two installments, the first installment covers 80％(137,472RMB) of the total grant and was given to the project manager on August 21st, 2009, and the second installment of 20﹪of the total grant ( 34,368 RMB), Shem will give to the project manager Pagmotso when the project is totally completed successfully.

Project Steps
1. Held a meeting with villagers and a project committee was formed. This group was composed of seven villagers, three men and four women (San Dan, Suo Nan Ring Qing and Ga Sang Caring, Zhi Mei Tso, Ge Ri Tso,Qiong Zhou and Que Ji)

2. Discussed with village leaders and water designers to decide where and how to build the water reservoir.

3. Villagers and water designers decided the needs of materials and place to purchase the materials.

4. Contract signed with project committee and wrote a contract letter between villagers and I (project manager Pagmotso) about this project. If there was some accident, all the responsibility would be taken by the villagers, because some ditch would be dug in rocks, so safety was more important than the project.

5. Village leaders collected the local contribution and brought good sand and stones, and transported the sand and stones to the project site.

6. Villagers started to dig the ditch by hand on 26th of September, 2009

7. After villagers dug the ditch in three days, village leaders San Dan, GaSang Tsering (my uncle) and I went to Lanzhou and checked materials’ price and signed a contract with the plastic pipe factory. But the factory needed to prepare the materials for us and we had to wait five days. The village needs very thick pipes, because the mountain slope is very steep from the water spring to households and there is too much pressure, therefore, the plastic pipes should be high quality and thick, otherwise, the pipes would be broken very easily. So the plastic pipe factory said they would make the deepest plastic pipes with high quality and they would grantee the pipes for ten years.

8. I (Pagmotso) project manager started to go to the project site and took pictures in 30th of September,2009.

9. From 1st to 2nd October, 2009, villagers rested and waited for the pipes, because after villagers dug the ditch, they said that it would be more convenient to place pipes and dig the ditch at the same time. Otherwise, earth or soil will fall down to the ditch again. So villagers had to wait until the pipes were transported from Lanzhou Plastic Pipes Factory.

10. Village leader and I (project manager) went to Xining and checked the best quality and cheapest steel and cement prices on 1st October, 2009.

11. Purchased the steel and cement in Xining and transported it to the project site on October 2nd, 2009.

12. On the afternoon of October 6th, 2009, Lanzhou Plastic Pipes Factory called us to say that they finished making the pipes. So one man from the project committee Suo Nan Ring Qing and I (project manager Pagmotso) went to Lanzhou to get pipes, connection and valves.

13. On October 7th, LanZhou Plastic Factory brought all the pipes and connections to the village.

14. From October 13th to November 6th of 2009, villagers started to put the plastic pipes in the ditch and dug the ditches.

15. From October 29th to November 6th, 2009, the water designer and some professional carpenters from the village started to build the water reservoir and covered it near the spring source.

16. In ther afternoon of November 6th,2009, the villagers put the pipes in the ditch from the spring source to the distribution water box, (which is built near the village).

17. From November 11th, 2009, all the villagers and the water designer started to build the distribution water box above the village.

18. From November 15th to 17th it was very cold and snowed a little bit, so the villagers and the water designer took rest.

19. November 23rd of 2009, the villagers and water designer almost finished the distribution water box, but it still didn’t cover it , because it was very cold and everything was frozen , so the villagers stopped and waited until spring 2010

20. After March 15th of 2010, the villagers started to dig the ditch from the distribution water box to each household.

21. On March 19th of 2010, the villager leader and I went to Xining and bought plastic pipes.

22. On March 25th of 2010, the plastic pipes were transported to the village.

23. From March 26th of 2010, the villagers started to put all the plastic pipes from the distribution water box to each household.

24. On May 2nd of 2010, villagers finished putting all the plastic pipes, taps and valves in each household.

25. From May 2nd to 5th of 2010, the project committee and water designer started to make the cover for the distribution water box.

26. The distribution water box was dry and the cover was ready on 5th of May in 2010.

27. The project committee cleaned the distribution water box and tested the water to see whether it worked.

28. Water came to each household through the plastic pipes and I went to each household and took pictures with the interview.

29. I (project manager Pagmotso) called Shem Women’s Group to inform them of the completion of project.

30. I collected all the receipts from the village leader.

31. The project committee and the village leader set up a future management plan to sustain the project. Two households were chosen to manage the system for two months and this system will rotate in order to involve all 51 households in monitoring the water system.

32. Village wrote a letter of thanks.

33. I started to write the final report.

34. Sent final report with receipts and photos to Shem Women’s Group.

Project Finances

		Original Budget
Receipts#	Item	Donor Contri bution in rmb	Local Contri bution in rmb	Shem Contri bution in rmb	Total cost in rmb
#1 Note#1	Pipes and related materials	130,560	0	0	130,560
#2 Note#2	Steels	17,700	0	0	17,700
#3 Note#3	Cement	12,000	0	0	12,000
#4 Note#4	Water Designer	1,400	0	0	1,400
#5Note#5	Bricks	5,000	0	0	5,000
#6 Note#6	Project management expenses	300	200	0	500
#7 Note #7	Extra pipes	0	0	0	0
	Sand &stone	0	3,280	0	3,280
Note#8	##Transpor tation for related supplies	4,880	0	0	4,880
Note #9	Digging fee	0	90,000	0	90,000
	Project payment	0	0	500	500
Total		171,840	93,480	500	265,820

		Actual Cost
Receipts#	Item	Donor contri bution in rmb	Local Contri bution in rmb	Shem Contri bution inrmb	Total cost in rmb	Difference between (original & actual budgets) in rmb
#1 Note#1	Pipes and related materials	130,518.99	0	0	130,518.99	+41.01
#2 Note#2	Steels	17,850	0	0	17,850	-150
#3 Note#3	Cement	9,000	10 Ton	0	9,000	+3,000
#4 Note#4	Water Designer	3,000	0	0	3,000	-1,600
#5Note#5	Bricks	7,000	0	0	7,000	-2,000
#6 Note#6	Project management expenses	947.9	200	0	1147.9	-647.9
#7 Note #7	Extra pipes	3,523.11	19,596.89	0	23,120	-23,120
	Sand &stone	0	3,280	0	3,280	0
Note#8	## Transportation for related supplies	0	1,800	0	1,800	+3080
Note #9	Digging fee	0	105,000	0	105,000	-15,000
	Project payment	0	0	500	500	0
Total		171,840	129,876.89	500	302,216.89	-36,396.89

Notes: The total cost of this project is 301,716.89 RMB, which is 36,396.89 RMB higher than the original budget. The extra money was paid by the locals;19,796.89 RMB was paid in cash and rest was labor contribution.

Note #1
Originally we planned to purchase these types (75#, 32#, 25#) of PE pipes, valves, connections and spigots. Then later the water designer found that it was better to purchase (63#, 32#, 20#) thick PE pipes, valves, connections and spigots, because from his careful checking from the spring source to the distribution water box, there would be a lot of water pressure, so we brought very thick 63# of PE pipes in Lanzhou, because there were non in the pipes factory in Xining. At that time, the price of the materials was unbelievably increased; also it was very expensive if we got good quality receipts. Therefore, compared to the original budget, the price of all materials was incredibly increased.

Note #2
According to my original budget, we could buy 3 ton of steels with 17,700 RMB. But when we purchased the steel, the price had increased, so 3 tons of steel cost 17,850 RMB, with tax.

Note #3
In the original budget, we planned to buy 30 tons of cement, but because the water designer and project committee thought there wouldn’t be enough money for the rest of the materials, we bought 20 tons of cement instead, which is not enough for the water box and for each household. Therefore, the village leader and project committee went to the local government and explained the village’s needs, so the government leader said that he would donate 10 tons of cement to the villagers.

Note #4
When the project started, the weather was really changeable; it rained very often and created lots of delays. Especially during November of 2009, it was very cold and snowed a lot. One unexpected thing was that after we had finished putting in all the pipes, the water didn’t come out through the pipes. Then the water designer checked again and found that he had made a mistake about the distance and the spring source was quite low. Therefore, the water designer stayed in the village for many days and helped the villagers build both the water box and distribution water box as well. Thus, the project committee bargained with the water designer and finally we paid 3,000 RMB in total (according to my original budget, the water designer will be charged 100 RMB per day for 14 days, but while we were doing the project, the cost was much higher because we needed to pay taxes to get a real receipt and it also took many days. Therefore, we bargained with the designer and finally paid 120 RMB per day for 25 days, which was 3,000 RMB in total.

Note #5
While we purchased the bricks, the price increased and we needed to pay taxes in order to get real receipts. However, one monk called Luo Sang Yun dan (from lower Mai Ri village) had experience purchasing bricks and he knew well about the bricks, so he helped us to pay fewer taxes for the real receipts. Therefore, finally we paid 0.7 RMB per brick for 10,000 bricks in total (which included bricks’ tax and transportation).

Note #6
This project proposal was finished when I was a student in Xining, before my graduation. However, the project was begun after I came to Jiantsa County, which was near my project site. When implementing this project, I personally needed to go and observe the project, but it was very difficult to get permission from the school leader in Jiantsa County (where I was working) because if we are absent from one class the school would deduct my salary and scold me . So I needed to call vthe illage leader and project committee many times and sometimes I asked my colleagues to help me to go there by their motorcycle on the weekends, paying for their motorcycle’s petrol.

Also, members of the project committee and I, the project manager, and my uncle went back and forth to the factories many times to purchase pipes and cement; consequently, the project management expenses were higher than I originally budgeted.

Note #7
Because of the water designer’s mistake about measuring the distance and the location of the spring source, we had to purchase more pipes, which cost 23,120 RMB, which was more than the original budget. The project committee and the village leader borrowed 19,596.89 RMB from other people with interest, and we had to pay the leftover money from the donor contribution, 3,523.11 RMB for the pipes too.

Note #8
In my original budget, I requested plastic pipes, connections, cement and steel transportation fee from donors, but once we purchased those materials, the plastic pipes and connection transportation fee were paid by the Lanzhou Plastic Pipe Factory, and after we bought cement and steel, paid the water designer by borrowing money from relatives, cement and steel transportation fees was paid by the local contribution. So we used 4,880 RMB of the transportation fee on extra pipes (see Receipt #7) and the water designer fee (see Receipt #4).

Note #9
According to my original budget, the project was scheduled to take two months, but it actually took more than two months, because of the weather. It took 70 days, so the labor fee we calculated as 50 workers * 70 days * 30 RMB per day = 105,000 RMB. This counted as the villagers’ local contribution, and we didn’t pay for that.

Delays, difficulties and lessons are learned
Delay of the activities;
The project could not begin as soon as the funds were received due to the following reasons:

Firstly, it was harvest season when the project was funded and many people had to harvest. Usually it would only take 20 days to finish the harvest. However, this year was very different from previous years, because it rained a lot and villagers stopped doing harvest. Thus, we waited one month and nine days to finish the harvest.

Secondly, the spring we originally planned to get water from was no longer sustainable. Before the project started, there was a small village called Luowa, (which was nearby Lower Mairi Village) that agreed that Lower Mairi Village could use the spring to build a running water system. But after they heard that the project was funded, Luowa villagers told the Lower Mairi villagers that they couldn’t use the spring. They were saying that the spring would not enough for both villages. Therefore, Lower Mairi Village chose some people who had some relatives or friends in Luowa Village and sent them to Luowa Village to ask permission several times, but they still didn’t give permission. So we started to search for another spring and luckily we found a good spring, but this delayed us a lot.

Also, digging a ditch in the forest is illegal, because sometimes we need to cut trees for the ditch and destroy some plants. So we spent one day and went to Jiantsa Forest Bureau and discussed the project with them, and finally they agreed. After we dealt with all those things, villagers started to dig the ditch on September 26th, 2009.

Difficulties encountered during project implementation;
For me this is my first time to do such construction project, so I lacked relevant knowledge, experience and management skills, which caused lots of difficulties and challenges. At the beginning of the project, all the village leaders were not so cooperative; they were doing things their own way without asking me. Once I went to my aunt’s funeral, two of the project committee members bought small materials without getting receipts, because they didn’t realize how important it was to get receipts, even for such small things. So I had to explain to them very seriously. Also, village leaders asked me to hire excavators to dig the ditch, because it was difficult for people to dig in rocks. But to hire excavators would take away large portion from the first installment of the funds. The second installment would surely not be enough to implement rest of the project works. So after discussing this problem with project committee, we decided that some villagers who had experience would use dynamite to dig the ditch and we would not hire the excavators.

Additionally, I work a little bit far away from the project site, so each time I needed to go and observe the project, I needed to take days off school. Also from my working place to project, the transportation was very inconvenient and every time I needed to ask for some of my colleagues to help me get there by motorcycle by paying a little for the motorcycle’s petrol.

After we loaded all the materials in the truck in Lanzhou, it was already dark. But to save money, we didn’t stay in Lanzhou that night and we asked the truck driver to go directly back to Jiantsa County. While we arrived Jiantsa County it was almost four o’clock in the morning and the weather was not so good, but we went directly to the project site even though we were very hungry. But it rained heavily after one hour so the truck couldn’t go to the project site and we had to stop at a nearby village. However, all the villagers were still sleeping, and our cell phones were out off service. The driver pressured us to unload the materials and it was impossible for both of us to unload all the materials, and it was really hard for us to contact the villagers. Finally it was ok to leave the materials in the truck. So we just slept in the truck and waited until morning. After the dawn, the village leader spent one and half hours to go on foot to the project site, and I went to a small household to ask for some bread for driver and me to eat. Finally, all the villagers came and unloaded all the materials. Villagers carried all the materials on their tricycles. Spending a whole night in the truck was really hard especially in such a bad weather, so from that day I was really sick and stay in bed for four days.

Lessons learned
During implementing this project, one thing that I learned is that to have a relevant knowledge and experience is the most important thing. Once we had adequate knowledge and experience, we could easily determine the success of the project. Because when we actually implement the project, , new events or unexpected things occurred. If you cannot manage well when there are many unexpected things or new changes come, one of the most important things is that you should get more suggestions or help from others with experience.

In fact, local people had low expectation toward women while I was doing the project; even my grandmother told me that young girls could not do this kind of

project. I never felt disappointed about how people talk about me and I just try my best to implement the project. I think if we keep going, there are always different ways to solve the problems and nothing is impossible for us to deal with in our life. Especially, when we encounter difficulties, the most important thing is that we shouldn’t feel upset or give up.

Variations and changes occurred (budget, activities and time frame)

One of the changes that occurred to the original budget was because the water experts and we (project committee) checked the distance from the local village to the spring source, and it was seven and half kilometers away. But once we completed the project and tested water, the water didn’t come, so we found that the water designer had made a mistake; the water spring where we dug was quite low, and also it was one and half kilometers farther away than we thought. Thus, we needed to dig the ditch again through a small hill, plus we needed to buy more pipes. However, the first installment of the grants was already used up, and the second installment surely would not be enough, so we (the project committee) decided that we should collect more money from locals to buy the rest of the plastic pipes. It was still not enough and I needed to find more money, which was very hard for me to do, especially because people would not lend money to girls, because they thought girls do not have the ability to make money and couldn’t pay back the loan. Even if we could borrow money from others we would also need to pay it back with interest. Therefore, I asked the village leader to find some money and he borrowed 24,000 RMB from one of his friends and he said that the villagers will have to pay back this money with interest after this autumn.

The second variation from the original plan was that the time frame was totally changed. My original plan was that the project would take two months to finish, but it took more than two months because of the bad weather. When we built distribution water box, the winter came and all the things froze and we couldn’t cover the distribution water box. So I called Shem Women’s Group and explained to this problem to them, so they told me that it would be ok if we finish the project next year on May 5th,2010.　 Also, there was some changes in the price of materials; the price of most materials had increased and we also need to pay more money to get real receipts. We checked several factories and figured out which quality is good and which is not good and finally we chosen the best quality plastic pipes (which would have a longer guarantee in the future) in the factory.

Interviews

Tso Mao is ten years old and she is the youngest of four sisters in her family. She is attending a primary school now. Her two older sisters are also studying in Middle School, and the other two sisters are staying at home and helping her parents and grandparents to do house chores and fetch water. The old man who is standing behind Tso Mao is her 75-year-old grandfather. He has with a problem with his leg and he can’t move as well as other people. While we were interviewing him about the benefit of the water system, he said, “We have never dreamed that we could drink such clean water in our lives. Before we had reliable running water, TsoMao’s mother and her two old sisters need to spend two hours to fetch water from the river, which is about two kilometers away, also the road is very steep and dangerous. So after we had this running water, they needn’t spend many hours to fetch water for both our family members and our livestock. We can wash our clothes and pour the clean water on the vegetables and trees that we planted in our yard. From now on, even if my family members and grandchildren are out side, I can fetch water in my family’s yard. I really appreciate the donor’s help and wish you would have long life!” Tso Mao also very happily said, “Since my family has running water, I needn’t carry water for my grandparents when my parents and sisters go outside and make money. Instead, I can use the time to do my homework and play with other children. Thanks for your help!”

This woman is 65 years old, named Li Guo, and there are six people in her family. When we entered her house, she was full of smiles and pouring the water on her family’s vegetables. She informed us, “This running water saved a lot of women’s lives in our community and from today I needn’t go on foot to the river and carry water on my back, because before when I carried the water on my back, it gave me a backache and sore feet and I couldn’t finish my other house chore. Also this running water helps us to plant many vegetables and trees in my family’s yard. So I really want to say thanks for your greatest help and I will pray for you as much as I can in my life!”

The old man who is standing near the running water is called Dorma Ben. He is 48 years old and has a serious illness and can’t work. Also he has a hunched back as you saw on the picture. There are five people in his family and his family condition is much poorer than other households, because his wife couldn’t afford his two daughters’ (who are university students) tuition and the family’s daily expenses. So while we interviewed him about the benefit of the running water, he said, “When my wife goes outside to work, it is very difficult for me to fetch water and have a little time to do house chore, and I planned to keep my little son at home and ask him to help. But now that my family has running water, I needn’t keep my son at home and should send him to school, because now I can easily get water by myself with buckets in my family’s yard. Without your donor’s help, it would be impossible for us to drink such clean water in my whole life and I wish you a great life in the future! Thanks a lot!”

There are four children in this family and their older brother is a senior student, their sister is also in middle school. The little girl’s name is Xie Ri Dorma, she is 13 years old and is the youngest child in her family. The boy who is sitting on the Kang is Xie Ri Dorma’s elder brother, his name is Gongbao La dan, he is 16 years old. He was both mentally and physically disabled since he was born, without his mother and eldest brother’s help, he couldn’t eat or dress by himself. When his family members are out, he can’t go outside and pee, so every day he sits on the kang and pees there. When we entered his family home, there was only his younger sister and him, and the little girl informed us that her mother went to collect fuel in the forest. As her brother saw us, he was full of smiles and greeted us with his gestures. Besides his mother there is no other supporters in his family. His father never cares about the family and children. Once his father gets some money, he goes to the city or county town and sometimes he never come back home. While we interviewed this little girl about the benefit of the running water, she said, “Since my family has running water, I needn’t go to the river and fetch water after class. Also I needn’t stay up all night to do my homework. I am especially happy that I needn’t carry water on my back during the harvest time (which is the busiest and hottest time); instead, I can help my mother to do house chores and collect fuel for my family during my vacation, and this is first time that trees and vegetables will be grown in my family’s yard. My last hope is that I beg you to help my disabled brother if there is more chance in the future.”

This woman’s name is La Jian Tso, and she is 63 years old. Her eldest son was studying in Bei Jing University and her second son is also a senior school student. Besides her, there are no any other family members to help, because her husband Dorma Jia is about 65 years old and has an incurable illness. So both outside and inside ‘s work must be done by her; for example: weeding the field, collecting fuel, fetching water and caring for her sick husband. Therefore, once we interviewed her, she said, “Thanks for your greatest help. Since my family has running water, I can easily finish my house chores early, also my children needn’t fetch water for us in their holidays, instead, they can use the time to review their lessons. So I am really happy and inspired by your kind warm heart! Thank you very much!

This boy is called Yong Dna Ra jie; he is 13 years old and a primary school student. Since his parents went to dig caterpillar fungus, he is responsible for watering the trees that had been planted in his family. When we interviewed him, he said, “From this year, I needn’t rush to my family and fetch water for both my grandparents and livestock after my class. Now we have running water in our yard, and I can help my grandparents to cook food and finish my homework earlier than before. I am really happy to say thanks a lot for your donation!”

Mr. Jiatso is one member of the project committee. He is 45 years old, and there are six people in his family. His youngest son is junior school student, his wife and his daughter went to dig caterpillar fungus, so Mr. Jiatso needs to stay at home and take care of his 75-year-old parents. As we interviewed him, he said, “With your great help, at last we can drink clean water, which will help our sanitation and we can grow green vegetables or trees in our yard. Also from today, how happy that we needn’t worry about water for both our family members and livestock, and this running saved a lot of time for me to do other house chores. Thanks for your help and I will pray for you!”

Thank you letter

Translation of the thank you letter

Dear Church Development Service and Shem Women’s Group,

With your enthusiastic help and support, you have greatly helped both Lower Mairi villagers and livestock’s lives by providing clean water. I want to say thanks a lot for your kind heart and greatest help. Originally both villagers and livestock had to drink water from Small River about two kilometers away through a very steep road. To deal with this problem, with Church Development Service and Shem Women’s Group’s greatest support, we built a clean running water system for each household from seven kilometers away.

Actually in our history, this is our first time to get such compassion and support from the donors. This running water especially helped many young school aged girls being kept at home to help their families fetch the water through a steep and dangerous road. Therefore, from your donation, many women’s heavy burden has been ended as we had never been expected or dreamed before. All the young and old villagers from Lower Mairi Village were inspired by your great donation and want to say thank you very much from the bottom of our hearts and we will appreciate your help forever.

All the villagers from Lower Mairi Village of Jiantsa County in Qing Hai Province,

May 5th, 2010.

List of receipts

Receipts 1

These receipts are for purchasing plastic pipes and connections and total cost 130,518.99 RMB

Receipt 2

These two receipts are for purchasing 3 ton of steel, which cost 17,850 RMB

Receipt 3

These receipts are for purchasing 20 tons of cement and the cost is 9,000RMB

Receipt 4

This is for the water designer’s fee and it cost 3,000 RMB

Receipt5

This receipt is for purchasing bricks with 7,000 RMB

Receipt 6

These are for the transportation fees for project management, a total of 947.9 RMB

Receipt 7

These are for purchasing extra pipes for 23,120 RMB.

Original Proposal

Project location
Lower Mairi village is located in the north of Cuozhou Township, Jiantsa County, Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province. It is about 180 kilometers away from Xining, the capital city of Qinghai Province. Mairi is an agricultural village with 51 households, which are situated in the middle of a mountain. All the people in this village are Tibetans. Lower Mairi village is adjacent to Upper Mairi village and both villages currently rely on the same water source.
Population
There are approximately 353 people within 51 households in Lower Mairi village. There are 150 women, 143 men and 60 children in this lower village.

Education
Almost none of the adults or elders of Mairi village have received formal education. Most of those with no education were unable to attend school due to accessibility or funding difficulties. However, about five percent of the people in Mairi village are older men who can read and write Tibetan, as they learned from the monastery during 1966-1977. In 1993, nearly all village parents began to send one child to the local primary school. Students could only attend grades one through four and lacked a real classroom, teachers, and good materials. In recent times, a new understanding of the importance of education for success in modern society has increased school attendance. In Mairi village, out of 45 school-aged children there are 33 children are attending school. There are 2 university students (one girl and one boy), 4 boy senior students, 7 junior school students (three girls and four boys) and 20 primary school students (eight girls and twelve boys). On average, one child from each family currently attends primary school, although there is usually more than one child in each household. Some families do not send their children to school because they cannot afford the school tuition. Moreover, some families don’t send any children to school because they need them to stay at home to help work in the fields and fetch water to provide for both family and livestock.

Cash Income
All of the people in Mairi village are farmers. A major source of income outside of agriculture is digging caterpillar fungus, (cordyceps sinensis; Dongchun Xia Cao in Chinese) a medicinal herb that grows in nomadic areas. Caterpillar fungus is sold for five yuan per fungus. However, gathering caterpillar fungus is very difficult. People have to dig for the fungus in the forest or in the high altitude grassland where each person must pay 2,500 rmb to dig on other people’s land, unsure whether the land actually has any caterpillar fungus. People usually dig the fungus from the beginning of May until the end of June. When they go to dig fungus, villagers must also pay for the bus fare to take them to the nomadic places. Each person needs to pay nearly 350 rmb for a ticket. Sometimes people have no money to bring home from digging because of difficulties and the high landlord’s fee.After paying the landlord’s fee, most people bring 800-900 rmb home in profit. This amount of money is not even sufficient for family expenses, such as buying clothes, salt, tea, medicine, paying for electricity and buying fertilizer, which costs about 400-500 rmb alone. The total of these essential expenses comes to 1,000 rmb per year, but on average people can only earn 900 rmb in the whole year. Usually one person from each family goes to dig caterpillar fungus to support the family. If a family has both middle school and university students, they generally have to borrow 3500 rmb from others or a local bank to pay their children’s tuition. Usually after a family member digs caterpillar fungus, the earnings must be spent on paying back the loans and interest. Another expense for about 40 households in Mairi village is 400 rmb for 250 kilograms of grain for food every year because of poor harvest due to a lack of irrigation system.

Agriculture
Mairi villagers usually plant wheat, barley, potatoes, and beans on their small fields once a year. The richest families in Mairi village have 10 mu of fields to plant these crops. This is just enough for a year’s worth of food for both people and livestock (such as pigs and mules), with no surplus. Each year, a family can produce 250 kilograms of barley, wheat, or potatoes per mu. The poor families in the village have only 7 mu of fields without irrigation, from which they must try to supply food for all members of the family and livestock. The farmers rely on the rainfall, with no other irrigation system. If one year has very little rain, these poor families are in danger of starving because they cannot produce and do not have money to buy grain for food. On average, thirty five households from Mairi village do not produce enough for a year’s worth of food. Occasionally the local government might give one or two sacks of flour to the poorest families, but this is still not sufficient for supporting both people and livestock.

Herding
Each family in Mairi village has an average of three animals: one mule and two donkeys. The exception is three households which have almost 50 sheep and goats each. The animals in Mairi village are needed for plowing in the spring and carrying the straw during the harvest.

Project Goals
The immediate goal of this project is to build a running water system for 51 households in Lower Mairi village. This project will also benefit five villages of about 600 local people, which rely on the same source of water in the Cuozhou Township of Jiantsa County. This project will help more children from Lower Mairi village the possibility to attend school. And the overchanging goal is to improve people’s life condition and to have a healthy life by using this water system.

Problems
Water shortage: The water piping currently used by lower Mairi villagers doesn’t belong to the village, but to the two adjacent villages (Upper Mairi village located at the top of the mountain, and the Lower Mairi village is in the middle of the mountain). This piping was built by the local government of these two villages three years ago. Previously the government thought that this water system would be enough for both villages. Unfortunately, upper Mairi village has about 350 people as well as livestock, which rely on this water, leaving inadequate water for Lower Mairi village. Originally Lower Mairi villagers had obtained water from a small river, about two and half kilometers from the village, at the bottom of a steep mountain. This road for fetching water is very steep and treacherous. Fetching water is traditionally a task of women and young girls, so the women of lower Mairi must carry water barrels along the steep path to collect their water. Unable to individually carry enough water, women must also use their donkeys or mules to fetch water with metal barrels. This water fetching process takes women at least two hours to complete, and then they must begin the other housework chores.

Health problems: To fetch water, villagers must travel on a steep mountain path down to the river, a difficult and dangerous undertaking. During the summer when people cannot predict when it will rain, this task is especially dangerous as a sudden storm may appear when people are fetching water, making the ground slippery and the river rough. Many villagers have suffered broken bones from falling on the steep mountain road while fetching water, and several children have drowned in the dangerous river. As a result, people use their water sparingly which negatively impacts the level of health and hygiene in the village. To spare water, families don’t wash their clothes often and usually irrigate their crops with dirty water instead of clean water. This polluted water makes the vegetables that the villagers eat unhealthy. Many women and girls suffer from hunched backs and backaches from fetching water in water barrels on their backs

Time consuming: Without enough water provided by the pipe, villagers must spend lots of time collecting water. Students must spend their vacation periods helping their families to fetch water from the river. This not only uses up their leisure time, but also cuts into their study time. While other village’s students may go to the county town and participate in training programs or tutoring during holidays, lower Mairi’s students must fetch water. Fetching water three times per day does not leave time for women to work outside the home as men do.

Dangerous frozen ground: When the villagers fetch water in winter, they have to cross over the frozen river, which has turned to thick, slippery ice. This can be very dangerous, especially for young children and elders, who sometimes fall on the ice and hurt themselves. The ice is also difficult for the donkeys and mules, often causing them to slip and fall. Additionally, the river is located at the bottom of the mountain and remains in the shadow of the mountain until noon. Thus, people can easily get cold and ill, which forces them to pay for medical attention and to buy warm clothes that can be very expensive.

Pollution: Villagers use the river for washing their clothes and village animals use and pollute the river. This pollution not only affects lower Mairi village, but also the five other villages that the river flows through.

Increased women’s labor: The river is at the bottom of a mountain that is about two and half kilometers from the Mairi village. Women usually get up at half past six to get water with water barrels on their backs, and do not return until nine o’clock. On their return, women must cook for their families, do the house chores, and work on the farm. Sometimes women will not finish their work until well into the night, leaving no time to relax and do work outside the home for wages

Increased illiteracy rate: As the summer approaches, men from this village must go outside the village and earn money. Women have to work in the fields weeding and doing other tasks. Parents need their children to stay at home to collect water from the river and to cook for elders. Usually these tasks are given to daughters, forcing the girls to drop out of school. With more children needing to work instead of receiving an education, illiteracy rates are rising.

Lack of reliable water supply: During the harvest and planting times potable water is extremely necessary for each household, as this is the busiest and most tiring work period for both people and mules or donkeys. In these periods, the water carrier must fetch water four or five times the usual amount. Thus, each family must choose one person to spend all day getting water, or they will not have enough water for people to drink. At this busy time, even one small child is very helpful. The lack of reliable and conveniently located water impedes villagers from finishing their tasks efficiently.

Benefits
If we build a running water system for every household in lower Mairi village, then there will be enough water for all the villagers and several problems will be resolved.

1. Women in the village will not need to walk long distances to fetch water and they will have more leisure time to relax and spend on their other tasks, like weeding and irrigating the fields. This will also free up the donkeys and mules to do work that is not related to carrying water. This project will reduce both women and animal’s burdens.

2. The health problems related to water collection will be eliminated by a local water supply. Children and elders will no longer be exposed to the cold and slippery ice of the river in winter.

3. During the vacation students will not need to spend their rest time fetching water, but can instead do other activities such as reviewing their lessons or helping their parents to farm.

4. The threats of drowning and falling on the slippery path by the river in the summer will be eliminated if villagers do not have to fetch water. Everyone in the village will have safe life in the summer, reducing the threats especially for women, children and elders.

5. Villagers will have improved hygiene and health, using clean water for washing clothes and irrigating the crops.

6. With running water women’s hunchback and backache caused by carrying water from the river on their backs will be greatly reduced. Also, more girls can attend school as they do not need to stay home to collect water.

7. A reliable water source will reduce river pollution, helping to keep the environment clean. People usually wash their clothes in the river, polluting the water. This polluted river is not only bad for lower Mairi villagers and livestock, but also harms the other five villages who drink the river water. A clean river will benefit all five villages the river flows through.

8. Everyone in the family can fully participate in harvesting and planting crops, as no one must spend this time collecting water. With the help of all the family members these tasks will be finished earlier and more easily.

Beneficiaries
This running water project will directly benefit 353 people in 51 households, especially reducing the burden of women and girls. Also, five villages downstream of lower Mairi will be benefited indirectly with unpolluted water.

Gender equality
This water project presents excellent opportunities to contribute to gender equality in my community. Usually women have a lower position than men in society, and women are thought to be less capable then men. Generally, only men have the opportunity to attend village activities such as village meetings, learning news and ideas from the outside world. Most of the time, women must stay at home to do most of the housework, including fetching water. With easily available water women will have as much time as men do, giving them the opportunity to participate in other activities and tasks. In addition, implementing this project will show the villagers that women also can be involved in wonderful and helpful community projects. A running water system will empower women to meaningfully contribute in water management and enable them to increase their income with more time.
In addition, once there is a water system in my community it is certain that many girls will spend far less time collecting water. As a result, many girls will have the time to be able to attend school and gain an education, allowing them to gain the skills to do their own projects in the future.

Government Approval
The local government aided both upper and lower Mairi village to build a running water system about three years ago, but the lower Mairi village doesn’t have enough water to drink. There is no available money within the village or the government to build a new water system. On May 4, 2007, I (Pagmotso) and the village leader, Dun Zhi Cai Dan, talked to the government leader , Lha Jyi Jia, who said that he would agree donor funding of this project

The steps of the project
1. Discuss the problems of water access with the villagers and decide how and what could be done to alleviate these problems. (Done)

2. Talk to the villager leader, Dunzhi Caidan, about the basic needs and how the water problem could be solved. (Done)

3. Hold the first meeting with the family leaders (both men and women) to collect information for the project. (Done)

4. Ask official permission from the local government leader. (Done)

5. Go to an adjacent village to talk to other project managers and workers who completed a similar project last year. Discuss with them what kind of materials are needed and how and where the cheapest, best quality materials may be bought (Done)

6. Go to Jiantsa County and determine the price of each material that is needed for this project. (Done)

7. Invite two skilled workers from the county town to Mairi village and have them determine the best location for the project. (Done)

8. Hold a second meeting with both men and women from lower Mairi. Choose three women and three men who will be responsible for this project. One woman will take care of the materials, while the other two women and one man will be in charge of the spring. Another man will be responsible for the money that will be spent and will keep all receipts. The third man will be responsible for the water ditch. (Done)

9. Take pictures of the current local conditions. (Done)

10. Write project proposal. (Done)
11. Find a donor to fund this project.12. Hold the third meeting with the villagers to discuss the start date for this project.

13. Meet the contractors and ask them when and how to arrange materials for this project. Organize transportation of project materials.

14. Purchase materials such as cement, bricks and steel from Jiantsa County. Ask the five responsible managers to begin overseeing the project construction.

15. Supervise the participation of villagers until the project is completed.

16. Interview the villagers on the success of this project.

17. Take pictures of the completed project.

18. Complete the final report.

19. Send the final report with all pictures, receipts and thank you letters to the donor.
Time frame
(if funded, this project will need one month and twenty days to fin