Project Manager: Renzin Huamo (Evelyn)
Provide 50 solar panels for 50 households in Qiake Township. This will improve villagers’ living condition, reduce the heavy burden on women, and increase girls’ school attendance.
Funds needed: $3,909 (30,400 rmb)
The Shambala Connection funded this project
Rig ‘zin dhual mo (Evelyn) is from Zeku County, Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai province,China. She is currently working towards a BA (bachelor) degree in English in the Qinghai Normal University Nationalities Department’s English Training Program.
What? Provide 50 solar panels for 50 households in Qiake Township. This will improve villagers’ living condition, reduce the heavy burden on women, and increase girls’ school attendance.
Who? Qiake Township, Zeku County, Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous prefecture, Qinghai Province, China.
Photos of project implementation
On March 23rd 2007, the car arrived with the solar panels.
The villagers are loading the solar panels from the car and going to store the solar panels in the Qiake village government house.
The solar panels are displaying in Qiake governmental house before they are distributed to the villagers.
One of the Qiake government officers is locking the door of Qiake village governmental house with the solar panels in it.
On March 24th 2007, the villagers are waiting to get the solar panels.
The banner is hanging on the above the house which is said the Solar Panel distribution of The Shambala Connection.
Qiake township leader Sun te Jia is Distributing the solar panels to the villagers
The recipients are signing their names on the paper to prove that they received the solar panels.
The villagers are holding the solar panels that they got.
The villagers are signing their signatures with the fingerprint to prove that the project manager (Rig Zin dhul mo) got the local contribution and used it in the project.
50 villagers from Qiake village got the solar panels.
Project summary
Project title: Solar Electricity Generating Panel Project for Qiake Township
Project goals: To provide the solar panels which will improve the villagers’ living condition, reduce the heavy burden on women, and increase girls’ school attendance.
Location of project: This project is located in Qiake Township, Zeku County, Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous prefecture, Qinghai Province, PRC. It is located south of Xining, which is about 300 kilometers from Xining, the capital city of Qinghai Province.
Total beneficiaries: In total 50 households of about 300 people will benefit from this project.
Implementation organization/individual: Rig Zin dhul mo (Evelyn), Qiake township leader Sun te Jia, Qiake township government officer Zhaduo and Shem Women’s group.
Contact Group: Shem Women’s Group
Funds received: Source, Amount, and Date Received
The Shambala Connection gave 30,400RMB on March 16th 2007.
Details of project activities
Originally planned project activities
1. Visit Qiake Township and ask about local needs (already completed)
2. Ask Geng Zang Jia to distribute the solar panels along with the project manager (already completed)
3. Write proposal (already completed)
4. Send proposal to donor
5. Receive Funds
6. Hire a truck to transport the solar panels to Qiake Township.
7. Purchase solar panels from Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture’s Nima Brand Company
8. Supervise distribution
9. Monitor the project.
10. Interview local people (children, women and men)
11. Take pictures
12. Write final report
13. Send final report to donor with all pictures and receipts.
Activities realized in the framework of the project
1. In August designed the proposal especially collect Qiake Township’s information which is related to the project.
2. In August held a meeting with Qiake villager leaders and the villagers to choose the 50 poorest families in the village. Every single villager agreed that the chosen families were very poor and that they have a right to get the solar cookers.
3. In December completed the proposal.
4. The Shambala Connection funded the project.
5. On the 16th on March 2007, Rig’ zin dhual mo received 30400RMB from The Shambala Connection. The project manager contacted the Nima solar company and the villagers and purchased 50 solar panels to Qiake Township.
6. On March 20th 2007, Rig’ zin dhual ma received local contribution which was collected by the Zhaduo (Qiake township government officer).
7. On March 23rd , 2007 held a meeting with the villagers (men, women, and children) who were receiving the Solar panels, told villagers that they have to download the Solar panels and have to take responsibilities for not to be damaged the solar cookers or sell away.
8. .On March 23rd and 24th 2007, Solar panels were transported to Qiake Township. Rig zin dhual mo and the village leaders distributed the Solar Panels to Axi villagers and the skilled man from the factory showed the local people how to use the solar panels in a correct way. Photos were taken during the distribution of the Solar Panels.
9. .On May 6th 2007, Rig zin dhual mo interviewed the villagers.
10. .On April 26th 2007, Rig zin dhual mo started to work on the final report.
Project Finances
|
|
Receipt # |
Item |
Per item in rmb |
Donor Contribution in rmb |
Local contribution in rmb |
Total Project in rmb |
|
Original budget |
|
Solar panels |
50*700 |
30，300 |
5000 |
35,300 |
|
|
|
transportation |
300 |
300 |
0 |
300 |
|
|
|
Management expenses |
|
100
|
0
|
100 |
|
|
|
Management payment |
|
0 |
500 |
500 |
|
Actual budget
|
# 1 |
Solar panels(including transportation) |
50*690 |
29500 |
5000 |
(#1)34,500 |
|
|
#2 |
Management expenses
|
|
100 |
0 |
(#2)100 |
| Management payment | 0 | 0 | (#3)0 | |||
| The left money from the total project | +800rmb | |||||
Notes:
#1, on the original proposal each solar panel costs 700RMB, but by bargaining with the Solar Panel company each cost 690 RMB, which include the transportation fee. Therefore, there are 800rmb extra from the project.
#2, I(Ren Zen Dhul Mo) received 100RMB for the management expenses. So actually I spend 53RMB on telephone call, 20Rmb for taxi fee, 32Rmb on bus fee. Totally I have spent 105RMB.
# 3, according to Shem, the project manager can get 500rmb as project management payment if they finish their final report within one month after the project completed. Unfortunately, the project manager has not finished within one month, so she has not gotten 500rmb.
List of recipients
A translation of the recipients in Chinese Pingyin
| ChuoLuo | GuoLai | ZhuoMaJia | AJiaDuoJie | AngXiu |
| GengTaiJia | ZunBa | PuWaJia | BaWu | NiMaCaiRen |
| RiDuo | PeMoTar | QueDianTar | LaMaoJia | JiuMei |
| SuoNanJiaCuo | DuoJieJia | CaiRenDuoJie | ZhuaWu | ZunZhe |
| LangTaiCaiRen | QiKuoDuoJie | QiPai | HuaDuo | DunZheJia |
| DuoDei | ZunTaiCaiRen | CaiDuo | ZhouLa | DouGeZhaXi |
| DanZheCaiRen | ZhuaChouJi | DouGeDunZhe | DunZheJia | SanZheDuoJie |
| JiuMei | LaQian | DeLa | YiDunJia | GuoDai |
| JueDuo | ZhuoMaJia | LunZhe(Elder) | DouDuo | SangDeJie |
| SanZheDuoJie | SanzheJia | YunDuo | ZhuoMaCuo | SangJie |
Delays, Difficulties, and lessons learned
Delays
I delayed the final report for few days, because I got eyesore, so I was not able to work effectively.
I delayed the distribution day, because it’s heavily rain on the way to the Huangnan prefecture and snow on the way from the prefecture to County town.
Difficulties
During the implementation, the most serious problem which I encountered was that I was not able to distribute the solar panels immediately after I got the local contributions, because it’s rain on the day when we are ready to go, then the villagers worried about their money since they didn’t receive the solar panels as they expected. But on the next Saturday they got the solar panels.
Lessons learned
During implementing of the Solar panel project, the one thing which I learned was that the importance of helping each other, because I strongly feel that the project is worth doing when I overcome the difficulties by the help of everyone’s efforts.(such as Shambala Connection, Shem Group, and Qiake village officers .).
Interviews
Duode’s wife
Duode
Duode
He is sixty year old Tibetan man, there are eleven members in his family .He said before they get solar panels, they used to use gasoline and candles for lightning and his wife said when night came she had to leave her work to the next morning, which made her life busier. Their children couldn’t finish their homework in daylight; one of their sons became near-sighted. But now after they received solar panels from The Shambala connection, their children can study as much as they like and the women can finish their work at night, so they can sleep more in the morning. Moreover, the implementation of solar panels brings more happiness to their lives and they have less labor burden to carry in their daily lives. He represented his family to say thanks for The Shambala Connection.
Zhoumo
She is thirty years old Tibetan woman. She said her family had no livestock, grassland even no house. So they often live in her relative’s home and also be other villagers’ housekeepers sometimes. After they got solar panels, they finally became a family that owns their properties. She said her children really like to study even they got less access to learn before, but the implementation of this project provided more chances to her children to learn more knowledge than before. She said thanks from the bottom of her heart for The Shambala Connection.
Saicuo
Saicuo who is wearing in Tibetan robe and she is standing beside the man(Qiake township leader Sun te Jia) She is twenty six years old now. She described that they used oil lamps for lightning before. Moreover, she also had to take care of her children even her housework was pretty heavy. Therefore, she only had little time to take rest. However, after she got the solar panels, she can work more effectively at night by having the solar panels, so she can have more time to sleep in the morning. So she really appreciates for The Shambala Connection.
Ang Xia
Ang Xia who is wearing in Tibetan robe and he is standing the man(Qiake township leader Sun te Jia) who is wearing black hat. He is thirty five years old Tibetan man, he described that without being able to afford the candles, they could only use oil lamps and paraffin lamps, which are quite harmful to their eye sight and lungs. But after they received the solar panels, their family was delighted and his family truly appreciated the help of The Shambala Connection.
Letter of appreciation
Translation in English
Dear The Shambala Connection,
Your connection’s benevolence put an end to the history of burning oil lamps among the fifty households in Qiake Township. Therefore, in order to say thanks to your extreme kindness, I(the village leader) represent those fifty households and have written this thanks letter.
Our area bears a great amount of destitute, henceforth, it will be really grateful to your help.
So now we are really happy about Solar Panels and from deep inside our hearts we felt thankful to your generous donation and kindness.
With best wishes!
From Qiake Township. Government
Receipt # 1
Receipt #2
Original Proposal
Project Location
This project is located in Qiake Township, Zeku County, Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province. Qiake Township is adjacent to Zeku County Town. It is located in south of Xining City, the provincial city of Qinghai; it’s about 300km away from Xining City, 97km away from Hungnan Autonomous Prefecture Town.
Population
There are approximately 56,929 people in Zeku County (27,012 women and 29,917 men). There are about 5,009 people (653 school-aged children.) in Qiake Township - 1,769 women, 3,240 men.
Education and Official Government Positions
About 92.33% of the school aged children (631 students) are currently receiving education. About 90.51% of the local girls are entering school (340 female students). About 60.71% of the local students graduate from primary school and 27.27% graduate from middle school in Qiake Township. There are 61 official workers with government jobs.There are 54 official workers from minority groups (Tibetan and Hui), 88.52% of the total.
Cash income
In Qiake Township about 4,948 people live on animal husbandry, earning around 500rmb per year per household from selling yaks, sheep, butter, cheese and wool. This amount is all average families have to spend on food, medicine, fuel, clothes and transportation. There are about 61 official workers who are paid by government and earn about 1000rmb per month.
Herding
Zeku County is a nomadic area, so almost every family raises livestock.
Agriculture
There is no agriculture in Qiake Township due to the cold weather and 3800m altitudes. It is not a suitable environment for staple crops, trees and vegetables.
Problems
There is no electricity for the nomadic people of Qiake Township. Lack of electricity causes several problems for the nomads
1. Isolation: Villagers have difficulty getting information of the outside world, because they can’t listen to radios and watch TVs without electricity. Many only hear news from the few locals that travel or from guests
2. The nomad’s only source of light is dim butter lamps and candles. Working under dim candlelight is difficult and inconvenient for women, because in herding areas women work more than men do and they cannot finish everything in the daytime. So women have to work at night (make butter, wash, cook dinner, prepare food for the next day, etc.), but they work under the dim light of candles, which is difficult on the eyes. Some families are so poor they even can’t afford candles, so they use paraffin lamps, which are more harmful for the lungs than the candles.
3. The local students’ performance is generally poor. Children, especially girls, spend much of their time out of class helping their families, such as taking care of younger children, doing housework, herding livestock and fetching water. Therefore, they do not have much time for studying outside of the classroom. Studying must be done at nighttime by candlelight, which lowers enthusiasm for studying because of the ill effects on the eyes. In addition, students who do not finish their homework are punished by a teacher, which also negatively affects attitudes towards education.
4. Chemicals in the smoke from butter lamps and candles or paraffin lamps damages eyes and lungs.
5. Households use butter to produce dim lights at night. If not used for candles, this butter could have been eaten or sold. Money is used for candles and paraffin lamps, which could be saved to buy other items. On average, each family spends between 50 and 100rmb on candles and paraffin lamps each year. This amounts to a substantial portion of the average villagers’ yearly income.
Project goals and benefits
The immediate goal of the project is to buy 50 solar electricity panels to supply solar electricity to 50 households in Qiake Township. Around 200 local villagers will benefit from this project.
Solutions and benefits
1. The villagers will view or get information about the outside world; if the project can be accomplished, then the villagers will be able to listen to the radio and get information about the outside world.
2. Women will have more time to rest because electric light will create a more convenient nighttime work environment. Women will have more time to sleep if they finish their work earlier with the help of brighter light. Also, women will have time to do other things that they like, such as listen to the radio or chat with other women.
3. The local students’ performance will increase and attitudes towards school will improve because they can study and finish their homework on time with the help of brighter electric light.
4. Health problems will reduce because smoke from butter lamps, candles and paraffin lamps negatively affect villagers’ lungs and eyesight. If the solar panel project will be accomplished, then the harm to the villagers’ health will decrease.
5. Butter is an important basic food in Tibetan areas, and every year the local people use 1/4 of their butter for butter lamps. If the solar panel project is accomplished, they can use that butter as food or may sell it to improve their cash income. Some families don’t have many livestock, and therefore they cannot produce enough butter to use some for lamps. Then, they must buy candles or cheap paraffin lamps, spending money that could be used for other necessities. Solar panels would enable families to save between 50 and 100rmb each year.
Project Activities
1. Visit Qiake Township and ask about local needs (already completed)
2. Ask Geng Zang Jia to distribute the solar panels along with the project manager (already completed)
3. Write proposal (already completed)
4. Send proposal to donor
5. Receive Funds
6. Hire a truck to transport the solar panels to Qiake Township.
7. Purchase solar panels from Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture’s Nima Brand Company. Shem women’s group has worked extensively with the Nima company, and we know that the quality is excellent, that they follow through with their warrantees if there are any problems, and that it is an excellent deal for a low price.
8. Supervise distribution
9. Monitor project
10. Interview local people (children, women and men)
11. Take pictures
12. Write final report
13. Send final report to donor with all pictures and receipts.
Timeframe
This project will take seven days from the time the proposal is approved:
. 1 day: Hold a meeting in the village.
· 2 days: Purchase the solar panels with the township leader in Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture Town.
· 2 days: Transport the solar panels to Qiake Township.
· 2 days: Distribute solar panels to the recipients.
Detailed Budget
Donor Contribution
| Item | Price per item | Number of items | Donor Contribution |
| Solar Panel | 700rmb | 50 | 30,000rmb |
| Transportation fee | 300rmb/per truck | 1 truck | 300rmb (transportation fee) |
| Management expenses( Phone call, photocopy, mail and develop photos ) | 100rmb | ||
| Total | 30,400rmb |
Local Contribution
| Item | Price per item | Number of items | Local Contribution |
| Solar Panel | 700rmb | 50 | 5,000rmb |
| Management fee | 500rmb | ||
| Total | 5500rmb |
Total project cost:
| Donor contribution |
Local contribution |
Total Cost |
| 30,400rmb ( 3,909 US$) | 5,500rmb | 35,900 rmb |
Gender equality
If this project is accomplished, women in Qiake Township will have more time to join village activities. Women have a lower position than men; both men and women think men are more knowledgeable than women. Generally, only men have the time to attend village activities or village meetings, where they learn news and ideas; women have no time to attend these activities. So if women have more time, they will have extra time to attend other activities, such as village meetings, and would have more say in local decisions and hear more news. As a woman from this community, if I can accomplish this project, many people will see women also can do project to help others, not only this but also will think women who attend school ,who gained knowledge are really different than those who didn’t or couldn’t gain an education. Therefore, although there may not be an enormous change immediately, this project will help my villagers to see that not only men can do things like projects, but women also.
Governmental support
In December 2005, I discussed this project with the township leader, Geng Zang Jia. He discussed this with the county leader. Geng Zang Jia, and gave me full permission to go forward with this project and encouraged it, because it can help poor families in an important way.
Sustainability
Solar panels are purchased from Nima Brand Company, which guarantees battery for one to two years and also guarantees the generating panel for ten years. The company will exchange the solar panels in a short amount of time if there is a problem. If the solar panel have problems, the villagers will contact the township leader (Geng Zang Jia) and he can contact Rig ‘zin dhual mo (Evelyn) or the Nima Company for repairs or replacement. Otherwise, the township leader will find someone to repair a damaged solar panel and the cost will paid by the villagers.
Additional information
Rig ‘zin dhual mo (Evelyn) started learning English in 2001. In winter of 2005 she completed two-second hand-clothing projects supported by Sue Bishsop at the British Consulate in Shanghai.