Project Manager: Gelsang Lhamu (Betty)
This project is to buy 34 solar energy water heaters for the Chalitong villagers to use as beneficial water heating tools, and it will lead to a safer environment and protect the local forests;protect the endangered forests around Chalitong Village.
The Australian Embassy Funded this project
Gelsang Lamu is is from Chalitong Village, Yunling Township, Deqin County, Diqing Tibetan Autonomous prefecture, Yunnan province, PRC. She is currently working towards an associated degree in English in the Qinghai Normal University Nationalities Department’s English Training Program
What? Provide 34 Solar Energy Water Heaters for Chalitong Villagers
Who? Chalitong Village, Deqin County, Diqing prefecture, Yunnan province, China.
Photos of project implementation
The Solar Company worker is counting money
The Solar Energy Water Heaters Presented in the company to the customers
The heater company helps loading the tanks
the solar company’s workers are helping to load the boxes of materials to the big truck.
The Truck gets to the village and the villagers are unloading the solar water heaters.
Showing above are the Solar Energy vacuum tubes as the most valuable and vulnerable parts to set up a solar energy water heater
The groupware are distributing the solar water heaters to every villager
A totally installed solar energy water heater
Project summary
Project title: Solar Energy Water Heaters for Chalitong Village
Project goals: The immediate goal of this project is to buy 34 solar energy water heaters for the Chalitong villagers to use as beneficial water heating tools, this will lead to a safer environment and protect the local forests.
The overarching goal of this project is to protect the endangered forests around Chalitong Village.
Location of project: This project was located in Chalitong Village, Diqing prefecture of Yunnan province, which is in the southwest of China.
Total beneficiaries: This solar heater project benefited a total of 210 residents in Chalitong Village.
Implementation organization/individual: Gelsang Lhamu (Betty), Aji (A well known villager who is familiar with heaters), Dorji (The village leader) all Chalitong Villagers and Shem Women’s Group.
Contact Group: Shem Women’s Group
Funds received: Shem Women’s Group transferred 58,100 rmb to the project manager, Gelsang Lhamu on February 25th, 2008.
Details of project activities
originally planned project activities
1) Call my village leader and 4 other villagers (2 men and 2 women) to gather necessary information for my project proposal. (Completed)
2) Visit the solar energy water heater company that is located in my prefecture’s city, a six hour bus-ride from my village. (Completed)
3) Write project proposal. (Completed)
4) With secured funding, go to the solar energy water heater factory on the way to my home in December, 2007 and will purchase 34 solar water heaters.
5) At Chalitong with the heaters, hold a meeting with the villagers, and then begin managing the project immediately. Collect the local contributions during the meeting.
6) Complete the solar energy water heater installation in two days.
7) Show the villagers how to use and care for their solar water heaters.
8) Interview the villagers about the effectiveness of the solar heaters.
9) Take pictures (the mountains, the flood’s channel, the forests and the solar energy water heaters).
10) Write final report.
11) Send final report with all pictures and receipts to the project donor.
Activities realized in the framework of the project
1. On March 28th, 2008, I visited the HanZhou Solar Power Company in Diqing Prefecture and talked with the workers and finalized the price for the heaters.
2. On March 29th, 2008, the truck started the journey to Chalitong Village in the morning and reached the village by the nightfall of that day. Meanwhile, I contacted the village leader and several other villagers and informed them of the coming of the heaters.
3. On March 30th, 2008, I started distributing the heaters in the morning to the local villagers, pictures were taken meanwhile.
4. On March 31st, 2008, I visited several of the families to interview them about their opinions of the solar heaters.
5. On April 1st, 2008, I started writing the final report.
Project finances
| Original Budget | Actual Budget | |||||||||
| Receipt # |
Item | Donor Contri btution in rmb |
Local Contri bution in rmb |
Shem in rmb |
Total in rmb |
Donor Contri bution in rmb |
Local Contri bution in rmb |
Shem in rmb |
Total in rmb |
Differe nce(Be tween original &actual budge ts) in rmb |
| #1 | Solar heaters |
57,800 | 17, 000 |
0 | 74, 800 |
57, 800 |
17, 299 |
0 | 75, 099 |
-299 |
| #2 | Project manage ment expenses |
300 | 800 | 0 | 1, 100 |
300 | 841 | 0 | 1, 141 |
-41 |
| Project manage ment payment |
0 | 0 | 500 | 500 | 0 | 0 | 500 | 500 | 0 | |
| Total | 58,100 | 17,800 | 500 | 76, 400 |
58, 100 |
18, 140 |
500 | 76, 740 |
*-340 | |
*340 rmb was collected from the local people as to adjust the slight change of the prices in solar heaters project manager expenses.
List of recipients
List of recipients’ translation
| Sino Lhamu | Rizen Lhamu | Chiding | Denzen |
| Lusong Pencu | Shanba Lhamu | Dawa Dolmans | Yuzhui Lhamu |
| Zanmu | Gelsang Lhamu | CongCong | Gelsang |
| A sang | Dorji Cering | Bie Zhun | YangJing |
| Sunan | Bianma Cering | Lusang Cering | Bemu |
| A zhui | Gema Cering | Zhala Wudui | A chin bu |
| Gema Xira | Gema Slang | Gema Cering | Tashi Beding |
| Lusang Daxi | A dorlma | Cering Bzhui | A dorlji |
| Sorna Yangcu | Gelsang Wudui |
Delays, Difficulties, and lessons learned
Delays
The funding date of this project was in the end of January, 2008. I postponed the date of implementing to March 28th for several essential reasons. The first reason is 2008 New Year Celebration started on the 7th of February, and ended only after 15 days. The end of New Year Holiday, February 22nd, however comes busy times of a new spring. I had to adjust to my brand new job after college at an Eco-tourism company as an office manager in Shangri-la at Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. There was a month long probationary period, so I could only start to implement on March 28th 2008. Meanwhile, the truck loading our solar heater was stuck one day due to a road that collapsed from rain damage. The truck was stuck 20 kilometers from Chalitong Village. On April 1st, the project was finished.
Difficulties
Problems are inevitable in every regard to finish a project as scheduled in the proposal.
The price of the solar water heaters had increased since the original quote I received from the Solar Energy Company last year. And I had to collect 10 rmb from each household to purchase the solar water heaters. Secondly, groups of villagers from nearby areas came on the day of distribution to Chalitong Village. Cordially, with true hearts, groups of villagers from Yongren, Yangza and Guzha villages nearby have come and asked me to get them heaters as well and as soon as possible. I deeply regretted having not applied for more water heaters than for only Chalitong Village. As I have mentioned in the delay section, it never stopped raining for over two weeks throughout the mountain valleys where my village is located; then a weak roadbed collapsed the day before my truck reached the village and ended blocking the transportation for two days.
Lessons learned
Through this second experience to carry out another essential project for my villagers, as well as to protect my half barren homeland, I felt accomplished and profound happiness through the laughter and smiles on their aged faces. Being the first female figure in this path, I was really proud of myself and willing to dedicate my life to pursue further accomplishment for the future. I clearly know there will be more problems waiting ahead of me, even worse than that of any of the past ones, but I will not ever doubt for a second to keep going and never give up.
Interviews of the beneficiaries
1) Ber Ding
Ber Ding is a middle aged woman who has a family that gives a big burden on her. Her husband is always drunk and wanders everywhere around the village without helping with any of the family chores such as house work, collecting fuel, and taking care of their fields. She has to go collect the fuel herself in addition to doing all the housework each day, and even sometimes go work in the field. The two daughters of the family are in a middle school in the prefecture’s city, so she was very appreciative of the solar water heater that she got and remarked that it helped her have spare leisure time to enjoy her own interests or sometimes join some community meetings.
2) Gelsang
Gelsang is a 72 year -old man who has a huge family of children and grandchildren. Last year during the fuel collecting periods, I was helping my family in the flying-box loading site in the valley, and he was there at that time. All of a sudden, he looked up to the mountain forests with a pair of disappointed eyes and remarked profoundly in a half sighing voice, “Not 50 years ago, the whole mountain was covered by trees and it was beautiful. But look at the mountain now, it’s half empty and people are still cutting trees. I believe that the whole mountain forest would be gone not after 50 years if people continue doing this.” Then during this holiday, when I brought back the solar water heaters to my village, he looked very happy and said, “Gelsang Lhamu, what a great job you have done, thank you for saving the trees.”
3) Dorji Cering
Dorji Cering is a middle aged man; his wife escaped with some other men two years ago by leaving their two little children behind for him to take care of. For him, cutting the trees in the mountain becomes a really hard task because he has to do all the other things in his family, such as feeding animals twice a day. So he was very grateful for the solar water heater that the donor contributions. He said it was more convenient for him to cook for the animals than with fire, which takes more time and a lot of fuel.
Letter of appreciation
Translation
Dear Australian Embassy,
I represent all Chalitong Villagers to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your support.
For the all the past years, we have been destroying our homeland trees to fulfill a basic living condition, which brought us dreadful natural disasters. Green and lovely forests turned into barren dead land. Wood is our only fuel to cook for ourselves as well as for our animals, so we have to cut trees and make the deforestation even worse than ever.
Solar water heaters have always been our ideal tool to heat water for our animals, however we have never had the financial ability to afford them as we are living in a rural area with poor income. Now, we have solar water heaters to fulfill our need of hot water everyday without burning any woods from the forests. And we can have a more secure environment to live in forever.
Thank you sincerely Australian Embassy for your kindness and generosity. We will use solar water heaters for the future to make this world and our homeland a better place.
Best regards
Chalitong Village leader
Receipts
#1 Receipt
#2 Receipt
Some additional pictures from the project site
Enormous flood hole cutting through the mountain across my village
The barren mountain at the top of our village
Chalitong Village is surrounded by the mountains with a very few plants.
Huge dragon-like flood hole right in the middle of the village
The flood hole stopped half of the villagers’ water source by cutting through the water canal in the middle and fields for some villagers as well.
Original proposal
Project location
This project will be located in Chalitong village, Diqing prefecture of Yunnan province, which is in the southwest of China. It takes almost two hours to reach the county town by bus from Chalitong village. To reach Zhongdian, the biggest city in our prefecture, it takes eight hours by bus.
Population
Chalitong is mainly an agricultural village, and is situated beside the Lancang (Mekong) River. Lofty mountains surround the village. Chalitong is a rather small village that holds 34 households, comprised of 77 women, 75 men, and 58 children. The total population is 210. All of the villagers are Tibetan.
Education
Of all the villagers, 70 percent are illiterate. Within this number of illiterate villagers, women account for 50 percent and men for 20 percent. There are 19 girls and boys in the village, whose ages range from 12 to 19. Ten of these young adults attend school, three girls and seven boys. There are two high school students (both boys) and seven middle school students (three girls and five boys). There are also two college students from the village (a girl and a boy including myself). Until recently, most parents had difficulties affording tuition fees when their children started going to middle school. These school fees used to cost families more than 1,000 rmb per year. Today, the government provides free compulsory education, allowing children to attend school for free until they graduate from their middle schools. Parents still need to pay for many school-related services, such as food, insurance and class money (about 100 rmb, which is collected from everyone in a class to spend on class activities like picnic). In total, one school semester costs parents between 1000 and 1200 rmb. Despite the compulsory education rule, parents usually keep their children at home to help them during busy work times. This is especially common during times when families collect a special kind of mushroom to sell and when they need to collect fuel in the mountains. People traditionally believe that girls can be better assistants to their parents than boys. All of the 39 primary school-aged children in the village are attending the primary school.
Cash income
Due to the environmental conditions (the village is surrounded by big mountains covered with a lot of trees), Chalitong villagers own limited land. Several families only own 0.9 mu, which is certainly not enough for them to grow crops to eat and feed their animals. To survive, the villagers do as much as possible to earn money in other ways.
Firstly, during the three months from July to October, villagers go up to the mountain forests to collect a special kind of mushroom. In past years, the villagers could find more than 10 kilograms of mushrooms in one day and sell them in the small market near the village at night. At this time one kilogram of mushrooms could sell for around 180 rmb, with the price decreasing to 30 rmb per kilogram towards the end of the season. In more recent years, the forests have become smaller since people have cut down the trees to use as their main fuel. In order to find more mushrooms, people now dig big holes, sweeping away the important top surface of the forest floor. Although it rained a lot during the mushroom season in 2007, there were no longer any mushrooms in the forest that the villagers could sell to make money. As a result, this year most families in Chalitong village earned not more than 100 rmb throughout the mushroom season, when previously every family could earn more than 3,000 rmb.
Secondly, if a family has more than two members capable of performing laborious tasks, one is sent away from the village to earn extra money. These people usually work as construction laborers and miners, and can earn 1,000-3,000 rmb per year. Families which have no extra laborers earn no income from this source, which is true of the majority of the families in Chalitong.
Finally, last year, the government enacted a new law – environmental resettlement. This law caused the villagers to give up working on their infertile fields, instead planting walnut trees. According to the amount of contributed land, the villagers receive money at the beginning of each year from the local government. The average amount received is 1300 rmb. Due to Chalitong’s location in a mountain valley beside the Mekong River, there’s not much available field space in the mountainous terrain. This creates a big problem for the families who have relatively little land. For example, my own family owns only 0.9 mu (approximately 100 square meters), so as a result, we earn much less money from the government for it.
As mentioned earlier, due to environmental factors, the villagers need money to buy barley, meat, wheat and rice. This costs each family at least 1000 rmb per year. Also, families with students have to find extra money all year long to support them. Additionally, on average, each family has to spend more than 600 rmb on everyday expenses each year, as well as at least 15 rmb per month for electricity. In total, families have to spend around 2,500 rmb per year, as well as keeping 1,000 rmb aside for emergencies. For families with high school and college students, 8,000 rmb is required per year. As a result, these families have no money to spare, and lack even enough money to use for their own essential needs.
Agriculture
People harvest twice in a year in Chalitong village. The main crops grown are corn, wheat, potatoes and other vegetables. A rich family owns 6 mu of fields, and a poor family owns 0.9 mu of land. On average each family owns 2.2 mu of arable land. The average family harvests a total of around 1000 kilograms of wheat and corn each year.
Herding
Chalitong villagers raise domestic animals, such as pigs, donkeys, horses, cows and bulls. Usually each family owns between one and three domestic animals, with this number related to their income. Rich families with animals more than a hundred can earn 1000 rmb per year by selling butter, cheese, and meat. Poor families have no such cash income. Usually family elders or children herd the domestic animals during spring, summer and autumn.
Weather
The weather in Chalitong is rather warm the whole year-round, with lots of rain in spring and summer. This weather is ideal for crops and forest mushrooms. Unfortunately, the land at the top of the mountains is barren where people have cut all the trees down for fuel. Frequent rains cause constant flooding, which creates a dangerous environment for the villagers.
Project goals
The immediate goal of this project is to buy 34 solar energy water heaters for the villagers to use as a beneficial water heating tool, which will lead to a safer environment and protect the local forests. The overarching goal of this project is to protect the endangered forests around Chalitong village.
Problems
1 Villagers have to find a new source of fuel. One month before each New Year Celebration (a very important festival), people collect fuel for the coming year. At least two members from each family (usually the parents) go up to the mountains surrounding the village. For over seven days, these villagers spend all day in the dense forests and cut as much wood as they can. Within this time, around 10 trees will be cut down for each family. In total, there are more than 300 trees disappearing each year.
2 Villagers need a much safer environment to live in. Located in a big valley beside the Langcang (Mekong) River, Chalitong is surrounded by countless tall mountains that are covered with evergreen plants. It is hot, humid and rainy all year-round, especially during the summer time. Whenever the rain comes, it runs down off the barren land where the trees have been cut down. The water rushes down into the middle of the village, eroding all the earth with it and increasing the deep channel in the village. Right now, the average depth of the channel that has been caused by the annual flood is six meters. The damage being done has recently intensified, with the channel getting larger and deeper, looking like a huge dragon that is sleeping right in the middle of our village. Some villagers have been forced to move from their houses and rebuild farther from the channel because every time the flood comes, their houses shake and nearly collapse due to the rushing floods. In April of 2007, an old man slipped on the edge of the flood hole and was killed in the bottom of the flood eroded valley.
3 Women need more time to participate in local community activities. Females in Chalitong village complete all housework including cooking, feeding the animals, sewing, and washing. In all of these tasks, cooking for the animals takes the most time and the most fuel. Especially for the families who have lots of animals, more fuel and time are required. Furthermore, some women share extra outside chores with their husbands equally, like cutting trees on the mountains. As a result, women have no opportunity to participate in community activities as the men do. Using solar energy water heaters would make cooking a much more convenient and efficient task for village women compared to cooking with a wood burning fire. Also, villagers would not need to collect as much fuel in the forests if they had solar energy water heaters. As a result, with solar energy water heaters, women will have more leisure time to spend on local community activities and tasks other than chores.
4 The villagers’ workload should be decreased. Villagers who cut down wood for cooking fuel spend two hours every morning (during the cutting period) traveling to the forest site. They work all day until sunset when they must spend another two hours returning to their homes. After villagers cut enough trees, they must transport all the branches to the Flying-fox loading site, a process that takes more than three days. Everyday, villagers use donkeys and horses to carry the branches over more than seven return trips. After transporting the branches, villagers undertake the most dangerous process of using the Flying-fox to convey all the branches down to the valley. From the valley it takes a minimum of another three days to transport the firewood to each family’s yard. The time and effort needed to transport the wood varies according to the animals and the laborers that each family has, which means that for some families the task is even more difficult.
5 Children who attend primary school are too busy studying to assist their parents collecting firewood in the mountains. At this time, housework becomes the responsibility of the children, and chores must be carried out when they return from school. Children have to make a fire with the wood and boil the big pot of water for the animals, monitoring the fire in order to make it burn properly. This leaves students with no time to study or do their homework, particularly in the case of female students, who are usually responsible for most domestic labor (cooking, cleaning, and feeding pigs). Male students’ studies are also affected as they must come home to feed the family’s cattle and horses. Some families keep their children home from school permanently in order to do the housework. Students may also be forced to stay at home to watch the house while their parents are absent collecting fuel.
6 Using the Flying-fox to transport firewood is too dangerous. The process of transporting wood is very risky both in the upper areas of the mountain and down in the valley. The location of the upper Flying-fox loading site is above a steep hill. The villagers must carry bundles of branches tied with steel wire toward the Flying-fox. Then they attach the bundle to a hook, which then sits on the flying -fox. This is a delicate process, as it is easy for wood to fall from the bundle as it speeds down the mountain. Each family carves a sign on the hook for people at the bottom of the valley to recognize their wood. The people who wait in the valley must be very alert in order to avoid the flying pieces of timber, while at the same time searching for their family’s carved symbol.
7 Villagers need a more efficient and inexpensive way to cook. Using wood as their main source of fuel requires very hard labor for all those involved in its collection. The villagers cook for animals such as pigs and cows two times a day, in order to make some profits though selling them or eating the meat and milk.
8 Villagers are in need of a lot of hot water everyday. Families need hot water for animals, as well as to wash their own clothes or hair. On washing days, a lot of wood must be burnt in order to heat enough hot water for the washing. Electricity is not a viable option for energy because using electricity to cook or boil water would be too expensive.
9 The villagers need a higher standard of living and unrestricted access to the outside world. Every year, during the rainy season the road leading to the county is covered by mud flooding from the top of the mountain. As a result, the transportation system becomes totally unavailable. In this situation, the villagers can’t reach the county town even in urgent times such as the start of school or sudden accidents or sickness to anyone in the village.
Benefits of project
1) Villagers will have a new source of fuel for their hot water cooking needs. The dense forests that surround the village will be saved from logging and unnecessary damage. It is estimated that at least 300 trees will be saved from logging each year.
2) With a decrease in deforestation, villagers will have a safer and more secure environment to live in. They won’t need to worry about yearly flooding or the possibility of being forced from their homes by the eroded channel that the floods have created. Instead villagers can spend their money on rebuilding their houses, creating a higher standard of living.
3) Women will have more time to participate in local community activities. If there are solar energy water heaters, women can complete their housework more quickly. With solar energy, the time spent tending to wood fires and cutting down trees can be used for other activities.
4) Villagers will be spared from the large effort that is required to fetch a regular supply of firewood. They will be able to use their valuable leisure time to relax or take part in income generating activities, instead of cutting trees in the mountains.
5) The village’s school-aged children will have more time to study and play. They will have enough time to finish their homework and work on extra study for school. Solar energy water heaters will provide time for the school children enjoy their own interests after school instead of constant labor in their homes. This will also improve student enrollment rates during the wood-harvesting season, as parents will not have to keep their children at home to do chores.
6) The dangerous and difficult process of collecting wood via the Flying-fox will no longer be necessary. If this project is funded, villagers will not need to risk their lives to transport firewood. Consequently, people’s living conditions will reach a higher level.
7) Solar energy water heaters are sustainable and easier to use as a new source of electricity-free fuel. They also make environmental regeneration possible, at the same time as giving villagers a safer and more comfortable standard of living.
8)With solar energy water heaters, each household will have enough hot water to wash all of their clothes and cook for the animals. In this way, the villagers can wear clean clothes and wash themselves more often, leading to a healthier way of life.
9) Solar energy water heaters will allow the trees to remain in the mountains, thus reducing flood damage to the road. This will allow the students to go back to school on time, as well as providing the villagers with consistent access to the county town.
Gender Equality
People in my village were very appreciative and impressed with my previous solar cooker project, showing all of my villagers that their daughters are able to do useful things not only for themselves, but also for their own communities. Most people in my home area traditionally believe that sending girls to school is less useful than sending boys, as it is believed that girls are better at doing housework and helping their parents when they are busy. I’m currently the only college-educated female in my village, although there are male college students who have already graduated. Most girls in my area obey their parents’ plans for arranged marriages, then giving birth to children at a very early age. Hopefully, with the successful completion of my project the villagers will start to believe that girls can do the same things as boys, perhaps even better. In the long term, this could mean that more girls will be sent to school.
Project Plan
1) Call my village leader and 4 other villagers (2 men and 2 women) to gather necessary information for my project proposal. (Completed)
2) Visit the solar energy water heater company that is located in my prefecture city, a six hour bus-ride from my village. (Completed)
3) Write project proposal. (Completed)
4) With secured funding, go to the solar energy water heater factory on the way to my home in December, 2007 and will purchase 34 solar water heaters.
5) At Chalitong with the heaters, hold a meeting with the villagers, then begin managing the project immediately. Collect the local contribution during the meeting.
6) Complete the solar energy water heater installation in two days.
7) Show the villagers how to use and care for their solar water heaters.
8)Interview the villagers (women, men and children) to gather information about the effectiveness of the solar energy water heaters.
9) Take pictures (the mountains, the flood’s channel, the forests and the solar energy water heaters).
10) Write final report.
11) Send final report with all pictures and receipts to the project donor.
Time frame
This project will take a total of 10 days to finish: Once the project is funded, it will take 6 days for me to get to the solar energy factory in my prefecture city by train and bus from my school which is in Xining City, Qinghai Province. At the factory, I’ll purchase the cookers and take them to Chalitong. From then, the villagers will need two days to set up the solar energy water heaters, under my management. Within two days, the final report will be presented to the donors.
Detailed Budget
| Item | Price per item in rmb | Number of items |
Donor Contribu tion in rmb |
Local Contribu tion in rmb |
Shem Women’s Group | Total cost in rmb | |
| Solar energy water heater | 2,200 | 34 | 57,800 | 17,000 | 0 | 74,800 | |
| Management Payment | 0 | 0 | 500 | 500 | |||
| management expenses | Phone calls, photocopies, developing photos, transportation fee (for me to get home and come back) | 300 | 800 | 0 | 1,100 | ||
| Total cost in Rmb | 58,100 | 17,800 | 500 | 76,400 | |||
Donation requested: 58,100 RMB=7,725 US$
Local contribution: 17,800rmb
Shem Women’s Group: 500rmb
Sustainability
This project is very sustainable because it protects the trees and the environment. The solar energy water heaters are being purchased from a good company in Zhong Dian city in Yunnan province. People in the company reported that the cookers are of very good quality and they are a reasonable price. When I visited the solar water heater company in July, I was assured that the heaters would last for a minimum of 10 years. In addition, several local people have purchased solar energy water heaters from this company and reported them to be of good quality and very useful.
Governmental support
In July 2007, Gelsang Hlamu (Betty), the project manager, called the village leader, Agao and explained the project in detail to him. The leader responded that solar energy water heaters were items that villagers needed to protect themselves from environmental disasters such as floods. He also said that using the solar energy water heaters would be very beneficial to the surrounding forests. Moreover, all of the villagers have conveyed their hopes that I can get the project funded, and bring a higher standard of living to the village.
Reference information
I have already finished a solar cooker project proposal for four villages in my township. By giving 80 households each a solar cooker, this project has benefited a total of 510 residents, reducing their danger of flood damage and lessening their difficult life conditions. This project was funded by The Shambala Connection in May 2007 and project implementation was completed by the end of July 2007.
Photos from the project location
The picture shows the mountains beside Mekong River which had dense trees on them 50 years ago, but now have become a barren land with very few trees. Whenever there is rain, water runs down the surface of the bare land, bringing disaster to the residents beside the river.
Shown above is the mountain right across from my village on the other side of Mekong River. This mountain has very few trees left, but is instead covered with big and small flood holes.
Map of Deqin County
Shown in this map, Deqin County is one of the three counties belonging to Diqing Prefecture of Yunnan Province.