Heifer

Pingwu is a mountainous county and is nationally designated as a county of poverty.  There are 25 Townships with a total population of 186,000, of which six are Tibetan and three are Qiang townships. The per capita net income of Pingwu is USD270, and 9.6% of the total population lives with an annual net income less than USD125.

The agricultural GDP of Pingwu in 2004 was RMB 575 million (USD71.79 million), of which 199 million (USD24.84 million) came directly from livestock production.  Livestock keeping has been one of the backbone industries in the whole county, but the local people lack the knowledge and skills on it.  The traditional way of livestock keeping produces very low income, and animals live in terribly dirty and harsh barns.  Houses in the poor villages are also very poorly constructed and many of them need repair and even reconstruction.  Furthermore, a large amount of the natural grassland has not been fully utilized and local people in Pingwu cut trees for firewood, which is the major source of fuel for rural households. Therefore, it is necessary to provide an alternative source of energy to help reduce slash and burn practices.

This four year project will provide 75 impoverished families in Pingwu County, Sichuan Province, with pigs, cattle or honey bees.  Participating families will also receive financial support to improve stoves, build barns, construct bio-gas generators and renovate their kitchens and toilets. The aim is to strengthen the target communities’ development capacities by supporting self-help initiatives, such as group development envisioning, planning and group savings. The project will also offer training on Heifer’s Cornerstones, group management, improved animal management, barn construction, livestock husbandry, apiculture, disease control, farming, and marketing, as well as bio-gas generation and personal hygiene. The original participants will pass on animals, skills and knowledge to another 75 families in the third year of the project.