By Francine Zhang (Village Development Project Manager)
Yang Sheng Cai and his wife live in Duoji village. Their only son is married and has two sons. Yang’s son and his wife moved to town in order to look after their elder son who studies at Kaili City Middle School. The younger son stays with Yang and his wife and is studying in Daxi primary school. Although Yang is a farmer the family has only a little land to rely on. The ageing couple don’t want to be a burden for their son. When the Captivating/Heifer China program found Yang, he was making wooden basins and bird cages to earn extra money. This was never enough to efficiently support his family.
The Captivating Village Development team (in partnership with Heifer China and local government departments) helped Yang Sheng Cai purchase two pigs and two cows. Through various training programs Yang learned the latest herding skills, disease prevention, marketing awareness and how to best manage his animals. Yang said these practical techniques have been essential to save time and effort and reduces stress for him and his animals. He is very happy. Each year one cow gives birth to a new baby calf. It grows to at least 1,500 kilos in one year, which has a market value of around RMB 15,000 (US$2,300). Happy days!
Life is changing for Yang and his family. Recently, Yang was able to purchase a refrigerator and other needs that his family simply couldn’t afford previously. Yang is really grateful for the assistance from the Captivating Village Development project. He is hoping that the herding business continues to go well then he can expand the scale of his business and earn more money.
Yang Sheng Cai and his wife have repaid their program loan enabling another family to now benefit from this program. None of this would be possible if not for our dedicated financial supporters who have been part of this program since it began in 2012. As we near the completion of this project, our minds move on to what’s next and we look forward to contacting you all soon. For more details about this work, contact andrewc@captivating.org.
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