Northwest China Poverty Alleviation Project News

2012 is the United Nations International Year of the Cooperative.  NZCFS are commemorating the 2012 UN Year of the Cooperative by making four ‘International Awards’ to cooperatives selected from our projects coops. Currently NZCFS projects have directly established 41 cooperatives in Zhangye/Shandan, Gansu, and 8 in Shaanxi. Projects fund–raising focus for this year is to provide an International Award to four of these fifty cooperatives. In the NZCFS NW China projects programme since … [Read more...]

With the one year NZCFS component of the Rural Women’s Health project, funded by Auckland Branch and KOHA fund now ended, NZCFS Projects team Deborah Rhode and Dave Bromwich spent three days in Baoji district, and visited two project villages in each of Qishan and Fengxian counties. For background and project design outline, visit the Shaanxi Rural Women's Health Project page. In each village they met with members of the ‘backbone team’, women representing the core group of 200 women … [Read more...]

Establish model cooperatives in two districts of Shaanxi province March 2011 to February 2013 Background   In September 2008 NZCFS and Shaanxi Women’s Federation (SXWF) formalised a Memorandum of Cooperation. In September 2009 a joint workshop was held with SXWF, ICCIC and NZCFS to promote modern cooperatives This project is one outcome from that workshop, and the second community development project to be implemented under the NZCFS-SXWF relationship. Project Description This … [Read more...]

Rural Women’s Health and Family Civilisation, Shaanxi Province July 2010 and December 2011. Background After the Sichuan Earthquake, NZCFS started to work with Shaanxi Women’s Federation (SXWF) to deliver two post-earthquake rehabilitation projects in the earthquake affected area of south-west Shaanxi Province. A memorandum of Cooperation was signed in September 2008 between NZCFS and Shaanxi Provincial Womens Federation. SXWF identified that lack of basic knowledge by rural women was … [Read more...]

In 2006 to 2008, two NZCFS projects established 29 cooperatives in Shandan county, enhancing the capacity of Shandan to serve as a model county for cooperative promotion, and establishing Shandan Bailie School as a centre for cooperative training. A further project was implemented from September 2008 to June 2010 to extend the establishment of model cooperatives in four counties of Zhangye district (Shandan is also in Zhangye district). This was titled: Establish cooperative Trainer of Trainers … [Read more...]

Dave Bromwich and Roger Davies visited NZCFS projects in Gansu during April. These projects aim to continue Rewi Alley's legacy of assisting chinese people in Shandan and neighbouring counties to lift their farming economy through agric. education, research, and the forming of farmer /producer cooperatives. The respect and affection with which George Hogg and Rewi Alley are still regarded is illustrated by the wreaths left at their graves on Qing Ming, the day when Chinese people pay respect to … [Read more...]

NZCFS Earthquake Projects in China, May 2009 The earthquake of May 12, 2008, with its epicentre in Sichuan, killed over 70,000 people, several million were left homeless, and many farmers’ livelihoods were destroyed. New Zealand China Friendship Society (NZCFS) made a major fundraising effort nationwide, in many places in partnership with other organisations such as the Chinese Association. A total of $36,741 was raised. NZCFS executive members Sally Russell and Dave Bromwich spent several … [Read more...]

In 2006-2007 the International Committee for Chinese Industrial Cooperatives (ICCIC), Shandan Cooperative Federation (SCF), Shandan Bailie School, Shandan Women’s Federation and the New Zealand China Friendship Society worked together to develop rural cooperatives in Shandan County. .  The benefits of establishing a cooperative was introduced to a large group of villages and from this eight producer cooperatives were established in four townships. One cooperative began to market these … [Read more...]

After the successful project in 2005-06 to introduce co-operatives to eight villages a further twelve cooperatives will be formed in Shandan to harness the enthusiasm and demand from villages to participate. Four of these will be based on non-production activities which may include forming a rural credit cooperative for management of cash flow within the membership, a consumer cooperative in which members benefit from the bulk purchase of goods and services, including materials required for a … [Read more...]

We have all been shocked and moved by the images of the damage on the earthquake with its epicentre in Sichuan. At the NZCFS National Conference held 16-18th May 2008 an appeal was launched to assist the people affected by the earthquake. There is great capacity within China to deal with the immediate disaster relief period and the current media attention is eliciting strong responses from many sources. NZCFS wish to target the period of community reconstruction or rehabilitation phase. In the … [Read more...]