Water washes wealth into Shuigou village

Shuigou village in Neixiang is bearing the fruits of one of the many projects which have been rolled out across the county designed at lifting rural communities out of poverty and improving social welfare.

Surrounded by mountains, Shuigou for years has struggled with irrigation as no natural water source or diversion has passed nearby. The result was that there was little water to feed an agricultural industry.

Three years ago, Shuigou was one of the poorest villages in the region with almost 50 percent of its residents living below the poverty line.

A worker dries chrysanthemum. [Photo/Henan Daily]

However, thanks to a poverty-relief project undertaken by the Neixiang water conservancy bureau, running water has been introduced both residentially and in the fields. As a result, the village is beginning to thrive.

So far, the local government invested 840,000 yuan ($121,000) to build 5 kilometers of roads which have connected the village, creating a mopre convenient and less bumpy transportation network between farms. The money has also been put towards renovating the village’s medical clinic and school.

The introduction of irrigation for farming has attracted the Nanyang Tianlong Tea Company to establish a cooperative to grow tea and chrysanthemum on the village's farm land.

So far at the end of stage one of a three stage project, Tianlong planted 1,000 mu (66.6 hectares) of tea and 400 mu of chrysanthemum. By the end of the third stage it is hoped that 3,000 mu of tea and 2,000 mu of chrysanthemum will be planted.

Staff member pick chrysanthemum. [Photo/Henan Daily]

The cooperative, which has received an extra 700,000 yuan from the government, has helped to boost local employment and living standards.

"I earned about 2,000 yuan last month from picking chrysanthemum," said Peng Jinxia a local worker.

According to representative from Tianlong, the cooperative has hired hundreds of local villagers, increasing income per capita from 1,800 yuan to 5,000 yuan.

Other beneficiaries from the first stage of the project include Wuzhuang, Shangzhuang, Dianfang, and Pengying villages. After all three stages are completed some 2,000 jobs for locals will have been created.

A field of chrysanthemum planted by Nanyang Tianlong Tea Company. [Photo/Henan Daily]