The strength of: rural women in China; The role of women in China in such activities as caring for the family, raising poultry and livestock, weaving, etc., used to be behind the scenes. Men tended the fields, made decisions relating to daily life and rarely consulted their female partners on business matters.

In rural communities, land was owned by a few landlords, while villagers lived on very little income, well below the poverty level. However, this began to change in the 1950s with land reform, wherein families were given land to grow crops. Women's role began to change as well, but as their status increased so did their workload. Not only did they care for the family but they also became involved in agriculture and production.

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Rural women began taking part in collective labour and realized their role as wage earners, as well as their importance in production, thus broadening their potential. Women have also moved closer to having equal roles in the family, representing 41 per cent of the rural labour force in agriculture. Their participation in crop production has increased the families' income, enabling them to keep up with modern-day needs. Household chores are also shared more equally by the whole family.

During a conference in Beijing in December 2005, attended by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Vice-Premeier Huang Ju, discussion focused on the need to develop agricultural and rural areas over the next five years. The importance of grain production and ways to increase incomes were stressed. "Only when the problems relating to agriculture, rural areas and the farmers have been solved properly can China's economy develop in the correct direction", according to a forum document.

Poverty is common in China's countryside and is a way of life for a large section of the population. But within this poverty is a strength and determination to make ends meet with what is available. Facing numerous challenges, boys and girls as young as six years old work in the fields with their parents, often forgoing education. Few families own any mode of transport, so many walk to their cropland along steep hillsides.

Li Kaifeng, 78 years old (right photo), looks after her three grandchildren, who are left in her care while her youngest son and his wife work in the city. The grandchildren, age ranging from 5 to 9, attend a local school in the village and help tend the fields to grow potatoes, corn and cabbage. I never attended school", Kaifeng says. "My family was too poor to send us to school. We worked alongside our parents in the fields to provide for the family. It was a life that was very difficult. We only were able to grow enough, but even then it never seemed to be enough for all of us. There were five children--three brothers and a younger sister--in our family. We would get up early each day and work all day long in the fields and raised pigs and chickens", she says.

"At 18, I got married and soon started a family. I have four sons and four daughters. After my husband died in 2001 it has been very difficult for me, but the children help", Kaifeng said. "It is my daughters and two youngest sons who help me out the most. But when my youngest son left his children with me, I have to live here. He has enough grains for us to live on so far, and my daughters buy us some foodstuffs once they come to visit me." Kaifeng still continues to work in the fields alongside her children, planting and harvesting crops, and her grandchildren help with the chores around the house. "Our life is simple, I am glad that all my grandchildren can go to school. Today there are more opportunities for women and the children as they are able to attend school. Still there is great poverty here, but now we can live a more comfortable life than before."

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Xue Tianwu, 55, and his wife Hu Yuanbi, 50, live in Youzhafang village. While Tianwu cares for the local forest nearby, his wife takes the dual role of caring for their five-year-old grandson and tending to the fields each day, as well as cooking for the family. Yuanbi's day begins before eight in the morning, making breakfast for the family and then walking for 20 minutes to the crop fields on the hillside and returning to make lunch for her husband and grandson. They both share in cooking, cleaning and keeping the house neat. Through hard work and determination they have been able to make the transition from poverty to a comfortable way of life.

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"We used to live in an old house with a large family that included my mother, three brothers and their wives and several children. There was little privacy and it was very crowded", says Yuanbi. "The of China have more chances in their lives now than before. I was never able to go to school and I cannot read or write in my own language. We were very poor with few clothes. It was very difficult to save any money", she adds. "Although there are still many changes that need to be done here in our village, I can see some changes that happened in the last few years. Women here are given more chances than before. We would like to be able to learn more if any agency could help us. We need to learn more about income generation projects to help our families even more."

Chi Xuebi (above photo), 31 years old, has made the initial step towards securing a hopeful future for her young children. "When my husband and I married 14 years ago, we were very poor, just like everyone else in the community. We lived in a simple one-room mud-house and worked early in the morning until late afternoon, tending to our crops." She grew up in a big family--four girls and one boy--with a speech-impaired mother and a disabled father, who had suffered a serious leg injury when he fell off a steep incline where he was working. "We lived a very poor life. My parents did the best they could for us under the circumstances, so we never went hungry. But none of us ever attended school. We always help out each other, so we are very close."

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As the oldest child, Chi Xuebi started working in the field with her parents when she was a little girl. She also took on the responsibility of caring for her parents and younger siblings. She married a local boy, Zhai Xinde, now 35, who works part-time for the local government, earning 4,800 RMB ($600) annually. Both were determined to make a better life for themselves and their children. They bought a new van four months ago, which they operate as a shuttle service to and from the city several times a day, and expect it to bring an extra income of 6,000 RMB per year ($750). In addition, this hard-working couple also take care of a konjak (mushroom) field, generating 4,800 RMB per year.

"We are both so happy to know we have had the chance to make our lives better and give our children the chance to learn in school. My husband and I were determined to see our children get the chances we did not have", says Chi Xuebi. Their 80-year-old grandmother is also living happily with them. "We know what it is like to live in poverty for so many years. But the lives of the people here are changing. We see hope and we see a future for our families and our parents, who lived through some very hard times. We like to live in a clean and neat house, with good bedding and decoration. We know life has been made easier for our grandmother and she is now happy to be here in this house with us. We enjoy our happy life very much," Chi Xuebi concludes.

Mikel Flamm is a photojournalist based in Bangkok, Thailand. Windy Xie, a project office coordinator for Habitat for Humanity China, helps develop projects, raise funds and promotes mutual help and interaction among children, women and the disabled. They are pictured here with five-year-old Deng Guoyu in Youzhafang village.

BY MIKEL FLAMM AND WINCY XIE

Photos by Mikel Flamm

RELATED ARTICLE: OVERPOPULATION: A MAIN CAUSE OF RURAL POVERTY

China's population is estimated at 1.3 billion, of which 48.5 per cent are female, with 27.7 per cent below 15 years old. Zhaotong, located in the northeast Yunnan province, is a border city of Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan provinces.

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Panhe township, where Habitat for Humanity has set up projects in three villages--Youzhafang, Touzhai and Xindian--is located 27 kilometres from the city, with a total land area of 54 square kilometres. Traditional houses are made of stones, mud, wood and thatch roofs, and are dark, damp and in poor condition. The majority of the villagers are farmers. The main crops are potato, corn and Chinese cabbage, and the main economic crop is konjak (mushroom used for medicinal and edible purposes), while the main livestock are pig, chicken, goat and cow.

The local population of Zhaotong in 2002 was estimated at almost 23,000 and dominated by ethnic Han, comprising nearly 86.5 per cent. Ethnic minorities include Bai, Miao, Muslim and Yi. The rural population accounts for 98 per cent, and women constitute 47 per cent of the total population.

High fertility rate and male-favouring childbirth rate are the most severe issues in this community. Government policies restrict the number of children per family to two in rural areas, and for families with more than two, they must pay approximately 4,000 RMB ($497). On average, each family has three to four children. Because of poverty in the community, the majority of families rely on all members to help with land cultivation. However, whatever crops they grow are used only for family consumption. Although they do not lack for food, they are unable to make any profit from the crops.

Most young people in the village have migrated to cities in search of work to assist their families with additional income. Women and the elderly are likely to be left behind to undertake agricultural tasks formerly done by the entire household. Although the average annual income ranges from 1, 800 to 2,500 RMB ($225 to $312), overpopulation has become one of the main causes of poverty, which has resulted in less educational opportunities for some children. The local government of Panhe township has launched a campaign to encourage families to follow government policies on birth control.