Designing development: a case study of community economy in Pingzhai, Yunnan Province, in PRC

1. Paper presented at the 34th Biennial Congress of the International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW), 20–24 July 2008, ICC – Durban, South Africa.

Abstract

One of the main challenges confronted by the Chinese government is rural poverty. However, despite efforts of rural reform, China's rapid integration into the global capitalist economy has in fact made the rural poor more vulnerable, suffering from not only financial hardships, but also from other forms of deprivation such as the loss of cultural identity. Acknowledging such rural predicaments, in 2005, a pilot project aiming at overcoming rural poverty by preserving and developing indigenous cultural artifacts and crafts for ethnic minorities was carried out in Pingzhai in Yunnan Province, China. The project encouraged villagers to use local materials and indigenous craftsmanship to produce ethnic arts and crafts for sale in urban markets, thus generating not only cash income but also a sense of renewed pride and identity, leading to stronger community participation in local culture preservation and greater resilience to the erosion of traditional community life brought on by global socio-economic forces. This paper describes the activities undertaken in the village since 2005 and the implications for rural social work in China.

Keywords:

• Design for Development
• Interdisciplinary Collaboration
• Capacity Building
• Community Economy
• Rural Social Work

Acknowledgements

This research project is supported by an Earmarked Research Grant of the Research Grant Council of Hong Kong (Project Code: PolyU2099/02H) and also by the project ‘Pathways to Social Development and Rural Social Work: Fair Trade, Rural-Urban Alliance and Poverty Intervention in Yunnan Province’ (Project Code: 1-ZV90).

Notes

1. Paper presented at the 34th Biennial Congress of the International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW), 20–24 July 2008, ICC – Durban, South Africa.

2. The three-year action research project was funded by a Hong Kong Polytechnic University Research Grant and the Keswick Foundation. The project was also partly supported by the Earmarked Research Grant of the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong (RGC) for the 2002 project entitled ‘Poverty Reduction from Above: Local Strategies and Local Voices’: it provided funding for a social worker/researcher to work full-time on site. Part-time staff were recruited locally to help in specific aspects of the project where necessary.

3. Administrative villages are usually larger and have a relatively more accessible location than other villages. Usually, the government sets up administrative offices at the administrative village and provides basic facilities and support there. The natural villages are relatively remote, small in size, and usually contain only a small number of families.

4. Similar situations were also observed in other developing countries (see Wilson and Dissanayake 1996).

5. Capacity building has been popularly adopted by community service providers to strengthen and support the ability of communities to grow and change (e.g., Moyer et al. 1999, Li et al. 2001). Along with ‘empowerment’, ‘participation’, and ‘gender equity’, capacity building is regarded as an essential element of any development model that is sustainable and people-centred (e.g., Eade 1997, Plummer 2000). Our fundamental belief is that all people have the right to share the world's resources equally and to be masters of their own development and destiny, and that the rejection of such rights is the root of poverty and suffering. Strengthening people's capacity to make choices, determine their own priorities, and take action to achieve their goals is the basis of development.

6. The local people speak the Zhuang dialect. Only a few young villagers and educated adults in Pingzhai village can speak the Chinese official language – Mandarin. Therefore, it was difficult for us to communicate directly with the local villagers. This handicap, however, was a blessing in disguise because we were encouraged to work closely with the educated villagers, who often became our interpreters.

7. RMB is a unit of currency in China. 1 US dollar = approximately RMB7.7.