Profiles of Recent Borrowers
Following are some of the people that took out loans recently. With few exceptions, the borrowers are farmers working the allotted land given to them by the government. (See Reports, Observations.) They used the loans to improve their faming output and/or to branch into other businesses such as animal husbandry, where initial capital investment is required.
Note: In the following, all money amount are expressed in RMB, or the Chinese Yuan. As of November 2011, the exchange rate from RMB to U.S. Dollars is approximately 6.4 to 1.
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26 year-old Wang Li supports her sister (10) and grandmother (75). Both her parents and grandfather died last year. She spent all her money on funeral expenses and had only 80 RMB left this spring. The PCWSDA loan officer knew she was industrious and convinced her to borrow 3000 RMB to start a hair dressing shop. This was her 2nd loan, the first was used to grow corn on 5 mu of land. She can net about 6000 RMB for cutting hair. She still gets up at 5am to farm the corn, and sometimes sleeps at the hair salon if she has to cut hair late at night. Pictures from left to right - Wang Li in her shop. her store front, Wang Li with the PCWSDA loan officer. | ||
| Du Yanli, 30 years old, has a small shop in Yi Long village. She is a third time borrower at 3000 RMB. Her first two borrowings were to expand her farm of 3 mu wheat and 7 mu cotton. This third borrowing was to expand a small convenience store. from which she is able to earn 3000 to 4000 RMB per year. She earns about 5000 RMB from the farm. Dan Yanli has a daughter (around 8), a father who is half-paralyzed from a stroke, and a. mother-in-law that is also in poor health. |
| He Jiuru and her husband raise 25 pigs and farm 9 mu of corn (feed for pigs). They have spent 7-8 years raising pigs to send their children to school. She has a son in high school, with tuition and other costs at 4000 RMB per year. A daugher is in a Xian technical college, which costs about 10600 RMB per year. They borrowed 2000 RMB this year to buy an old truck to haul fertilizer and corn. Her son comes home from school in the summer and catches scorpions to sell. |
| Wang Lixiu has obtained two loans of 2000 RMB and 3000 RMB each. She has used the loans to buy pigs and seeds and supplies for her 20 mu cotton farm.. Her husband has gone out to look for work elsewhere. Cotton farming was not successful last year due to lack of water. She decided that raising pigs is a better business, as she can make about 100-200 RMB profit from each piglet, after raising it for six months. Right now she has 9 piglets. .She also grows wheat and veggies for her own family's consumption . |
| Yao GaiLin and her husband farm 13 mu of corn and wheat, with her husband supplementing their income with occasional odd jobs. She also takes care of two grandsons, ages 5 and 2. (The children's parents are elsewhere.) She is paying 1,500 RMB tuition a semester for the 5-year old in kindergarten and about 50 RMB per week for milk for the 2-year old. The 2000 RMB loan she just obtained will be used to improve her farm production. Picture: Yao GaiLin and one of her grandsons. |
| At 34, Guo Wangfang is one of the youngest farmers in her village. Although her farm is only 3 mu, her income from farming is comparable to farms more than double that size. She also raises some farm animals. She has two children, one in elementary school provided by the government for free, the other she pays 2 RMB per day for nursery school. This summer, she is taking out her 3rd round of loan of 4000 RMB, which will be used for fertilizer, irrigation, etc. |
| There are 7 people living in Yang Donghua's house - her husband, divorced daughter, daughter-in-law, two grand children, and 80 year old father-in-law. She and her husband farm 9 mu of pear, cotton, and corn. Her 4000 RMB third round loan will be used to purchase fertilizer and anti-insect protective bags for the pears. Picture: Yang Donghua and her granddaughter. |
| Last year, Yang Runxia decided to supplement her farm income from 10 mu of corn and cotton by buying a cow and a calf. She milks the cow herself and sells the milk to mostly neighbors. Her first time loan of 3000 RMB wll be used to purchase a second cow (cows cost 10,000 RMB each). She is planning to build a bigger hut for more cows and expand her milk operation. |
| Wang Yinrong and her husband farm 17 mu of corn, apple and cotten. Due to the draught and high temperatures last year, no corn was produced. Fortunately, she started raising pigs last year. With a second round of 3000 RMB loan, she expect to buy another 10 piglets and some feed. Wang Yinrong has two sons, both are away in school or working. |
| Han Suxia and her husband are usually up before 5 a.m. to tend to their pear and apple farm. She returns to the house by 10 a.m., before the day gets too hot. She then picks up her granddaughter from nursery school, makes lunch and attends to other household chores. After dinner, she puts in another 3 hours in the field. Her second round loan of 3000 RMB will be used to purchase fertilizer and protective bags for the pears. |
| Li Suhui household was not extremely poor until her husband became ill and bed-ridden. Now she is left to tend to the 10 mu of pears, apples, and corn all by herself. Her son also had to leave middle school in order to help her take care of her husband and do other chores. Her first loan of 2000 RMB will be used to pay for her husband's medical bills. However, she hopes to get loans in the future to improve her farm. Picture: Li Suhui and her son. |
11/16/2011
