This past week’s adventures have perhaps been a little less rural, but definitely no less exciting! One of the bi-annual board meetings coincided with my internship and I was able to accompany everyone (one person stayed behind in Pucheng) to attend the meeting in Xi An as an additional interpreter.

 

PCWSDA’s board of directors is comprised of 5 parties: PCWSDA, The 1990 Institute, Plan China (Plan International), The Shaanxi Province Women’s Federation, and The Pucheng County Women’s Federation. There are 10 board members in total, 2 from each organization.

 

Spending some time with the borrowers last week gave me first-hand experience of how operations worked on the ground, however, I quickly realized once the meeting convened, I had to switch gears and think in terms of the bigger picture.

 

The association’s mission, first and foremost, is to assist the poor. Based on the County Government’s statistics, in the 365 villages, there are 40,000 low-to-mid income rural households in need of loans every year. I won’t go into the specific criteria, but PCWSDA’s target borrowers are women from such households. As of June this year, the association services 18 villages and approximately 1,580 clients. Suffice to say, demand exceeds supply by far.

 

Working towards the ultimate goal of achieving its mission, the hope is to expand the scope of operations in a sound and sustainable manner. As of now, the primary constraint is a lack of capital. Under its present legal standing as a social organization, Chinese law prohibits PCWSDA from receiving investments or taking out loans from banks.  Therefore, PCWSDA's capital can only be obtained from grants and donations,  it's current capital of 2 million RMB simply cannot meet the demand for loans.

 

This funding source restriction is a common problem for micro credit organizations in all of China. However, in 2008, new regulations were issued for Micro  Credit Companies (MCC) and PCWSDA is exploring the possibility of establishing a MCC. Under this new legal status, both investments and bank loans can be used as sources for capital. There are already around 600 MCCs in China, but none in Pucheng. Furthermore, almost  all the existing MCCs predominantly lend to small to medium businesses. If a MCC form of PCWSDA were established, it would be one of the few that lend to the poor.

 

Of course, expanding operations is a complex balancing act between financial, legal, and management considerations (to name just a few).   I realized that this is where different expertise brought by the board members is crucial.  For instance, the Women’s Federations were able to speak with authority on issues pertaining to Chinese government regulations (take it from me, very complicated!). Or if a question is raised about financial practices and governance, 1990 and Plan China could provide insight.

 

After two days of such discussions, I came out with a much clearer understanding of the underlying logic behind how the Association plans to grow.  

 

 

Another part of the equation for the organization’s success is a positive working relationship with the local government. It seems PCWSDA has established a good rapport with local officials, and with Dan visiting Pucheng as 1990’s representative we met several of them.

 

Lunch one day was with Mr.Yu, head of the People’s Bank of China Pucheng Branch, and Mrs. Liu, a Vice County Governor. We also had meetings with Mr. Yang, also with the Pucheng People's Bank of China,  and Mr. Xu, Chairman of the County Jin Rong Ban (roughly translated as the Finance Office).  Poverty alleviation was discussed at length in all the meetings.  In line with China’s national commitment to alleviate poverty,  all the officials stressed the need for innovative projects to help the poor.  It was encouraging to hear everyone emphasize innovation.

 

Between everyone’s busy schedules, Secretary General Xi Yue Hong somehow still managed to find time to take Dan and me to see the site of a Tang dynasty emperor’s tomb. Many of the neighboring mountains we passed by on the way are being mined for rocks, which will later be used to produce whitewash and gravel. However, with the hiking path and a cultural site, residents of the urban-side of town flock to this mountain, called Qiao Ling 桥陵, for exercise and fresh air. We weren’t able to climb all the way to the top, but there were stone statues of symbolic animals and officials that served the emperor alongside the path that we walked. Many were defaced during the turmoil of the Cultural Revolution, but fortunately, most remain well maintained.

 

The local government is in the midst of building establishments in the village at the base of the mountain, to cater to the many visitors that will come through. An entire street has been devoted to what is essentially Pucheng’s version of bed and breakfast. This is a very recent development and the first 10 were just opened for service less than 2 weeks ago. While most restaurants had some customers, it was still a quiet street where village children could safely run around. I wonder if similar efforts are being made in villages near the other 4 tombs in the county.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pictures: Upper left: I wandered behind the restaurants at Qiao Ling and came across these boys playing in the cornfields.  Upper right: Deep in conversation at the Board Meeting.

 

 

 

Picture right: Secretary General Xi Yue Hong said this is “one of the fiercest lions in all of China.” It used to stand guard in front of a giant gate but that was torn down during the Cultural Revolution.