Peng WuYu is finding it hard not to smile .

Peng WuYu ( 47 ) and her husband Yan Xigang ( 48 ) are both having trouble not smiling today. The hundred Pounds that purchased the biogas tank under their farm has had a great impact on their lives. Peng WuYu tells me that they have not only got a higher income, better health and a lot more time, but the installation may even improve the chances of marriage for their two sons. How is this possible?

Peng WuYu and her husband Yan Xigang have recently got a biogas tank on their farm through the International biogas project NMS is running in China and Madagascar. It does not take long before Peng WuYu explains why she is so excited about biogas:

"It is so easy to cook quickly with biogas! Before we got the installation, cooking was complicated and time consuming, but now it is easy and quickly done "says Peng WuYu and smiles while she continues:" Also there is no smoke in the kitchen anymore - it's so refeshing ! "According to the World Health Organization ( WHO), smoke in the kitchen is responsible for 1.6 million deaths each year through pneumonia , chronic respiratory diseases and lung cancer . So it is no wonder that Mrs. Peng is excited about no longer having any smoke in the kitchen.

Waste from the toilet, the animal pen and any kitchen waste all goes into the tank under the farm. The air-tight tank transforms the biomass waste into methane. Thus, renewable energy is made. This gas is odourless and produces no smoke, and can be used for cooking and lighting. When the "mixture" has produced the gas, the sludge and slurry that comes out of the tank is now organic fertilizer of high quality.

This means that Peng WuYu and Yan man Xigang not only get gas for cooking and lighting, but also good organic fertilizer for their 2.5 acres of land. This fertilizer increases their harvest considerably, which they are both very happy about.

The couple is thankful for the money they save and the higher yields they are anticipating. It's tough to make ends meet in the countryside, especially since both sons are now in high school and education here is certainly not cheap. Peng WuYu , however, insists that her sons should go to school, as she did not complete primary school and would like to give her two sons a better future .

Last year, Peng WuYu had to go to the city for several months to earn money. She found this very challenging as she prefers to be available for her old mother on the farm and she did not like that the fields were not farmed or looked after.

After getting the biogas digester, she has more money but also a lot more time. She no longer needs to go to the city to earn money, but not having to collect wood, means that she has more time available. This means that she now can be available to her mother and her sons as well as being able to cultivate the fields- something she is very thankful for.

"Before we got biogas, I spent much of the day collecting twigs and wood for cooking. I went out 3-4 times a day and spent most of the day on cooking and picking up sticks and wood (15 to 20 kilos per day). As we now have biogas, I no longer need to collect twigs or wood and cooking is really quick and convenient " says Peng WuYu and smiles. With a lot more free time, she is now able to spend time on activities she enjoys and improve her family’s income: 

"I make these traditional backpacks of straw! I sell these and get some extra income" she says excitedly before a big smile takes over her face again.

The family is proud to belong to the Tujia minority. This people group lost much of their traditional culture a long time ago. For this reason they are particularly proud of Tujia crafts. So, Mrs Peng is excited about making these traditional Tujia baskets which are used to transport everything from children to grain. In this simple way, she is keeping alive traditional Tujia culture.

Mrs Peng is clearly grateful for how biogas has made her life much easier. "Do you have any other dreams?” I wonder. "Hm …" she says quietly looking out of her window: "Yes, I hope that one day my sons may get married," she says , laughing. Curiously enough the biogas tank may in fact have a positive effect on their chances of finding a wife in the future.”

Strange but true. With China's restrictive laws on child birth coupled with a traditional preference for boys, about 122 boys are born per 100 girls in China. This means that approximately 15 % of men in China will never marry. It is especially difficult for the young men who live on a farm where the bride's life would most likely be tough and tiring. Getting a biogas tank on the farm could actually improve the sons chances of marriage.

Over the past five years, NMS has made it possible for over 1,000 families in Yongshun in Hunan Province to get biogas digesters on their farms. In the next year, we want to transform the lives of many more farmers through biogas digesters in Yongshun, China.Do you want to make it possible for the neighbours of Peng WuYu to enjoy a biogas digester on their farm?

For about one hundred Pounds, you can provide a whole biogas tank for one family on the "The mountain of the Bachelors". By supporting this project, you help fight poverty, protect the environment and improve women's health. Click here to find out how you can support this project. 

Support projects in China from the UK.

If you would like to support any projects and live in the UK (or have a UK bank account), you can support our projects by following these steps: 

Send a cheque made payable to “Sittingbourne Baptist Church”.

On the back, please specify that it is “for the work of Tom & Marieke”. Please send the cheque to: Sittingbourne Baptist Church, The High Street, Sittingbourne, ME10 4AQ, UK

Gift Aid:

If you work in the UK and you wish to register your support for tax purposes to reduce your tax and increase the donation, you need to do the following:

With the first payment, you need to include a letter (with your name and address on it) stating that you are a UK tax payer and would like the charity to claim Gift Aid on their donation as from ……the date…… until….date OR until further notice

The UK charity number, is: 1148652

If you would like to support us from another country- please send us and e-mail. 

LuoYueSheng dreams about an easier life on «The Mountain of the bachelors»

1 

After walking to the top of GuangGu'er Shan " in China, I meet a smiling LuoYueSheng (66). " GuangGu'er Shan" literally means "the mountain of the bachelors”.

According to Chinese tradition, women move to their husband's home and become part of his family when they marry. So, the name of this mountain village implies that life is so tough here that women do not want to marry men from this village because they simply do not want to live here.

Luo Yuesheng is, however, one of the lucky ones who did get married. He and his wife Xiang Huiyu (61) have been blessed with two daughters, three sons and six grandchildren. Their youngest son is in fact their next-door neighbour. He helps his parents on the farm because the young man's right arm is paralyzed and he therefore has difficulty getting work in the big cities. The other children of Luo Yuesheng work in Zhejiang. LuoYueSheng is proud of his children and grandchildren, but he also admits that he finds life here in the village quite tough.

I enjoy a nice cup of tea around the fire in the kitchen and feel very thankful for the knee-high rubber boots I am wearing.  Mud has reached all the way up to the top of the boots after we trudged up the mud road up the mountain. It's nice to feel the warm cup and the warm fire as we are chatting. It is very cold now - even inside. LuoYueSheng is poor, but is prepared for our visit. He has a huge pile of twigs and logs that he has gathered for our visit. The flames eat the wood in a hurry while we sit there and warm our hands.

Luo Yuesheng and Xiang Huiyu dream of installing biogas on the farm. They are also interested in courses that can help them grow better crops. "Are you saying that biogas installations could potentially change the name of the village?” I ask somewhat confused. "Yes, we hope so!" responds Luo YueShen and smiles.

Waste from the toilet, the animal pen and any kitchen waste all goes into the tank under the farm. The air-tight tank transforms the biomass waste into methane. Thus, renewable energy is made. This gas is odourless and produces no smoke, and can be used for cooking and lighting. When the "mixture" has produced the gas, the sludge and slurry that comes out of the tank is now organic fertilizer of high quality. So, Luo YueSheng would not only get gas for cooking and lighting, but also good organic fertilizer for his fields.

In addition to increasing revenue, reducing costs and freeing up time for poor farmers, biogas is helping to improve the status of women, improving health and hygiene as well as protecting the environment.

LuoYueSheng and his family, would be saving approximately 3500 kg in wood per year if they could get biogas. As deforestation is a major problem China, reducing the number of people using wood for cooking makes a big difference.

Over the past five years, NMS has made it possible for over 1,000 families in Yongshun in Hunan Province to get biogas digesters on their farms. In the next year, we want to give biogas digesters to many more people including Luo Yuesheng and Xiang Huiyu on " The Bachelor Mountain ".

For about one hundred pounds, you can provide a biogas tank for one family on the "The mountain of the Bachelors". By supporting this project, help fight poverty, protect the environment and improve women's health. LuoYueSheng and his wife Xiang Huiyu can enjoy a biogas tank that can last 20-30 years. Would you like to make this a reality? Click here to find out how you can support this project. 

First impressions of China

Here you can read all about the first impressions our new young volunteers stationed in Nanjing. Among other details, you will find that they have in fact already become famous. Check out the blogg authored by one of our volunteers: http://katrinesangolt.blogg.no/

Cao YeBing would like to be a farmer!

Cao YeBing曹烨彬 (8) is from Cheng Zhou (郴州) in Hunan Province (湖南) in China. He has attended the deaf School in ChangSha for three years where he also lives. If he could not stay there with the other boarding pupils, he could probably not go to a school at all. For breakfast, he likes best to eat baozi (which is a type of doughnut filled with meat). His favourite subject is drawing, but he also loves to dance. When he grows up, he dreams of becoming a farmer. In the evenings, he likes to watch TV. On his day off school, Sunday, he likes to walk in the park with the student volunteers from the university who come to be with Cao YeBing and other boarding pupils.

Cao YeBings mother left him and his father when YeBing was small because the father is handicapped and has some mental problems. After YeBin started his studies at the centre and learned to speak etc.  his mother has been in contact with deaf centre and has resumed contact with both YeBin and his father. In this way, this deaf centre has helped to reconcile many families.

He dreams of becoming a farmer when he grows up. Growing up, he only saw farmers cultivating the land, growing grain, vegetables that can be eaten. He does not know of other work that would not let him be hungry, so he thinks that being a farmer is the best of all.

Chen ShuZhao dreams about becoming a nurse

Chen ShuZhao/陈述钊（6）is from ChaLing (茶陵) in Chuzhou (株洲) in Hunan province (湖南) in China. He has attended the deaf school in Changsha one and a half years. There he is day-student and lives with his parents. He gets up every day at 7am. First he washes his face then brushes his teeth and puts on clothes before he eats breakfast. For breakfast he eats noodles almost every day. Mum takes him to school almost every day. But on the day off, Sunday, his grandmother often takes him to the park. He likes very much! In his class, there are 13 students. The name of his teacher is Miss Zhou, but he also has individual lessons with a different teacher each day.

When he grows up, he wants to become a nurse. His favourite food is (Chinese) sausage and chicken. His favourite subject is drawing but he also thinks dancing is a lot of fun!

Unusual brothers

Huang-RuiJie(黄锐杰)(6) & Huang-YuQi(黄玉其)(2) are very special in China! Why? They are brothers! In most parts of China, it is illegal to have more than one child. Therefore, it is very unusual in Changsha City, where they live, to have siblings. The boys like Sundays especially because they have time off from school and can play with mum and dad. These guys are the only kids at the deaf centre in Changsha with siblings.

The reason their parents have been allowed to have two children is that they come from the countryside, where some places are allowed to have two children. YuQi (黄玉其)  thinks it is terrific to have a brother!

Huang-RuijJie said that when he grows up, he wants to be a father. In his impression, fathers are really great. His father earn money to support the family, enabling  him and his brother who is similarly hearing impaired to receive training at the deaf children rehabilitation centre.

Their father is a driver and their mother works in a grocery store.

His father is a truck driver and works very hard daily driving the truck. The thought of his precious two sons being able to speak and interact through the training, makes him happy.