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Xiaonuoyou Dowm natural village, a village of Lahu Nationality, is located inside Naban River Watershed Nature Reserve. The management of this village appertains to Nuoyou administrational village, Mengsong Township, Menghai County. It is 80km away from the place where the government of Mengsong Township, 85 km away from the capital town of Menghai County, and 40 km away from Jinhong municipality. The neChinese mut market place is Jinhong City, the capital city of Xishuangbanna Dai Nationality Autonomy Prefecture. The road to the village is very rough and wandering. The village occupies a total area of 3539 Chinese mu, including the paddy, hilly land and forest, etc. There are 19 households 86 people in the village. It is 4 kilometers away from the place where Nuoyou administratonal village located.
There is a rough road leaded to the village, and the electricity of the village is normal. But there isn't water supply in the village. The villagers channeled the water from the mountain spring with bamboo tube to the housing. The drinking water is simply purified. All of the fields of the villagers are located inside the Naban River Watershed Nature Reserve.
Because of the history and custom of the Lahu nationality, most of them lived in the hilly regions. Though the area of the villagers' shifting fields is large, they are still poor. And the living status of Lahu people in Xiaonuoyou village can present the Lahu people lived at other places in Xishuangbanna Dai Nationality Autonomy Prefecture.
The natural forest of the village occupies a total area of 2336 Chinese mu (155.7ha), among the rest, over 1000 Chinese mu is secondary forest reforested in the shifting fields. The vegetation of 656 Chinese mu original forest belongs to the monsoon evergreen broad-leaved forest, which distributes the back hill of the village; and the vegetation of 680 Chinese mu origin forest belongs to the cleuch rain forest.
There is no man-made timber forest and firewood forest. Villagers have planted 400 pomelo trees for 2 or 3 years. These trees occupy a total area of about 10 Chinese mu.
There is no perfect water supply in the village. The dry land and terraced field are irrigated with rain. The paddy fields are distributed at the foot of hill near the river, irrigated with the river water by channeling simply.
The drinking water is channel to the village with bamboo tube from the mountain spring, which is 1.5 kilometers far away from the village.
There is no fishpond in the village. But there are some kinds of wild fish in the river near the village. The amount of the fish in the river is few than before.
The sale of livestock is one of the main cash incomes of the villagers. There were 13 yellow cattle, 32 buffaloes and 54 pigs in 1998. Serious murrain occurred in the end of 1998, most of the livestock died for it. There are 5 yellow cattle, 17 buffaloes, 20 pigs and 190 poultry in the village now.
The shifting cultivated field occupies a total area of 683 Chinese mu. Villagers plant corn and upland rice in it, but the yield is low.
The paddy field occupies a total area of 76.8 Chinese mu.
Villagers plant some pomelo trees in their dry land.
Now, villagers are signing the second round of the land contract dating thirty years with government. On the fixed cultivated land, villagers can decide when and what kind of crops they plant. Without the management of Nature reserve permitting, villagers can not cut any tree except fruit tree planted by them. Since the implement of the protection project of the natural forest, the villagers don't be permitted to cut any living tree. They can collect deadwood as firewood. In addition, villagers cut the firewood in their shifting cultivated field.
There are about 1683 Chinese mu land, which is found of the soil erosion phenomenon. These lands are dry land and secondary forestland.
The village has big land area and small amount of people. The rotational cultivated period is about 5 to 10 years; the vegetation can renew well during the period. So the use of the forest resource is sustainable.
Under the aid and guide of the Management Station of Naban River Watershed Nature Reserve, the villagers have planted some pomelo trees.
There are 19 families, 86 persons (male: 39, female: 47) in the village in 1998. The rate of population growth is 0.6%. Most of the families has 3 children.
The status of women is equal to the man's. Due to the traditional customs, the education level of women is lower than man's. Women are more toilsome than man. They do not only the household chores but the farm works.
Lahu people follow the traditional cultivation mode-- slash and burn agriculture. The area of paddy is few, and the upland is unfixed. They apply the rotational cultivation system. The area of the rotational cultivated land is large. As the population growth, the consumption of the firewood increases too. The rotation period has been shortened, Eupatorium odoratum, an indicator of soil degradation, grow in the shifting field. So, the slash and burn agriculture maybe a serious threaten to the environment.
The upland crops include upland rice, corn and soybean. Because of the degradation of soil fertility and the backward of agricultural technique, the yield of the crops is unsteady and low. Villagers haven't insufficient food supply.
The children have to go to the uncompleted primary school of Nuoyou administrational village, which is 4 kilometers away from the village. Cause of the far distance and poverty, many families can't afford their children going to high school in the township or in the county. There are 3 persons with junior degree in the village. Most of the villagers have the primary degree. 33 persons are illiteracy.
The government of Xishuangbanna Dai Nationality Autonomy Prefecture pay more attention on the education. The uncompleted primary school of Nuoyou administrational village will be established as a completed primary school, and applies the 6-year compulsory education to promote the villagers culture degree.
The housings of ten households are thatched cottages, the housings of 9 households are brickwork. About 80% families in the village have TV set, and about 50% families have sawing machine. There are 3 tractors in the village.
The families, who live in the thatched cottages, want to improve their living condition by building brickwork if they have enough money.
There is no clinic or health worker in the village. The health condition is bad and it is to infect by disease. About 50% villagers are infected by malaria. All the children are injected with immunity bacteria.
As the promoting of the living condition and sanitation, the rate of illness will decrease.
There is no villager go out to work.
The key problems of the village is following as:
We, the investigation team, suggest doing some activities to solve these problems. The activities are following as:
Xiaonuoyou Down Village (1006m. Above sea level, inside the Naban Natural Reserve)
Name of Village:
Xiaonuoyou Down Village, Mengsong Township, Menghai County, Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture
Date: Mar. 26, 1999
Prepared by: Meng Guangtao, Fang Bo, Dai Yiyuan
in discussion with: Li Zhala, position: Chief of Xiaonuoyou Down Village and with Yang Guangying, position: Accountant of the village, Zhang Sanbao, position: villager, 61 years old, etc.
Native language(s) of informants:
Lahu language (Chinese while interviewing)
1. Village Location including distances from neChinese mut paved road and from neChinese mut markets town.
Located inside the experimental zone of the natural reserve. 40 kilometers away from Jinghong municipality, rough road, the neChinese mut market is Jinghong municipality
4 kilometers away from the administrational village
2. Village Population
No. of families (with approximate ethnic breakdown), no. of people including male/female, age groups breakdown, and the number of immigration and out if available to get the trend of population
Population: 86, families: 19, all Lahu people, male: 39, female: 47;
Above 50 age years old: 7, 18-50 years old year: 36, below 18 years old: 43
Immigration in: 4, immigration out: none
Birth: 2, death: 4
Population growth rate: 6
3. Village History
Immigrated from the old village of Xiaonuoyou Up village about 10 kilometers away in 1991. The old village existed before the liberation of the People’s Republic of China, not very clear. ‘Nuoyou’ in Dai language means ploy-grandsons.
4. Resource base (ask key informants to sketch a map)
-Total area of paddy land (rainfed, wet-season irrigated, dry-season irrigated)
Irrigated: 25.8 Chinese mu (at the south-west of village, along the Naban river, 1 kilometer from the village), rainfed: 50 Chinese mu (at the opposition hills of the village, to the south-west of village, about 3 kilometers)
Hilly land: 97.4 Chinese mu (at the east of village, 1 or 2 kilometers)
-Total area of natural forest land (now and 30 years ago)
Natural forestland: 2336 Chinese mu,
30 years ago: not clear, more than the present
One forest ranger employed by the natural reserve, his salary is 90 CNY per month.
-Total area of plantation forest land, if any
None
-Total area of slash and burn agriculture in a most recent year
About 386 Chinese mu, about 5 Chinese mu per household tillage once eight years
-Water supplies, access to drinking and bathing water, to water for irrigation
Drinking and bathing water: mountain spring water, purified simply and channeled with bamboo into village,
Water for irrigation: river water (Naban River)
-Total livestock figures for village
Buffaloes: 17,
Cattle: 5
Pigs: 20
Chicken: 190
The livestock and poultry died more than half of the total for the plagues in 1992, 1997 and 1998.
5. Resource Tenure and Management Incentives
-Is forest state-owned, community owned, or household owned?
1336 mu of forest collective owned, none forest household owned
-What incentives for rapid/pre-emotive extraction of forest resources exist?
Planting tropical fruit, such as pomelo, lychee and longan, enlargement the area of planting
-What incentives for sustainable management of forest resources exist?
There is state-owned forest nearby, and the time of collection the bamboo shoots is limited half a month in two years.
Adopt the slash and burn agriculture.
-Describe traditional tenure and management practices and how these may have broken down.
It is forbidden to slash and burn the forest which canopy density is over 30 percent. The area of swidden fields increased and the forest area decreased gradually. The forest extended gradually, a lot of deforestation while forest ownership not been identification
6. Availability of government/private sector services
-Health service
A clinic room, three health workers in administrational village. No clinic room and health worker in natural village
-NeChinese mut school, to what level, use of indigenous languages in primary school
A completed primary school in administrational village, using ‘putonghua’ (standard Chinese pronunciation) in class
-Veterinary services
One veterinarian in administrational village, none in natural village
-Agricultural extension
One agricultural technician in administrational village
A demonstration base of pomelo planting of Xishuangbanna Naban River Watershed Natural Reserve nearby the village
-Agricultural credit
None
-Availability of electricity
Normal
7. Livelihood Strategies (time may allow only brief coverage of these topics)
-Occupations (by gender, by socioeconomic group)
One female accountant in village in charge of economic fair and the statistics of the village, but none at the level of administrative village
-Labor patterns for meeting basic needs (by gender, by socioeconomic group)
Nearly equal
-Use and control of resources and benefits (by gender, by socioeconomic group)
About one third of households by women, two third households by man
-Income and expenditure patterns (by gender, by socioeconomic group)
About one third households decided by women, two third households decided by man
8. Development Priorities
-Key problems (by gender, by socioeconomic group)
to promote the water supply condition
to promote the educated level
-Proposed development activities (by gender, by socioeconomic group)
planting the tropical fruits may be one of development activities
-Best Bet Action Plans (by gender, by socioeconomic group)
credit without interest may be the best or micro credit
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Problems |
Causes |
Coping Strategies |
Opportunities |
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Health & Sanitation |
More than half of the adult has been infected by malaria |
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Animal health |
Most of the livestock died for the murrain in 1992, 1996 and 1998 |
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Education |
Some families can’t afford their children to read in the primary school |
Not to think of |
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Erosion |
Slight, but serious in the swidden field |
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Water |
Lack of drink in dry season |
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Drought |
When dry year, few occurred |
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Energy |
Waste many firewood in the traditional cooking stove to cook the pig’s foodstuff |
Should use wood-saving cooking stove or raise the pigs with fresh foodstuff |
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Unemployment & low income |
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Female headed households |
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Markets & marketing |
Some middleman outside the community come to the village to purchase the bamboo shoots or the watermelon, the villagers can get a few benefit from the bargain |
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Housing |
Each family has own house |
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