China Summer:
International Volunteer Workcamp
July 27-August 21, 2008

Local Environment

Natural Environment

Xiaoshicun is located approximately two hundred kilometers southwest of the provincial capital of Changsha. It sits amid the green rolling hills common throughout central Hunan. Originally the natural vegetation of Hunan was deciduous and coniferous forest, and despite extensive cultivation over the centuries, even today we find disparate strands of pine, cedar, camphor, and bamboo trees. As the area recovers from the denuding of the Great Leap Forward in the 1950s, Xiaoshicun is once again ringed by green hills and pine trees. The village itself is split by a thin creek which in the summer is home to countless young swimmers: often local ducks, boys, and dogs intermingle noisily, splashing about in its shallow waters.

Social Environment

Local officials, who in recent years have been chosen by election among all residents, oversee village administration. Land is periodically re-divided among residents who pay taxes of goods-in-kind annually in exchange for the right to cultivate their fields. Major community issues are usually addressed in village-wide meetings. Wuna participated in several of these meetings with regards to the proposed High Bridge School and the accompanying Friends Workcamp.

Local residents are extremely open and friendly. Front doors remain open all day, and a neighbor's visit is a frequent and welcome event. Often friends gather in the afternoons or evenings to drink tea, play cards, or just to sit in the shade and talk.

Economic Environment

Hunan consistently ranks first nationally in rice output, and the area around Xiaoshicun is one of the province's richest rice cultivation regions. The first crop is planted at the end of April and harvested in July, and the second crop is harvested in November. With improved irrigation, the region has slowly expanded both its rice cultivation and diversity of crops. Many families keep a small vegetable patch for personal consumption; many also raise pigs, ducks, or fish. Some younger people have sought out wage employment in urban areas while others have sought to establish rural enterprises such as home construction. While somewhat immune from the economic vagaries of urban China, the region today still lags far behind much of China in wealth, educational opportunities, and economic development.

This page last updated Saturday, March 1, 2008