Raising "flying chickens" in Gangwei Village, Rong'an County, Guangxi, leads the way out of poverty

When people talk about women being as capable as men, the first story that comes to mind is that of Mulan joining the army.

In fact, in Pingtu Tun, Gangwei Village, Dapo Township, Rong'an County, there is a “Hua Mulan” in the hearts of the villagers——He Qunying, a Dapo flying chicken farmer and a leader in shaking off poverty and becoming prosperous. Starting as a poor farmer, He Qunying worked her way out of poverty step by step, founded the “Rong'an Heroine Dapo Flying Chicken Farming Cooperative,” and led 23 poor households onto the road out of poverty.

Switching trades and changing careers did not make it easy to escape poverty

“The road is hard to travel, hard to travel……” Gangwei Village, where He Qunying lives, has a total of 647 households and 2,213 people, including 186 poor households and 629 people. Eight village groups in the village had not yet had their internal roads paved, making it difficult for vehicles to pass, goods to be transported, and pedestrians to walk, severely restricting local industrial development. “I was once a poor household in the village!” He Qunying said. In the 1990s, He Qunying lived in a crude and dilapidated house and made a living by growing cassava. Every time He Qunying went up the mountain to plant cassava, she had to walk nearly an hour along a mountain path, and she lost count of how many pairs of shoes she wore out. “The money I earned was only enough to eat!” As a woman who worked from dawn to dusk digging on the mountain and planting cassava, her once slender hands became much rougher. Under such difficult conditions, He Qunying still saved enough money by living frugally, which made her family look at her with new respect.

Having won her family's approval, He Qunying did not plan to keep growing cassava. In 1996, He Qunying went to a primary school in Labao Town, Liujiang County, to run a small shop. During school sessions, many students came to He Qunying's shop to buy things. Seeing that business was stable and that her life had taken a turn for the better, she gradually let go of the idea of switching to another business. But the good times did not last. Four years later, because the area was demolished for redevelopment, He Qunying had to return to her hometown to raise pigs and sell bamboo mats, but she could not earn much money and lacked interest in it herself. Many years passed, and she lived a rather make-do life. “I wanted to find an industry path that suited me better!” He Qunying said.

Leading poor households to raise “flying chickens”

In 2012, the township government called on villagers to raise native chickens, but many villagers lacked large-scale farming experience and techniques and did not dare to raise them. “I'll raise them!” The bold He Qunying was the first to set an example and immediately brought in 300 native chickens. “I was also worried I would not raise them well, but I wanted to try everything.” While He Qunying was still worrying about whether her native chickens would sell well, a wave of enthusiasm for buying “flying chickens” swept the market. He Qunying said that when she took the grown “flying chickens” to the county to sell, they cost 40 yuan and sold for 50 yuan, and in no time all 300 chickens were sold out. Seeing how well the chickens sold, several households of villagers became tempted and joined the “chicken-raising brigade” one after another.

“I believe in my abilities; I can do anything!” He Qunying, who had been frowning, finally smiled. In 2015, because of her outstanding abilities, He Qunying became deputy director of the village committee. “I want to get 30 households of villagers to raise chickens and call on them to plant 50 mu of kumquats.” At the time, after receiving the task from the township government, He Qunying immediately mobilized villagers in the village to raise chickens and plant kumquats. “At that time I visited household after household, and quite a few people knew about my experience raising chickens and joined the ranks of raising chickens and planting kumquats.” He Qunying said. Before long, He Qunying had motivated 48 households of villagers to raise chickens and also plant 83 mu of kumquats, overfulfilling the task, and the township government therefore paved Pingtu Tun in Gangwei Village with cement roads.

“If you have no chickens, I will provide you with chicks; if you have no feed, I will provide it to you; if you have no techniques, I will teach you!” Now, He Qunying has raised “flying chickens” to 15,000, and the poor households in He Qunying's cooperative have raised an average of 800. He Qunying also funded the construction of the road to the chicken farm, with the goal of increasing her Dapo flying chickens to 20,000 this year.

At present, Gangwei Village, as the second “flying chicken village” in Dapo Township after Xiazha Village, is actively exploring new paths for targeted poverty alleviation, striving to build a “1+N” poverty alleviation work model in which one leader leads multiple poor households to develop together, just as He Qunying leads poor households in raising chickens, making full use of the advantages of economically capable people in funds, technology, markets, and other aspects, giving play to their driving and influential role, and helping the masses escape poverty through kumquat production, native chicken farming, and tourism industry development.