Xiushan shepherd Tian Yuhua gives away breeding sheep and teaches techniques to lead his fellow villagers to prosperity

Villager Yao Jinlian, holding the 4 lambs Tian Yuhua gave her, beamed from ear to ear. "Thank you so much, I will take good care of them," she said. Tian Yuhua is a villager from Haiyang Township in Xiushan. In 2006, an accident left him disabled and plunged him into poverty, but he did not bow to fate. After becoming wealthy by raising sheep, he gave breeding sheep to poor households free of charge and led his fellow villagers to prosperity.

"When I first started raising sheep, I had no techniques, and whole batches of breeding sheep died," Tian Yuhua said. He went to the animal husbandry center and Southwest University for training and also taught himself. "In my second year of raising sheep, I earned tens of thousands of yuan. Through raising sheep, I not only paid off my debts but also built a small house for my family," Tian Yuhua said. In 2011, he set up a professional cooperative. "The cooperative regularly trains members in breeding techniques and also guarantees sales," Tian Yuhua said. The cooperative buys sheep from its members at an average of more than 200 yuan per sheep above the market price. At present, the cooperative has 163 member households and more than 6,000 sheep on hand.

As a disability assistance liaison officer, Tian Yuhua began giving breeding sheep and techniques free of charge to poor families with disabled members in 2013. In the past two years, Tian Yuhua has given more than 30 sheep, worth more than 30,000 yuan, to 16 poor families with disabled members.