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Greenhouses in Sershul County
 
by Wu Bangfu
November, 2005

Contents:
* The greenhouses donated to two schools in Sershul (or Shiqu) County by Kilamanjaro climbers
* Costs of constructing good quality greenhouses.
* Success of the greenhouses, even in Sershul's cold climate.
* Stipend provided to school for living costs of boarding students.
* Our future plans for this program

The greenhouses [donated by Kham Aid] are very important to attract students and improve their living standard, said the headmasters of Sershul Middle school and the Chengguan Boarding Primary School. We can reduce the cost of providing food because we don't have to buy expensive vegetables in the market.  The money we save makes up for the inadequate stipend provided to us for the children by the government.
     
The two green houses at Sershul Middle School and Chengguan Boarding Primary School are constructed with brick walls, steel frames, and hard plastic covers and are very strongly built to resist the cold winter winds. Normally, this kind of greenhouse is very durable and will last about ten years according to the two school headmasters. With the money sponsored by the Kilamanjaro Climb last year and some matching funds from the county education bureau, the schools could build these exceptionally strong structures. The greenhouse at the Middle School is about 300 square meters (3,200 square feet), and totally cost approximately 75,000 yuan ($9,375), and the one in the boarding primary school is 180 square meters (2,000 square feet), and cost about 60,000 yuan ($7,500). Luckily, the cost of the middle school greenhouse was reduced because they got their plastic covers normally costing 10,000 yuan ($1,250) donated by the Sichuan College of Broadcasting.
 


The greenhouse in Sershul Middle School


Greenhouse at Sershul Chengguan Primary school.

The Kilamanjaro Climb for Kham was the idea of long-time Kham Aid supporter Martin Dunphy.  He recruited several climbers and over a hundred friends who were invited to write checks large and small for the greenhouse program. In August 2004 the climbers traveled to Africa and successfully reached the summit of Kilamanjaro.  The next months were occupied with the gigantic task of gathering in all of the pledged donations, but by late summer, 2005 we were able to send the money to Sershul.

When I reached Sershul a few months later in November to check on the project, it was snowing, and the land was covered with snow; nevertheless the vegetables in the greenhouses were growing very well. The temperature in the greenhouse was approximately 18 degrees Celsius. The vegetables in the boarding primary school greenhouse were not so good as in the middle school just because of a delay of the money transfer caused by a bank error meant that the vegetables were planted only on September 25. Nevertheless the vegetables were still growing very well though there is only one kind: cabbage.  In 2006 they will be able to plant other things.
 
The middle school headmaster told me that some of the teachers, who will go to their inland hometown for winter holiday, will buy some more vegetables seeds from their home towns or in Chengdu, so there will be many more kinds of vegetables being planted in our greenhouses in 2006.
 

 
The watering pump                                                    Watering the vegetables


The middle school also equipped the greenhouse with watering pump, which cost more than 1,000 yuan. It is very convenient for the teachers to water the vegetables when needed (though they haven't yet paid the seller for the pump).  I was told that the teachers were astonished when they saw seeds sprouting from the earth only a couple of days after planting.
 
The teachers who are in charge of the greenhouse also have to teach in the school.  However some other teachers are very interested in helping with the work so long as they can share in the harvest.  The school has not asked any students to participate in planting and caring for the vegetables because it would interfere too much with their school work, although they are the prime beneficiaries of the vegetables.
 
Ordinarily, the Sershul County government provides 25 yuan ($3) per month of support to the school for the living costs of primary school students and 50 yuan ($6) for middle school students. This amount is totally insufficient, and the parents are asked to pay some more money or send food along with their children. But many parents don't want to do that, and moreover some parents are reluctant to send their kids to school at all, therefore some students have poor attendance or drop out all together.  The bottom line is: if an adequate living cannot be provided to the children at school, then some parents will keep their children at home.  A greenhouse therefore provides an important boost to education.
 

 
Vegetables in middle school greenhouse               Vegetables in the primary school greenhouse


In Sershul Middle school, the headmaster, Mr. Ga Chutsa, told me that not only the73 boarding students eat the greenhouse vegetables, but 32 non-boarding students also enjoy the cabbages, lettuce, pea straws, radish, green pepper harvested from the greenhouse.  At the primary school, 360 students enjoy the vegetables for lunch, while 70 more children who board also eat them at dinner, too. 
 
As a result of the savings on vegetables, the schools can use their limited funds to better support other living expenses of the students - for example beds, blankets, fuel for heating, and repairs to the dormitories, thus relieving the parents of expenses they cannot afford.

It is certainly worth mentioning that vegetables provide vital nutrition for growing children, and this is especially important in a highland area like Sershul where vegetables are not available to virtually all of the rural population. At most schools in Sershul, the food is mainly rice or tsampa gruel.  Almost no meat is served to school children in remote rural areas.
 

 
Mengsha Primary School                                             Planned greenhouse site


In 2006 we plan to build a greenhouse for a third school in Sershul, the Mengsha Primary School.  However, unfortunately, the Sershul County government cannot provide matching funds this time.  Consequently we are seeking additional donations to make this greenhouse a reality.   For more information, write to khamaid (at) khamaid (dot) org or go to our donate page.

Martin Dunphy, who spearheaded the 2004 Kilamanjaro climb, is now planning another great adventure that will raise more money for greenhouses in Kham.

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