In March 2005, PCD launched the Ecological Health and Human Health Promotion Program at Shiping County in Yunnan Province. Since then, the program has been promoting ecological agriculture and husbandry at Xincheng Township with the purpose of integrating ecological protection and health of villagers. The goal is to build a harmonious relationship between nature and human beings. Between 2005 and 2006, Mr. Payong, an expert from Thailand was invited twice to Shiping County to provide conceptual training on the ecological agricultural system. As a result of the training, 12 farming households of Xincheng community volunteers to take part in pilot plans on ecological agriculture. Each household volunteers to use a plot of its own land for the pilot plan. The types of plant they grow and the methods of cultivation vary according to the needs and situation of each family. Some like to experiment dry-land cultivation, others choose wet fields. Some families have converted their fruit and vegetable gardens to organic farms. The types of crops they grow include wet rice, red bayberry, fruits, gourds and green vegetables, herbal medicine, maize and sweet potatoes. With the perspective of holistic health and improving the ecological system in mind, they experiement with different ecological farming methods and accumulated valuable experience which changed their values on living. Using Farmer Field School as a learning platform, they share their knowledge and experience with other villagers. As a result, villagers’ awareness of ecological health were heightened.

In addition to taking an active part in the conceptual training conducted by Mr. Payong, the ecological agricultural expert from Thailand, the ecological farmers have also received training on specimen collection of plant diseases and pests (conducted by Prof. Wu Jianrong of Southwest Forestry University), an ecological agricultural exchange and study visit to Thailand, as well as many exchanges and learning opportunites through Farmer Field School. In their own rural communities, they started to make compost and use microscopic organism to make fertilizers and plant nutrient solution. They experimented with no-dig cultivation and other traditional framing methods to prevent plant diseases and pests. They have also diversified on the kind of crops they grow. By means of different forms of learning, experimenting and practising, these 12 households have undergone considerable changes:

• Establishing the concept of holistic health: thanks to trainings, exchanges and practising, the ecological farmers gradually established the concept of holistic health. He Zhengrong, one of the ecological farmers, said, “Only when there is healthy land, healthy water source and healthy air will there be healthy food. Human beings can be healthy only when they eat healthy food. To be healthy does not merely mean to be free from, it also means to have a harmonious relationship with others, have respects on community solidarity, and living in harmony with nature.”
• Forming the concept of ecological system: Most of the 12 ecological farming households believe that the development of ecological agriculture does not mean just giving up chemical fertilizers and pesticides only. but should be characterized by diversity and multiplicity of a holistic ecological system which is consisted of various elements such as land, water source, forest, air, animal, microorganism, human beings. Each of these elements interacts with each other and the whole system is a self-sufficient cycle. Human being is only a member of this ecological system, hence, they should treat everything in nature equally and not to possess them or destroy them.
• Valuing health over wealth: Two years after the program was launched, ecological farmer Li Shaoyuan said, “Even though ecological agriculture does not bring high economic return, it is conducive to the ecology and human health. We will continue to develop ecological agriculture so as to promote ecological health.”
• Valuing self-reliance: Since they began to develop ecological agriculture, the ecological farmers gradually come to realise that only a self-supportive production system could be sustainable and market-independent. Ecological farmer Wang Jiarong said, “What I am most happy with in undertaking ecological agriculture is that I can grow any kind of healthy food I want to eat. What I grow can be consumed by the whole family, or by the cattle. The dung of the cattle can be used for the soil. The whole family and the cattle can all live healthily on ecological farming.”

A network of ecological farms is taking shape beginning with these 12 households. Even though it is a long and winding road ahead, the work and efforts they put in to improve on their local ecological system will invite other farmers to join one day.