Livestock and Livelihoods - Escaping Poverty in Rural China Case Study Teacher's Notes Student Activities Locate Guangxi and Duan on a map of China. Do the features on the map corroborate the description given in the case study? What else from the map study do you learn of the area that might affect people's livelihoods there? Draw a flow chart or diagram showing how the aid project in Duan sought to overcome poverty. In the chart/diagram show the causes of poverty, how the project addressed these, and the setbacks and achievements. The Australian Government's overseas aid program has five priority areas to help alleviate poverty: health; education; infrastructure; agriculture and rural development; and governance. Which of these areas are covered by the project in Duan county? How? What other things could you include in a project to cover these priority areas? Chairman Mao Tse Tung of China said "Women hold up half the sky." What do you think he meant? Imagine you are a member of the Duan Women's Union. Write a letter to AusAID or CARE Australia explaining why and how you think the communities will benefit if women take part in the training and loan schemes. Devise a poster advertising the training courses to women in remote villages in Duan (Remember, some of the women are illiterate). What are important things to know when starting a small business? Choose one of the courses that was offered to the women in Duan (pig, chicken or goat rearing or fruit tree growing). What would you include in the course? Write the curriculum for one of these courses. (Include knowledge content and practical activities). Some of the women in the courses were illiterate and illustrations were used to teach them during the training. What illustrations would you need to teach an illiterate person your course content? Draw (or find) some pictures to teach one piece of information you have included in your course. Working in pairs, teach each other using just the pictures. Test one another's knowledge through an oral test. Imagine you are a journalist. Write an article on the 1998 floods and their effects on the people of Duan county. Include at least one interview with a participant in the Duan project, expressing how the floods affected her family and others in the project. Research and prepare a presentation on water in Australia and in China (or another developing country), showing the similarities and differences in water availability, access, use, technologies and other aspects you can think of. The women in Duan increased their income by expanding the potential of the work they already did around the home. What work do you do at home that could be turned into a money earner? How could you do this? What extra training support and other resources would you need? Conduct a survey of small businesses in your local area to find out how they started, and how viable they now are. Include in your survey questions like: where did the idea for the business come from? What resources and skills were available/needed? Where did you get the resources? Was extra education or skills training needed? Did you need a loan to start your business and if so, was it easy to get and to pay back? Is it harder for women to get a business loan here? What markets/marketing do you have? Has your income increased since you started the business? What factors help or hinder the success and development of your business? Write up your survey findings and collate them with the findings of others to produce a booklet with a suitable catchy title e.g. "Big Developments in Small Business in [name of the local area]". One of the best known micro-credit schemes for women is the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh. Find out what you can about this bank and its operation. Is there anything similar in Australia? Devise a short-term income-generating scheme that could be implemented by your class. Write up a business plan, following some of the headings/questions you used in your business survey. If appropriate, raise money through this scheme and give proceeds to an aid agency with projects in China. Have a class discussion or debate on the topic: "Alleviating poverty in China and other countries of the world benefits Australia and Australians."   Top © Commonwealth of Australia