Hot help

Two Qiang minority sisters, survivors of the May 12 earthquake which hit their Maoxian county in Sichuan province, are delighted when they see the Sichuan pepper crop they cultivated is now selling briskly at a Carrefour store in Chengdu.

"Now, we're pretty confident about the reconstruction of our hometown," says one. "With the help we received from so many warm-hearted people, now we can afford to work hard ourselves."

After the earthquake, transportation in many areas of Sichuan was disrupted and local crops and fruit couldn't be delivered, causing huge losses.

Mo Jinxiang, a 45-year-old farmer living in Sanlongnahu village of Maoxian county, says the transport problem caused about 30,000 yuan in losses for her cherries and cabbage crops, though thanks to the World Wildlife Fund China (WWF) and Carrefour-China, Mo and others like the sisters have been able to recoup some benefits from the disaster.

The Sichuan Pepper Fair held by Carrefour China and WWF takes advantage of the spicy Sichuan pepper varieties such as "Red in June," "Big Red Coat" and "August Pepper" used as seasoning for winter hotpots and other tongue searing dishes in order to help quake survivors and reconstruct the habitat of the area's wild pandas.

Carrefour directly purchased more than 27.2 tons of Sichuan peppers, mainly from Maoxian county, valued at about 2.4 million yuan. The purchase price is 2 yuan higher than the current market price and about the 400 farmer households will benefit from it.

So far, 94 Carrefour outlets in 25 cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan, and Guangzhou, also have exhibition stands promoting Sichuan peppers.

Li Minggui, a 69-year-old shopper selecting Sichuan peppers in a Carrefour store in Beijing's Chaoyang district, says that he wants to make hotpot for his family with the Sichuan peppers.

"It tastes good and it also is a way to help the earthquake victims," he says.

WWF actually began its efforts to improve incomes of local farmers around the panda habitat in Sichuan in 1997, in a bid to teach them a harmonious way to live with nature.

France-based supermarket giant Carrefour joined the program in 2002 and helped farmers through various kinds of economic support.

"With its sales channels, Carrefour helps the local farmers to increase their incomes, improve living conditions, and contribute to the panda protection," says Shi Ruotong, media manager of Carrefour Beijing.

They have already held four pepper fairs previously but this year's fair means more.

Working with WWF and local pepper associations, Carrefour paid for 80 percent of the peppers in advance to help earthquake victims reconstruct their hometowns.

Xu Congjun, director of Bureau of Economy and Commercial in Maoxian county, says the Carrefour peppers purchase price was 6 yuan higher than the market price and has to some extent helped offset some of the losses for the farmers.

"What's more, it has encouraged the farmers to reconstruct their hometowns," he adds.

"Through the cooperation in the past years, we have built up good relationships with local farmers and now we cannot shirk the responsibility to help them minimize their losses," says Claudio Gouveia, vice president of Carrefour China.

"WWF has decided to work with Carrefour to continue the development programs around the panda habitat in Maoxian county in the next two years, " says Ding Jing, WWF China's Corporate Partnership Manager.

The Sichuan Pepper Fair also brought concrete benefits to the residents in Maoxian County. Jing Shihua, one Sichuan pepper grower, says: "In the past, I earned 6,000 to 7,000 yuan at most in one year. But this year, I can earn at least 10,000 yuan."

He Youxin, chief of a local pepper association, says after the fair, he will continue promoting their Sichuan peppers in Carrefour's outlets in Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

(China Daily 12/22/2008 page8)