Plateau villagers unite to green the desert

XINING－Tashi's hometown of Sadrushi township has transformed from a barren land plagued by gales and sandstorms to a beautiful, lush landscape filled with trees.

The achievement is decades in the making, and comes through the hard work of generations of villagers who live there, and Tashi is among them.

Located in Hainan Tibetan autonomous prefecture in Northwest China's Qinghai province, in 1956, more than 90 percent of the land area in Sadrushi was affected by desertification.

"When the wind blew, we could hardly see our homes, as they were all engulfed by sand," says the 56-year-old man. He adds that in the past, the sky would be yellow more than half the month, and sand sometimes blocked gateways, making them impossible to pass through.

Influenced by his father, Tashi participated in afforestation efforts from a very young age.

In 2006, Tashi was elected as the Party chief of Sogorgya village, and the prevention and control of desertification then became an obligatory duty for him. He led locals in the planting of more trees and the fight against desertification.

He even took a loan of 150,000 yuan ($23,141) to buy saplings to distribute to villagers.

"It was hard to tell when the changes began. But seeing the land that was being engulfed by sand become farther away, flowers on the roadside blooming and crops getting denser, I knew that our hometown had really changed," says Tashi.

Even after retirement in 2018, Tashi still continues to dedicate himself to afforestation. He wanted to mobilize more locals, including the elderly, women and children, to plant trees, in a bid to further push forward the prevention and control of desertification, as well as increase the income of the locals.

Inspired by Tashi, more than 40 villagers from Sogorgya and neighboring villages joined in an ecological project in April 2020.

"Each villager can earn 140 yuan a day by planting trees. The project has helped eight households shake off poverty," he adds.

Thanks to their unremitting efforts, the land area of the township affected by desertification, as of last year, had dropped to 12.3 percent.

"Desertification control and afforestation have been handed down from generation to generation. I will protect the trees planted by my grandfather and father, and leave lucid waters and lush mountains for future generations," says Dainzin Nyima, son of Tashi.

Dainzin Nyima established a company to undertake local afforestation projects. He named the company Shuhai, meaning "a sea of trees" in English. "I hope that one day my hometown will turn into a sea of trees."

Xinhua