Organize self-help and promote interaction

------Introduction of ARDY

Yilong County, is a big agriculturally county with the population of one million people, in which extremely poverty led by poor natural resource and history causes had won one of the poorest counties of state level conferred by China Government end of 80s in 20th century. Last years, the gradually increasing contradiction that more people and less land made approximately 200 thousands people every year go out for money, women as the main force for rural production. However, their poor education background and intercourse capacity and low social status have made most women very difficult in production and living. They especially hope that they could be organized to mutual-help and mutual-develop. Under the support from UNDP in 1995, we began to practice helping people (especially women) in rural communities with organizing them to participate independently in the communities' socio-economic development by building the farmers' interdependent and autonomic organization, to realize truly self-development and thoroughly poverty elimination. Upon these activities, as a membership NGO, ARDY had been registered in the Civil Administration Department of Yilong County in 1996.

Making use of Micro-credit as flocculant and activator, ARDY has organized effectively dispersive farmers and led them to organ and to participate in independently ARDY's activities by the participatory working ways. Farmer members spent the loans from ARDY in their businesses chosen by farmers themselves and are in their capacity. It is more important that the regular center meetings not only boost the common discussion and mutual exchange on developmental plans or production or living in farmer members, but also training activities on production or living at center meetings held by ARDY strengthen the confidence and motility for self-development and family-development. The effective organizing activities have brought more effective services on limited fund and applied technologies. Meanwhile, in the common center activities, the interplay state in farmer members has gradually been formed to strengthen the common-developmental power and improve the self-identity among members, the prospect of sustainable development in sight. Through several years' development in exploration, ARDY has gradually perfected its systems by continual study, summarization and adjustment in development, and has stepped on the track of independent development.

1. Democratization in building organizational systems.

ARDY has built the organizational systems by the bottom-up working ways. In detail: through extensive publicity, farmers voluntarily form the autonomic groups and centers as the grass-roots machines. In general, 20-30 people (every person represent one poor family) form a farmers' activity center. Then the size of sub-association at township level depends on the amount of farmer centers in this township. And the sub-association is responsible for organization and support for farmer centers' activities in this township. 129 farmer deputies from the open election in farmer centers had participated in the membership congress, in which, board of directors had been formed of nine directors elected by all represents, and there were seven female directors come from rural communities. An executive director elected by board of directors is responsible for ARDY's daily affairs under supervision and support from board of directors. By now, 8 sub-associations in ARDY manage 297 farmer centers or 1414 farmer groups; cover 7082 farmer members (namely 7082 farmer families).

Please see the attached organization structure diagram.

2. Mechanization in perfecting administrative systems.

To realize the sustainable development, ARDY has been paying great attention to the mechanism construction, and striving to perfect and inaugurate ARDY's mechanism to promote its development. Several years, in development of ARDY, all operating mechanisms have been built and perfected, such as: the principles of organizing farmers; the congress administrative systems for ARDY; the working systems for board of directors; the responsibilities for executive director, staff members, center director, group director and farmer members; the administrative ways for employees in ARDY; the operating regulations for credit fund; the financial management system in ARDY; and etc. All systems and regulations came from the contributions from staff and all members in ARDY. Staff and all members in ARDY have actively participated in diversified activities including supervision in an open and democratic organizational system and accumulated a lot of confidences on the future development prospect of ARDY. The conjunct powers come from all staff and members push rapidly ARDY advance.

Tamping foundation promotes ARDY's self-sustaining development. It is the principal for long-term development that farmers voluntarily and continuously participate in ARDY. Through several years' efforts, ARDY has received the recognition from above 90% of members who have chronically participated in ARDY's activities, and meanwhile ARDY has gradually adjusted to meet perfectly the needs from rural farmers. Secondly ARDY's independent operation is another important condition for sustainable development besides farmer members' recognition. From 1998 ARDY has relied on the tiny administrative fee from loan and technical service and ARDY's other management income to sustain the rent for working places, salary & subsidy for 40 staff members and necessary operation expenses of ARDY. ARDY is still in gradual development and grandness even it is in the extremely difficult in fund.

Integrating poverty elimination with women's and rural development, ARDY always aims at self-help and interplay in farmer members to promote its development while centralizing people. But this motion needs effective organization, so ARDY provides farmers with participating opportunities, activity places and endows them with the following fundamental rights: participating right, decision-making right, management right and benefit right. Otherwise, ARDY actively encourages women to tell, to do and to watch, and to rely themselves to improve their status and participate in socio-economic activities. It will heighten roundly farmers' capacity that ARDY leads continuously them to care for communities or society, not merely for their households. November 15, 2000