286 Communities and Social Capital
over-cultivation, when the area of cultivated land reached a peak of 1100mu in
1984, nearly 40 per cent more than that in 1980. By the middle of the 1980s,
while the village food needs were met, forest resources in the Taoliwa had been
exhausted and the shortage of firewood became a critical constraint.
To overcome this problem, a collaborative afforestation project was initiated.
All residents shared a common idea: if the village were to survive and develop, all
households should share responsibility for tree plantation and management. With-
out changing the nature of the household responsibility system, they reached an
agreement on local rules and sanctions, which set out that there would be collec-
tive planning of tree plantations with all households participating in decision mak-
ing; each household would be responsible for its own tree seed selection, plantation
and management; responsibility for woodland protection would be shared by all
residents; a security coordinator would be appointed to harmonize woodland
management between households; and strict punishments would be enacted if
livestock entered the woodland.
Close unity and cooperation among villagers is vital if young trees are to be
protected from attack by sheep and goats. Indeed, if the village’s own sheep could
not be prevented from entering the afforested land, it soon follows that flocks of
sheep from neighbouring villages would also enter. Due to strict management
regulations, many sheep owners in the village have indeed been fined, which has
increased the deterrent on outside free-riders. Successful management, in turn,
encouraged villagers to make continuous efforts in afforestation year by year. By
1997, all four hills of the village were covered by trees, and the area of forest has
expanded to 1000mu or nearly 60mu per household, more than 10 times the per
capita county average. The benefits of tree planting go beyond firewood, as they
have also become an important source of household income through construction
timber and fruit trees.
Successful afforestation has provoked agricultural change too, including a
transformation of more than 200mu of over-cultivated farmland to firewood land
and fruit orchards; a 400mu planted grassland to secure fodder supply; and devel-
opment planning of commercial pig, oxen and fish breeding for the purposes of
both cash generation and organic manure supply. Indeed, the demand for agricul-
tural innovation was so strong that the village representatives have visited the
county town to seek new technologies (e.g. level plough and wide furrow, new
seeds of grain crops and trees), which at first surprised government officers and
professionals because this so seldom occurs. Cooperation has also extended to
infrastructure, including the construction of a 4km local road connecting to the
main road, access to the outside electricity network, and a central system of water
supply for domestic use and animal breeding.
At first sight, it is surprising that so many achievements have been made by
farmers themselves, in contrast with the typically short-life or expensive ‘experi-
mental’, ‘demonstration’ and ‘model’ projects funded by governments in the poor
areas. The success in Taoliwa would be difficult to understand without uncovering
the organizational process. The idea of cooperative afforestation and sustainable