Tea planters out of poverty

The tea planter, Wang Mingjiang shares his story of coming out of poverty in his hometown, Xiadang Township of Fujian Province of China.

Wang Mingjiang, a tea planter, lives in Xiadang Township. Xiadang Township is located in the west of Shouning County of Fujian Province of China. Xiadang is economically underdeveloped. The average elevation of Xiadang Township is between 500 and 900 metres. So the natural environment is suitable for tea planting. The people living here plant tea from generation to generation.

Wang Mingjiang said that the average income of the people was just more than 600 US dollars before. The local government used the project funds to support the people living in poverty, the profit from the tea distributors and the income from the village collective enterprises are used to buy tea seedlings and organic fertilizer for the people, helping them increase production and income. The per capita income of the people has increased from 600 dollars in 2014 to 2,000 dollars in 2016.

Wang Mingjiang is very happy about his life now because he's no longer forced to leave his hometown to work elsewhere. Every year from February to August, Wang Mingjiang and his wife pick tea every day and get the money on the day of selling the tea to the local tea factory. Through hard working and the support of the government, the local tea planters have come out of poverty.