20 Years of Rural Reconstruction: His Observations of China’s Rural Transformation | Food Talk Vol. 36

Our guest on this episode of Food Talk is Huang Guoliang, a veteran rural worker. As is the custom among others in the community, we are more used to calling him “Lao Liu”.

Since devoting himself to rural reconstruction in 2005, Lao Liu has been working in rural areas for nearly 20 years. He told us that it was during a stint of volunteer teaching in Shaanxi that he witnessed the dilapidation of rural education and the severity of the left-behind children crisis, which set him on this path. In all those years, he has done no shortage of things: built farmers’ schools, run farms, served as a programme officer for foundations, founded his own charitable organisations, and supported farmers in transitioning to ecological agriculture.

Back then, they were pioneers out in front. At the Y.C. James Yen Rural Reconstruction Academy in Ding County, Hebei Province, they helped farmers set up cooperatives, taught them how to farm without pesticides or chemical fertilisers, and even how to build their own homes using ecological methods – all so that farmers could organise themselves and become self-reliant. They also used the Little Donkey Community Farm in Beijing as a window through which city dwellers could come to understand urban–rural issues.

Having returned to Guangxi and worked for years on this land, which still sustains a great many smallholder farmers, Lao Liu has come to hold a number of distinctive views. For instance, he believes heirloom seed preservation should be woven into local culture and everyday life, and that ecological agriculture should put a person’s settled livelihood first. Watching some practitioners of ecological agriculture adopt an attitude of “irreconcilability” towards conventional agriculture, Lao Liu thinks coexistence and mutual learning are the more realistic and rational stance. The good humour that shows through in his words helps us understand why the “ecological agriculture training” he has been championing in Guangxi in recent years can bring together farmers from all walks of life – and why friendships among farming peers endure long after the training sessions end.

Looking back, many of the problems that weighed on farmers and rural communities 20 years ago seem to have been largely resolved: roads have been built, people have been lifted out of poverty, and village collectives have more funds – all thanks to a substantial influx of external resources into the countryside. Yet have all of rural China’s problems truly been solved? Under the weight of the “New Three Great Mountains” – healthcare, eldercare, and education – and under the shocks of a rapidly shifting agricultural market, how can farmers “make a settled livelihood”? Although Lao Liu has humbly said that he does not understand the big questions, he has surely answered them through his actions over the years.

So press play on this episode and listen as Lao Liu shares his story.

This Episode’s Guest

Lao Liu

Real name Huang Guoliang, from Hepu, Guangxi. He began working in rural reconstruction in 2005, successively participating in the founding of the Ecological Agriculture Studio at the Y.C. James Yen Rural Reconstruction Academy, the Little Donkey Community Farm in Beijing, the Guoren Dapinghuo Community Canteen in Chongqing, and the Nanning Urban Farmers’ Fair. He founded the Guangxi Guoren Rural Poverty Alleviation and Development Centre and launched the Guangxi Local Varieties In-Situ Preservation Platform. He is currently based primarily in Guangxi, working in ecological agriculture as an independent practitioner.

This Episode’s Hosts

Tian Le

Founding editor of Foodthink and convener of the Beijing Organic Farmers’ Market. Despite more than a decade of work in food and farming systems, he is well aware of his own limitations and can only contribute from within the city. He has great admiration for partners who work directly in rural communities and achieve real results.

Wang Hao

An editor at Foodthink. It is said that he went to Nanning simply to meet Lao Liu once. As a junior member of the team, he heard a great many stories from the past in this episode.

This episode’s podcast production team

Production: Xiaojing

Music: Ba Nong

Cover: Wan Lin

Editing: Wang Hao

Contact email: xiaojing@foodthink.cn