In September 2017, purple yams in Laowangzhai Village, Jieshou, Anhui were ripening, with locals bustling around harvesting the purple vegetable. Once the same as other poverty-stricken villages in China, Laowangzhai Village in Jieshou had rugged and muddy roads, with villagers relying solely on their share of the land for income.

In 2012, CR Power’s Fuyang Power Plant responded to the local government and chose to work with Laowangzhai Village to lift the village out of poverty. For 6 consecutive years, the power plant has helped Laowanzhai village in economic construction, providing strong support in properties, finances and manpower for the poverty alleviation work. In 2016, Fuyang Power Plant invested RMB 200,000 in maintaining roads and setting up a photovoltaic power station for the village. After the photovoltaic power station was put into production, 37 poverty-stricken families were given about RMB 3,000 out of the annual photovoltaic income.

In May, 2017, the power plant stationed a poverty alleviation work team at Laowangzhai Village, and two young CR employees began to work for the poverty alleviation work at the village. They visited the poverty-stricken families one by one, making industry project plans for poverty alleviation for each family; they inspected the plantation situation of the land, adapting measures and expanding the plantation of purple yams; they came up with the “one village producing one product” development plan, gradually solving the problem of low income for the whole village and accelerating the village’s pace to overcome poverty and achieve prosperity.

In August 2017, to speed up the economic development for the whole village, Fuyang Power Plant’s poverty alleviation work team stationed at the village helped to establish and register Laowangzhai Entrepreneurship Economic Service Company, building the “Pujianwang” brand for the collective industry of the whole village and leading poverty-stricken families to gradually promote and expand the processing and sales of purple yams. In autumn, the village harvested purple yams. As a quintessential green food, purple yams have a relatively high nutritional value, hence a good prospect on the market. Fuyang Power Plant organised employees to actively purchase the first batch of purple yams once they were put on the market.

Nowadays, road lamps are lighting up roads that are no longer rugged or muddy; villagers are enjoying big harvests; houses are looking brilliant; and the village is clean and beautiful. Fuyang Power Plant has made marvellous achievements using these simple purple yams, filling the villagers’ pockets with money and brightening their life. Next, Fuyang Power Plant’s poverty alleviation work team will continue to implement targeted poverty alleviation measures to consolidate the effects and lift everybody in Laowangzhai village out of poverty as soon as possible.