YAO JIN, China – This morning while driving to the village, I spotted the yellow crane towering above the trees from about a mile away. In such a peaceful rural setting, the crane looked out of place in the same way that a summer carnival’s ferris wheel looks odd in the middle of a farmer’s field. (more…)

YAO JIN VILLAGE, China – Having spent most of my life in the contracting and construction business, I am all too aware of the countless factors that can upset the “best laid plans of mice and men.” There are many moving parts in a construction project, and any one of them can delay progress of an entire job. Thursday started out looking like “one of those days.” (more…)

It was like old home week when I arrived in Yao Jin on Wednesday afternoon. The mayor and dust-covered Yao Jin villagers stopped working and crowded around shaking my hand, laughing, and greeting me. (more…)

YAO JIN VILLAGE, China – I have just returned home after a month in China where we were able to accomplish a lot in that time. We secured the final building approvals from the ministry of foreign affairs and the local government and finalized the house designs which now, thanks to a government subsidy, will be two-story buildings. (more…)

YAO JIN, China – Yao Jin village sits at the foot of a 2,500 ft. mountain named Jiu Ding Shan (9 peaks mountain). I had been eager to climb it to take some aerial shots of the village and this weekend I got the chance. (more…)

YAO JIN, China – We have collected our blueprints from the architect and we’re now in the process of getting final approval from the local government.

This has not been a simple process. Many hours have been spent in smoke-filled government offices discussing logistics and technicalities. Our plan has to fit in with the regional construction strategy and this has involved running from one government office to another getting various certificates and documents; but then, rebuilding an entire village should not be expected to be an easy task.

One of the documents required by the local government was a petition by the villagers stating they wanted our assistance. In our last meeting I saw that document being handed over. It was practically a work of art. Each villager had signed their name and then stamped their fingerprint in red ink next to the signature.
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Deyang City, Sichuan Province, China – We visited OBI’s school project bright and early Friday morning to be with the children as they went through their morning exercises. It was great as the “drill sergeant” had the kids fall in line at 7:00 a.m. sharp. (more…)

YAO JIN VILLAGE, China – Last week we were in Yao Jin with two construction experts from one of China’s largest property development companies.  An architect and engineer toured the village with us and immediately started to sketch rough plans for homes. (more…)

YAO JIN VILLAGE, China – It was raining hard yesterday and the village pathways have turned to mud. I visited some of the villager’s shelters and the mud floors are terrible. They need houses soon and hopefully we are moving toward that goal! (more…)