Self-Sustaining Villages as Sustainable Development in China: Case Study of Xin Jian Tibetan Village, Yunnan

CP0314 Research Project Candidate Name/Number: Foo Cexiang / 0602721

Self-sustaining Villages as Sustainable Development in China: Case Study of Xin Jian Tibetan Village, Yunnan

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1 Introduction

1.1 Spatial Models of Sustainable Development in China China, the world’s most rapidly growing economy over the past two decades, home to a fifth of its

population, is certainly one of the key actors on the global arena today. The decisions and actions

China takes in her pursuit of development will have significant implications for the entire world, in its

quest towards ‘sustainable development’ in the 21st century. This has been recognized by

international politicians, policy makers and researchers alike, as much so by decision-makers in

China itself. 1

In the past decade, one of the key strategies of both the Chinese central and local governments to

achieve ‘sustainable development’ has been the planning and development of ‘eco-cities’. This is in

fact, not a new phenomenon. As early as 1996, the then State Environmental Planning Agency

issued the policy document “Guidelines for the Building of Eco-Communities (1996-2050)” to

promote the planning and construction of eco-communities across the country. This was actively

adopted by the local governments and by 2003, 135 cities or local municipalities had commenced

on planning for ‘ecological settlements’ at different scales and localities.’ (Yip, 2008) The most

highly publicized of these was by the Shanghai Industry Investment Corporation in 2005, for the

Dongtan Eco-City at Chongming Island in Shanghai, in collaboration with ARUP.

At the national level, the Chinese government entered a collaborative partnership with the

government of Singapore in 2007 to plan and develop a 30 sq km Eco-City in the coastal new town

area in Tianjin, with the agreed vision clearly stating the Eco-City would serve “as a model of

sustainable development for other cities in China”. 2 The choice of the ‘Eco-City’ as the dominant

spatial model for ‘sustainable development’ in China has not been without good reason. Key of

these have been its prospects for economic advancement through higher efficiency of infrastructure

provision and reach, environmental sustainability through reduced transportation greenhouse

emissions and closed-loop ecosystems and social development through greater outreach of

education and health services.

1 Chinese President Hu Jintao has stressed on numerous occasions in recent years at different forums, ‘China’s

commitment to contribute to global sustainable development.’ www.mfa.gov.cn/eng/wjb/zzjg/gjs/gjsxw/t171294.htm

www.59edu.com/jiaoyuzixun/englishnews/politics/200801/5400.html, www.nytimes.com/2009/09/23/world/asia/23hu.text.html 2 http://www.tianjinecocity.gov.sg/Press%20Releases/2008/01_31_2008.htm



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One of the important consequences of the construction of such planned Eco-Cities on brownfield

land however, is the forced relocation of villagers who lived on the designated sites. Already in

Tianjin, more than 2000 villagers have been made to relocate for the construction of the Eco-City.

Dongtan was far more ambitious at the drawing-board stage, planning to relocate all the 650,000

original inhabitants on Chongming Island into modern housing, to make room for eco-tourism and

eco-farming. 3 At a broader level, the policy of urban relocation has been introduced as a key

component of the poverty-reduction strategy for all rural areas by the Chinese government.

(Information Office of the State Council of the PRC, 2001)

Developments in the past two years have however, cast a much more negative light on the

prospects of ‘Eco-Cities’ in China. In her overview on the situation of Eco-Cities in China, Larson

(2009) gave the following critique, “Mostly conceived by international architects, China’s eco-cities

were intended to be models of green design. But the planning was done with little awareness of

how local people lived, and the much touted projects have largely been scrapped.” She makes

specific reference to Dongtan, which has stagnated at master-planning stage with no development

at all on the ground and criticized by environmentalists and academics as being a mere

‘greenwashing’ tool by the SIIC, “never intended to become a reality” 4. Reference was also made

to Huangbaiyu, an ‘eco-village’ development, rather than an ‘Eco-City’, but designed on the similar

concept of re-housing the original inhabitants in newly planned and constructed communities.

These incorporated state-of-the art environmentally friendly technologies such as special hay and

pressed-earth bricks in construction. The lasting image of this project was that of some homes built

with garages although the villagers did not have cars.

This paper however, will not sound the death knell for ‘Eco-Cities’ as some journalists have pre-

maturely done. After all, the reasons for failure of the publicised Eco-Cities are hardly

insurmountable. The progress of the Tianjin Eco-City is a much more optimistic example where

more consideration has been given to issues of financial funding and local lifestyles. What is of far

greater importance to the purpose of this paper however, are the consequences of urban relocation

that a spatial developmental model as the ‘Eco-City’ is built upon. In particular, the alienation of

villagers who find themselves uprooted, or gradually entrenched through the encroachment of

urban land or forced urban relocation has been well documented in general psychological terms

(Bhugra, 2004), but also in the specific context of places all over the world such as Germany (Jell &

Bahlsen, 2003) and China itself. (Yan, 2005)

3 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/6756289.stm

4 http://www.ethicalcorp.com/content.asp?ContentID=5552



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The theory of economic advancement for rural migrants has also been subjected to questioning,

especially the loss of livelihoods for farmers who have lost their lands. (He et.al, 2009)

It is this failure of designers and government advocates of ‘Eco-Cities’ to consider the possible

choice of rural inhabitants to remain on their land and lead their chosen lifestyles which forms the

key line of concern this paper has with regards to ‘Eco-Cities’. The paper does not discount the

possibility that if well managed, the ‘Eco-City’ offers the potential in improving the sustainability of

urban communities, and even voluntary rural migrants who seek opportunities lacking in the rural

places they come from. The paper recognizes the importance of urban sustainability, considering

the rapid pace of urbanization in China today, with the urban population crossing 54% at the end of

2008. However, it must be equally noted that the remaining 46% or 607 million people still reside in

rural areas, and a decision to shift to the urban areas can be explained as much by ‘push factors’ in

poorly serviced rural areas, as the allure of ‘pull factors’ the urban areas provide.

This paper considers it critical that decision and policy makers in China give due recognition to ‘self-

sustaining rural communities’ which have formulated their preferred lifestyles over years living in

their villages. The majority of such communities will belong to the ethnic minority groups in China

which account for close to 10% of the entire population, or 123 million people, but there are many

ethnic Han villages which will express a similar sentiment towards their villagers. To provide a

counter-model against the overtly top-down ‘Eco-City’, this paper will research into the sustainability

of bottom-up ‘self-sustaining villages’: ‘How sustainable is the ‘self-sustaining village’ as a

model of spatial development?’

It must be emphasised that in carrying out the research, the stand this paper takes is for the ‘self-

sustaining village’ to be an alternative model, not a replacement for the ‘Eco-City’. There is no direct

comparison between both models, nor is there any normative opinion that one is better than the

other. In fact, the paper rejects any form of ‘spatial determinism’ which purports either ‘Eco-Cities’

or ‘self-sustaining villages’ as the only sustainable built form. It is the purpose of the research to

open up the sustainable development discourse to allow the consideration of sustainable lifestyles

in both urban and rural areas. The paper recognises the differences amongst individuals as to their

lifestyle preferences, and it is these differences which it feels should be respected by policy-makers.

The concept of providing choice to people to ‘lead the lives they have reason to value’ (Sen, 1999)

emerges as an important theme throughout the report.



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The paper will now define what it views as the ‘self-sustaining village’. In the current socio-

economic climate of globalization, the ‘self-sustaining village’ cannot exist as a socio-economic

entity without any external interaction. However, what defines the ‘self-sustaining village’ is its

primary local dependence of food, accommodation and employment. Market exchange through the

sale of locally produced products onto the external market, or the procurement of goods and

services from the external market still exists. Similarly, there can also be some form of labour

involvement outside the local context by individual members of households, but the main source of

employment is still local. These local employment opportunities include farming, craft-making and

increasingly tourism. Hence, it is important that the ‘self-sustaining village’ not be confused with the

concept of the ‘subsistence village’, which seeks as its goal subsistence without any wider socio-

economic interaction.

1.2 Sustainable Well-Being as Sustainable Development Before proceeding with this inquiry, the paper must now first define ‘sustainable development’, in

itself a much contested term and concept. The most commonly used definition of it, taken from the

Brundtland Report (WCED 1987), is that ‘sustainable development is development that meets the

needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own

needs’. This broad definition is open to many different interpretations on what may constitute

‘needs’, and the concept has been seen as vague enough to serve as a “metafix”, ‘uniting

everybody from profit-minded industrialist to subsistence farmer’. (Lele, 1991:613) Yet, for purposes

of policy guidance, this report cannot rely on such a cryptic definition. The report requires a

definition of ‘sustainable development’ which is clearly observable and measurable, and which

provides an accurate measure of society phenomena.

After detailed consideration, the report settled for a definition of ‘sustainable development’ as

‘development which brings about the improvement of levels of well-being which can be

sustained over time’. The theoretical background of this definition is provided by the work of the

Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress or CMEPSP

(consisting of among others two Nobel laureates in Stiglitz and Sen) in 2009. Commissioned by

French President Nicholas Sarkozy, the Commission had one of its main aims to “explain the gap

between the statistical measurement of socio-economic phenomena and citizen perception of the

same phenomena” and in doing so, “consider what additional information might be required for the

production of more relevant indicators of social progress besides the GDP indicator of economic

performance”. The report finds that the reason for the perceived citizen gap is due to the inability of



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‘inanimate objects of convenience (e.g. GNP or GDP) to reflect on levels of well-being. From these

findings, this paper infers that to provide an accurate measure of society phenomena, it is the ‘well-

being’ of individuals that should be the direct target of any analysis on development. Sustainability

seen under this light will be the measure of whether levels of well-being can be sustained over time.

At this point, the paper would also note that it is the lack of consideration to ‘well-being’ which is the

key reason why ‘raze and build’ strategies of the ‘Eco-Cities’ have failed to consider the effects of

alienation on those forced to relocate. A scan of the Key Performance Indicators of the most

successful of these, the Tianjin Eco-City, shows all 26 quantitative indicators which are effectively

‘inanimate objects’, e.g percentage of green buildings5, none of which measure well-being. In no

way does this paper advocate a rejection of economic and other objective measures of

development for human society. What it does believe however, is that the key measurement of

development must be its effects on the well-being of society. In the literature review chapter, the

paper will detail the methods in which well-being and its sustainability can be measured, and this

will form the basis for the research into ‘self-sustaining villages’ as spatial models of sustainable

development.

1.3 Introduction to Xin Jian Tibetan Village The paper selects the ‘case study’ methodology in undertaking the research and the reasons for

such a choice will be explained under the methodology chapter. This introductory chapter will

however introduce the chosen unit of analysis and explain the critical nature of it for the research

question. The obvious requirement the research question and context calls for in the selection of a

‘subject of study’ is a primarily ‘self-sustaining village in China’. There are however, many possible

candidates for this within China.

Among the plethora of possible units of analysis, Xin Jian Tibetan Village in the province of Yunnan,

was selected for its critical and revelatory nature. As explained in the section of spatial models in

China, the key poverty-reduction strategy of most local governments has been the relocation of

rural villagers into urban areas. The local Shangri-la County Government of which Xin Jian is

administered under however, has been an anomaly in this. In its “11th Five Year Economic and

Social Development Plan” (2006), the local government stated clearly its developmental strategy to

“support a balanced town-village relationship, respect the developmental choices of its inhabitants,

and regard development and conservation with equal importance.”

5 Key Performance Indicators of Tianjin Eco-City http://www.tianjinecocity.gov.sg/KPI.htm#3



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This political directive has been actualised through concrete initiatives on the ground to provide

villages in Shangri-la with basic infrastructure including electricity, clean water, education and

access to major roads. This paper considers this to be a key critical factor before any meaningful

assessment of ‘self-sustaining villages’ can be conducted. Following the argument of Amartya Sen

(1999), this paper believes that the role of the state in providing the basic rights of clean water and

education is a pre-necessity for any form of self-initiated bottom-up social development. To assess

villages which have not been given any opportunity to shape their own meaningful lives through

provision of such basic rights would hardly be reflective of the potential of ‘self-sustaining villages’.

The second key reason for the choice of Xin Jian Tibetan Village was the revelatory opportunity it

offered for research. The Tibetan village communities are traditionally culturally and physically

separated from the mainstream Han Chinese societies. Amongst a range of other factors, the

language barrier and a tendency to keep to their closed-knit communities prevented budding

researchers like me from extensive ‘intrusion’ into their spheres of life. However, through the

introduction of a local contact in Shangri-la County, I was presented with the unique opportunity to

have personal interaction with the community in Xin Jian Tibetan Village, facilitated by a couple of

the villagers who were also conversant in Mandarin. It is this two day field immersion that offered

me the opportunity to research into the religious, cultural, environmental and material aspects of

their lives, forming a holistic picture from which to explain the sustainability of their well-being.

Xin Jian Tibetan Village is thus selected as the unit of analysis to represent the ‘self-sustaining

village’, not because it is representative of villages in China, but for its unique and critical

characteristic.



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2 Literature Review

2.1 Objectives of the Literature Review The literature review process within the ‘case study’ strategy stands out from the role it normally

carries in other social research methods, where the main aim is to provide an overview of the

existing literature on the chosen area of research. The literature review of the ‘case study’ has two

objectives beyond simply providing an overview of the existing literature on spatial models of

sustainable development in China. The first is to inform the methodology chapter on possible

means the paper can take in attempting to answer the chosen research question. In the case of this

paper, this is, “how sustainable is the ‘self-sustaining village’ as a spatial model of development?’

The second objective of the literature review is to identify a range of secondary theoretical

propositions within the existing literature, which can form the basis of data analysis for the research.

These theories will include both individual and societal theories that for the purposes of this

research paper must be linked to the two themes of ‘well-being’ and ‘sustainability’ which the

chosen definition of ‘sustainable development’ entails. The literature review chapter then must

serve as a means to the overall research strategy, and not be regarded as an end in itself.

2.2 Sustainable Development in China Spatial versus Sectoral Research

A synoptic understanding of the current literature on ‘sustainable development’ in China can

distinguish between two clear research approaches: the ‘spatial’ and ‘sectoral’. Broadly defined,

‘spatial research’ has a clear spatial dimension as the unit/s of analysis, and this would include

research into individual spatial scales such as villages , towns and cities, and analytic research of

phenomena and relationship between scales, such as the urban-rural divide. ‘Sectoral research’ in

contrast, concentrates on the sectoral dimensions of sustainable development, and would include

sectors such as energy (Ni & Johansson, 2003), industry (Fang et.al, 2007), agriculture (Sanders,

2000) in particular. There is scope for overlap between both approaches, in that ‘spatial research’

would consider the relevant sectors within the spatial scale, and likewise, ‘sectoral research’ can be

conducted within the context of a spatial scale. The key distinction hence, is the key unit/s of

analysis which the research centres upon.



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Spatial Research in China

This literature review will concentrate on the ‘spatial research’ as the research topic of this paper -

‘spatial models of sustainable development’ can only be understood within a spatial dimension and

scale. With the prevalence of policy decisions in favour of ‘Eco-Cities’ and urbanization in general, it

is perhaps not surprising that the large majority of ‘spatial research’ concentrates on the urban

scale, and on cities in particular. These include research into the spatial models of the ‘Compact

City’ (Chen et.al, 2008), which concentrates on the advantages of mixed-used areas in close

proximity and the ‘Eco-City’ in general, which considers aspects of environmental and urban design

in addition to concerns of the ‘Compact City’. (Wang & Ye, 2004)

As the construction of actual ‘Eco-Cities’ is still in its infancy, the research in this area is limited to

theoretical propositions of the potential advantages and disadvantages of such planned initiatives.

There is no example within the current literature which seeks to analyse the actual success (or

results) of ‘Eco-Cities’ towards ‘sustainable development’. The general consensus reflected

amongst the literature however is that the present patterns of urbanization are unsustainable.

The other major theme within the spatial research work carried out in China is the urban-rural divide,

which Zhang & Kanbur (2001) describe as the ‘equivalent of the ‘white-black’ divide in the US’. The

common thread among many pieces of work under this theme is the identification of the role of

public policy in perpetuating this divide and creating conditions that foster urban-rural migration,

through the hukou system of the rural-urban population polarization (Chan & Zhang, 1999), the gap

in basic education provision between urban and rural areas (Hannum, 1999), and urban-biased

policies that deepen income inequality (Yang, 1999) The general impression that is inferred from

these findings, is that the urban-rural divide is to a large extent a political and policy construct, and

that the lack of development in rural areas compared to the urban areas is largely due to a much

larger proportion of resources being poured into the latter.

It may be due to the influence of such political and policy inclinations that there is almost no

research conducted into the sustainability of the rural areas nor attempts to create sustainable

visions of the ‘village’ as the ‘Eco-Cities’ do for the urban areas. In fact, the only initiative in this

direction that could be found was the SUCCESS project undertaken as a joint collaborative

between researchers from China and the European Union which carried out research into the

‘sustainable future of Chinese villages’.



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SUCCESS Project: Sustainable future of Chinese villages

This extensive and resource-intensive project, piloted in 7 case study villages across China

(Marschalek, 2008), took the village as the model of sustainability, and defined sustainability as a

‘local, informed, participatory, balance-seeking process, operating within a Sustainable Area Budget,

exporting no harmful imbalances beyond its territory or into the future, thus opening the spaces of

opportunity and possibility.’ (Levine et al., 1999)

In many ways, this paper shares the same theoretical propositions and philosophical beliefs as the

SUCCESS project, especially in its conviction towards sustainable villages built upon the

foundations of local self-initiatives, where external parties such as the state and researchers play a

facilitating, rather than pre-determining role. It involved ‘a participatory process between

researchers and villagers, through which future images and scenarios emerged, giving rural areas

and their inhabitants a new and sustainable role for China in the new millennium.’ (Dumreicher,

2008) Attention was also given to the subjective meaning of places as social spaces to the villagers,

through innovative use of photo interviews (Dumreicher & Kolb, 2008). The processes and

methodologies used by the SUCCESS project team were thus able to give very strong insights into

the potential of villages to become sustainable.

However, due to its definition of sustainability as a ‘process’, the project is limited in terms of

producing evidence on the sustainability of the Chinese villages that is measurable. Hence, while

the project produces qualitative results which indicate an increase in the villagers’ awareness of

sustainability issues and development of their self-confidence (Dumreicher, 2008), there is no

collection of quantitative data of any kind. This paper believes that this will limit the potential of the

project itself in influencing any form of policy change in China towards viewing villages as a

sustainable model of spatial development.

The potential influence on policy-makers is a key objective of this paper as I believe that without

such a shift in policy thinking, local governments will not provide the basic infrastructure and utilities

necessary for villages to become sustainable. The resources poured into the SUCCESS case

studies can hardly be expected to be replicated across the thousands of villages in China.



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2.3 Well-Being Subjective Well-Being There are three distinguishable approaches within the existing literature towards the concept well-

being and the measurement of it. (CMEPSP, 2009) Out of these, the first approach of ‘subjective

well-being’ stands in philosophical contrast with the other two approaches of ‘capabilities’ and ‘fair

allocations’. The latter two approaches rely on objective attributes of each person in measuring their

well-being, whereas the ‘subjective well-being approach considers the self-evaluation and feelings

of individuals in their own lives as the sole all-encompassing measure of well-being, of which

objective attributes have only an instrumental role.

The concept of ‘subjective well-being’ comes from the philosophical tradition which views

individuals as the best judges of their own conditions. The view that ‘subjective well-being’ or

‘happiness’ as commonly defined should be the key measurement of ‘well-being’ and hence the key

aim of development has been argued for and supported by some authors (Layard, 2005; Nordhaus

& Tobin ‘quoting Erlich’, 1973 ). This paper will take a similar view.

The case for ‘well-being’ to be the key aim of development has already been made by this paper in

the introductory chapter. There are two key reasons extracted from the literature which convinced

me to the view that ‘subjective well-being’ provides the clearest and most representative concept of

well-being. The first of this is that ‘happiness is an ultimate goal, a self-evident good’. (Layard,

2005:113) This becomes obvious when compared to other objective attributes such as health,

education and material possessions which all are valuable only when they contribute towards

‘happiness’. Research which shows that people in Western societies have not got happier even as

they have got richer adds to this perspective. (Layard, 2005:3)

The second reason is that while ‘subjective well-being is a normative attribute which has no

objective counterpart, a “rich list of literature has concluded on its ability to predict people’s

behaviour (e.g. workers who report more dissatisfaction in their work are more likely to quit their

job)” (CMEPSP, 2009). Significantly, subjective well-being measures have been found to strongly

correlate with a range of other information, especially various physiological and medical criteria

(Ryff & Singer, 2003; Rosencranz, 2003) and individual characteristics such as signs of

cheerfulness (Diener & Suh, 1999), sociability and exclusion (Frey & Stutzer, 2000).



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Having identified ‘subjective well-being’ as the most representative approach of well-being, the

literature review must now examine the various methods this can be measured. The most common

method in the literature is the self-evaluation of life satisfaction. This is normally done through

getting respondents to answer the simple question ‘All things considered, how satisfied are you with

your life as a whole these days on a scale of 1 to 10.’ International surveys such as the Gallup

World Poll have carried out such an exercise and analysed the results. (Deaton, 2007) This

provides a tool using which comparison can be made between Xin Jian Tibetan Village and the

overall Chinese average. Repeated surveys conducted on the same group can also provide a

general trajectory of the levels of well-being over time.

The other method used is the Day Reconstruction method, which seeks to measure the proportion

of time an individual spends in an unpleasant state by running through the emotions he experiences

for every significant activity in a day. This is normally done using a structured questionnaire form

which requires individuals to re-construct events and feelings from the previous day. (Kahneman

et.al, 2006) While more complicated than the first, it allows direct subjective well-being comparison

to be made between individuals, as a person who spends proportionately more time in a pleasant

state each day can be viewed as happier than someone who spends less so. The life evaluation

method does not allow such direct comparison as there may be personal differences in the use of

the scale, i.e. a score of 6 by John cannot be compared against a score of 7 by Jerry. The Day

Reconstruction method also allows the researcher to gain an insight into the effect of particular

activities and places on the happiness of the respondent, from which further research can be made.

Objective Attributes Shaping Well-Being While subjective well-being provides reflective and comparative tools for the measurement of well-

being, its normative approach provides no theoretical proposition from which any policy can be

guided upon, i.e. it does not inform on how levels of well-being can be improved. To do this, the

research will still need to turn to the objective approaches, which while not providing the overall

picture, do surface the contributing factors which impact upon levels of well-being. The US General

Social Survey has shown the top seven factors affecting happiness to be as follows: family

relationships, financial situation, work, community and friends, health, personal freedom and

personal values. (Layard, 2005:63)



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Differences in family situations have a huge impact on happiness levels. Results from the German

Socio-Economic Panel have found that marriage is a significant indicator of this and that ‘people

generally become happier as a result of marriage, and this is true for both men and women. (Clark

et.al, 2003) Work employment is another major factor influencing happiness, and research has

shown that this goes beyond the income benefits derived from work. The psychological impact of

going out of employment has been shown to reduce happiness directly by destroying self-respect

and the social relationships created at work. The pain of unemployment is thus higher, relative to

the pain of losing income alone. (Layard, 2005:67)

Community and friends provide the setting in which individuals are able to find security and

inclusion. Built on the quality of trust within such communities, these have a direct impact on the

quality of such communities, or ‘social capital’ and contribute to happiness levels. (Putnam, 2000)

Health has never emerged as the most important determinant of happiness in research conducted

(Michalos, 2003), and this might be because individuals are able to adapt to physical limitations to a

large extent. However, psychologically-induced effects from mental illness and chronic pain cannot

be adapted to (Federick and Loewenstein, 1999), and are significant determinants of happiness.

The importance of psychological impacts on the factors mentioned above has been clearly shown.

No where is it more directly expressed however, than through the factor of personal values or the

individual philosophy of life. Individuals who are able to appreciate what they have and refrain from

self-comparison with others are naturally happier than other individuals. The psychologist Daniel

Goleman has stated that it is possible for individuals to be taught and gain control over their moods

in his paper on ‘emotional intelligence’. (Goleman, 1996) Another way individuals derive optimism in

their lives besides methods of mind-control is through religious belief. Research has shown that

belief is a factor of happiness as well (Soroka et.al, 2003), as part of the wider framework of

personal values.

The final factor of personal freedom is closely linked to the concepts of political voice and

governance. The amount of participation individuals have as citizens within the political process and

the extent to which they are involved in the decision-making over their own affairs are crucial to

their happiness levels. This is reflected through a range of research studies, comparing Communist

and post-Communist states, and intra-nation comparisons between the cantons of Switzerland. The

common conclusion is that citizens with greater autonomy and rights to decision-making are

happier. (Layard, 2005:70)



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Amartya Sen (1999) provides a strong theoretical underpinning to this factor of personal freedom in

his seminal work Development as Freedom, which broadens the scope of perspective from the

individual towards the wider community. Coming from the ‘capabilities’ approach of well-being, he

states that it is only the ‘emancipation of people to choose the lives they have reason to lead’ that

constitutes development. He argues for the role of the state to provide citizens with the basic rights

of water, sanitation and education, but from which they are then given the freedom to determine

and lead their own chosen ways of life. This provides a strong theoretical foundation for purposes of

this entire paper as it purports the view of ‘bottom-up’ expressions of development with the state

limited to the role of providing basic rights, which is the underlying theory of the ‘self-sustaining

village’. The sustainability of such development has in its inherent makeup clear considerations of

all social, environmental and economic dimensions. This is in marked contrast to the top-down

approach states take in collaboration with multi-national design and engineering firms when

deciding for citizens the ways and places they should live in, limited to a concept of sustainability

which revolves mainly around economic and to a lesser extent environmental concerns.

Table 2.1 summarises the indicators within these factors that have the most significant effect on

happiness. These indicators provide the theoretical propositions with which the data collected for

the case study can be analysed upon. The detailed methodology is described in the following

chapter.

Table 2.1 Key objective indicators of well-being



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2.4 Sustainability The literature review separates the topic of ‘sustainability’ from ‘well-being’ as the paper views the

measurement of these two components to be complementary and hence, must be examined and

reflected separately. In its report, the CMEPSP (2009) explain the confusion of trying to combine

the measurement of both concepts by a single indicator. The key reason is that while ‘well-being’ is

a flow concept, ‘sustainability’ should be understood as a ‘stock’ concept that should reflect the

“simultaneous preservation or increase in several ‘stocks’: quantities and qualities of natural

resources, and of human, and social and physical capital.”

Sen’s theory of development as freedom explained in the preceding section is an important theory

on the preservation and improvement in social capital seen in this context. It is through the

processes of developing their own futures and lifestyles in which communities are able to develop

their ‘social capital’ and build up other social capabilities. This final section of the literature review

will thus go on to review the factors which affect the ‘stock’ of natural resources.

Instead of looking for an approach that simply produces a figure for the measurement of

sustainability, this report requires one which identifies factors which have a significant impact on the

‘stock’ of natural resources. Hence, while attempts at dashboard indicators (OECD), composite

indices (ESI) and adjusted GDPs are acknowledged, it is the work of Footprint Accounting which

produces the most useful theories for the purpose of this paper. Research figures from the Report

on Ecological Footprint in China (WWF, 2008) showed that the per capita footprint of rural dwellers

was almost 5.0 gha less than their urban counterparts in Yunnan. While this will reflect the

‘sustainability’ of Xin Jian Tibetan village in good light, the research will require the theoretical

causes for such a phenomenon to provide a comprehensive picture.

Taking reference from the work of the Stockholm Environmental Institute on the Ecological Footprint

in Wales (2005), five key sectors were identified as to have a significant impact on the earth’s stock

of natural resources. These were: food and drink, waste, transport, energy and housing. While

these results are specific to Wales, they are generally applicable and should provide some

reference for sustainability in China (for which there is no existing data). Table 2.2 summarises

these results.



15

Table 2.2 Key factors influencing environmental sustainability



16

3 Methodology

3.1 Philosophical Perspective of The Case Study Despite its prevalence in social science research, the ‘case study’ has received much criticism as a

research method lacking in both objectivity and rigour, useful perhaps as an exploratory strategy,

but inadequate as an explanatory one. As a research method, the ‘case study’ fails to fall neatly into

the clearly categorised dichotomy of qualitative and quantitative methods, each underpinned by its

own philosophical belief of how the world should be understood. This problematic position within the

dichotomy is probably one of the reasons for the negative perception of the ‘case study’, leaving it

supported by neither the ‘positive objectivity to discover natural laws’ associated with the

quantitative methods, nor the ‘rigorous investigation of meaning attributed to causal processes’

(Hanson & Platt, 2003) by qualitative methods.

The lack of philosophical clarity is translated into a prejudice towards the research design of ‘case

studies’ as a rather arbitrary makeup open to the whims of each researcher, without any

distinguishable line of method or logic. This has led to the ‘case study’ being ‘stereotyped as a weak

sibling among social science methods’ (Yin, 1994:xiii), unlikely to gain credence towards any wider

understanding of the world beyond its narrow and specific definitions of the case, nor provide any

findings credible enough for any form of policy to be based upon.

Before starting on the case study proper then, it is critical for this paper to address the criticisms of

the ‘case study’ method, and provide an explanation for its selection as the research method for this

paper. As a research method, the case method utilizes both qualitative and quantitative evidence.

This however, is less a reflection of a lack of philosophical underpinning, than a strong statement on

it. It is my belief that the world can only be understood in its entirety when both ‘contexts’, and the

‘natural laws’ that the contexts generate, are considered in relation. This relational understanding of

the world can be contrasted to an objective understanding of the world made up of simply natural

laws, or a relative understanding where meanings can only be derived from the contextual nature of

causal processes. The relational understanding of the world, derived from studies in the

understanding of space, ‘internalizes both the generalizing abstract qualities of the world, and the

specificities of particular contexts’. (Harris & Hooper, 2004)



17

Under such an understanding, the debate between qualitative and quantitative methods becomes

redundant through an internalization of both into a holistic understanding of the world. The

combination of quantitative and qualitative methods within case studies is not then an arbitrary

juxtaposition of inherently contradicting methods, but a natural consideration of all relevant

evidence towards common propositions.

Having explained the philosophical underpinnings of the ‘case study’, it is now left to the paper to

explain the choice of it as an appropriate research method and illustrate a research methodology

that proves logical in providing ‘explanatory’ arguments.

3.2 Principles of the Case Study The section on the philosophical perspective behind the ‘case study’ would have suggested its

appropriateness in researching into phenomena which cannot be extracted from their context, and

must be investigated within that context. In his comparison of the relevant situations for different

research strategies, Yin identifies the following situation for which the ‘case study’ has a ‘distinct

advantage’ over other strategies (experiments, surveys, archival analysis, histories):

“A ‘how’ of ‘why’ question is being asked about a contemporary set of events over which the

investigator has little or no control.” (Yin, 1994:9)

Combining the philosophical and practical perspectives, the ‘case study’ emerges as a research

method which allows the researcher to cope with situations where there are many variables of

interest that cannot be distinguished from contemporary context, and which he needs to provide

‘explanatory’ answers beyond mere frequencies and incidence. The unique multi-dimensional

approach of the ‘case study’ and its research methodology provides the two key reasons for this.

Firstly, by relying on the triangular convergence of data from multiple sources of evidence, the case

study allows the researcher to fully comprehend the context and its interaction with the phenomena

under study, without having to isolate individual variables of the context which may interact with

each other as well. Quantitative methods such as linear regressions seek to overcome this by

correlating variables with each other to sieve out these potential interactions which will affect the

statistical results. However, they are limited to variables of a quantifiable nature, which is not always

the natural way in which variables present themselves.



18

Secondly, the ‘case study’ relies on the confirmation or rejection of prior developed theoretical

propositions as part of its explanation-building process during data analysis. This is an important

distinction from qualitative methods which avoid the specification of any theoretical proposition at

the outset of any research study. Unlike qualitative methods which seek to derive theory from the

data collected, the ‘case study’ starts of from a very different angle of seeking to validate or refute

pre-formed theoretical propositions in the building of an explanation for any phenomenon. It is this

data analysis strategy of explanation-building that allows the ‘case study’ to provide explanatory

answers through an expansion and generalization of theory. The generalizations that ‘case studies’

provide, are then achieved through a rigorous analytic process, rather than an enumeration of

frequencies through any statistical manner.

3.3 Case Study Research Strategy Outline It should be evident now that the ‘case study’ is an all-encompassing research method not only in

its use of multiple sources of evidence (Fig 3.1), but through its entire research design from the

outset of identifying theoretical propositions, to data collection with these propositions in mind, to

the data analysis of building explanations from these propositions. This is thus a comprehensive

research strategy, of which the research design plays a pivotal role. A detailed explanation of the

individual elements within the case study research strategy is provided in Appendix A, while Figure

3.2 illustrates the entire process through a flow-chart.

Figure 3.1 Convergence of Multiple Sources of Evidence

Source: Recreation with alteration from COSMOS Corporation, (Yin, 1994:93)



19

Figure 3.2 Case Study Strategy



20

3.4 Research Project Design This section will first provide a summary of the paper’s research questions, main proposition and

unit of analysis. The main details of these have been explained under the introductory chapter. It

will also refer to the list of secondary theoretical propositions which have been identified in the

literature review chapter. (See Table 2.1)The key function of this section then will be to describe

and explain the multiple sources of evidence that it will seek out for data collection and analysis.

Research Questions

The research question posed by the paper is: ‘How sustainable is the ‘self-sustaining village’ as

a model of spatial development?’ By including the definition of ‘sustainable development’ within

the research question, it can then be understood as ‘how sustainable is the self-sustaining village’

as a model of spatial development in achieving sustainable levels of well-being?’ The research

question can be approached from both an exploratory and explanatory perspective. The exploratory

perspective will require a cross-comparative approach of the well-being and sustainability of the

‘self-sustaining village’ with other models of spatial development in China. This will require data of a

quantitative nature.

The explanatory perspective of the question then builds upon the findings of the exploratory one

and seeks to identify the causal elements that explain the well-being and sustainability of the ‘self-

sustaining village’. To produce an answer of this nature, the paper needs to draw upon multiple

sources of evidence, including the quantitative conclusions from the first perspective, as the

relational approach of the ‘case study’ method requires. These sources and the way data from them

is analysed will be explained below.

Main Proposition

The paper’s main proposition is that: the ‘self-sustaining village’ can be a sustainable model of

spatial development in achieving sustainable levels of well-being, provided the conditions

for it to be so are in place. The paper will need to produce evidence to support this claim, and

identify what the necessary ‘conditions’ are. This is done with influencing policy-decisions as an

objective in mind.



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Unit of Analysis

Xin Jian Tibetan Village in Shangri-la County of Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, in

Yunnan Province, China is the designated unit of analysis. This spatial definition of the unit of

analysis is important, for it is clear that the research seeks to understand the village not just through

the villagers, but through their interaction with their natural and built surroundings. Hence, the

village is researched into as a holistic expression of space and place.

The unique phenomenon of Xin Jian Tibetan Village being a ‘self-sustaining village’ that has

received infrastructural support from the Chinese local government has been explained under the

introductory chapter. The revelatory nature of this research into Xin Jian has also been made

possible through a local contact within the village, which facilitated research into what had

previously been a rather inaccessible village, both physically and in terms of language

communication. These have been the key reasons for the selection of Xin Jian Tibetan Village as

the unit of analysis.

Data Collection & Analysis

The need for multiple sources of evidence for the ‘case study’ has been much emphasised,

however, in answering the exploratory perspective, a quantitative approach is taken. This is due to

the need for the research to be able to compare the levels of subjective well-being between

inhabitants of Xin Jian Tibetan Village with the general population of China. To do this, a

comparative tool is needed and for purposes of this research, three tools were selected. The first is

formed by results from the Gallup World Poll 2008, which calculated a life satisfaction score for 143

countries all over the world using the question “All things considered, how satisfied are you with

your life as a whole these days?” The second tool takes the results of the nation-wide Gallup survey

for China conducted in 2005, which required respondents to answer the question of ‘Overall, how

satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the way things are going in your life today?’. The third tool

draws upon research by Kahneman et.al. (2004) in China, which required respondents to reflect on

their present life satisfaction in comparison with 15 years ago. An exact replication of the questions

from these three tools were asked in survey form to the sample group of local inhabitants from Xin

Jian Tibetan Village, and the results were then compared to those for the national Chinese average,

to provide an indication of the relation between well-being levels in Xin Jian with the national

Chinese average.



22

In providing an explanatory answer, the research then draws upon six different sources of evidence,

in the form of: documents, surveys, physical artifacts, open-ended interviews, focused interviews,

observation (direct and participative). The main documents analysed were the ‘Five Year

Development Plan’ and ‘Five Year Agricultural Plan’ of the Shangri-la County Government. The

significance of these have been explained in the introductory chapter highlighting the support of the

local government in terms of providing infrastructure and amenities including electricity and clean

water to the inhabitants of Xin Jian. The surveys used have been described above, and the results

from which were also taken in consideration at data analysis level. The main physical artifacts

researched into were the houses in which the inhabitants lived in, as well as the farms on which

they worked. The focused interviews drew upon a set of questions that allowed inhabitants to

reconstruct their feelings experienced in the previous day (as used by Kahneman et.al, 2004 and

elaborated in the literature review chapter), and link these feelings to the activities they were

involved in at the time as well as the locations these took place in. The final two sources of

evidence (open-ended conversations and observations) took in the general mood and attitudes of

the inhabitants of Xin Jian as I interacted with them for two full days.

The data collected from all these six sources were guided by the set of theoretical propositions

identified in the literature review chapter. These included a range of individual and societal theories

on well-being and development, as well as spatial theories of sustainable development. (Refer to

Table 2.1 and 2.2 for a summary of these theories) Informed by the contribution of the data

collected towards these theories, the paper then forms an overall explanation for the sustainability

of the ‘self-sustaining village’. From this explanation, key implications for policy are then identified

and elaborated upon in the concluding chapter of the report.



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4 Data Collection & Analysis

4.1 Overview Instead of having the data collection and analysis as two separate chapters, the report

amalgamates both within one section as both will need to be understood in light of the other. Hence,

key observations made during the data collection process would form part of critical information for

the data analysis and the data analysis can only be understood within the wider data collection

framework.

The data was collected from six specific sources: the developmental plans of the local county

government (documents), the Tibetan houses and farms (physical artifacts), evaluative surveys on

life satisfaction, structured interviews using the Day Construction Method, open-ended

conversations with the villagers and observations made on their ways-of-life. Out of these six

sources, the evaluative surveys on life satisfaction were conducted with the explicit objective of

providing a quantitative comparison basis between the subjective well-being levels in Xin Jian

Tibetan village and the overall average for the People’s Republic of China. The remaining five

sources were to be used as part of a general explanatory framework to explore the sustainability of

the levels of well-being in the village. The chapter will begin first with establishing the levels of

subjective well-being.

4.2 Evaluative Surveys on Life Satisfaction Background & Setting

Xin Jian Tibetan Village (新建村), located in a wider geographical area known as Little Zhongdian

(小中甸) within Shangri-la County (香格里拉县) is made up of 53 households, consisting a total

population of 370. The evaluative surveys on life satisfaction were carried out for 20 people (or

5.50% of the total population), representing 8 households (15.10% of the total number of

households). It is recognized that this is hardly a representative percentage, however, it was the

best possible within the resources available to the research.

In an attempt to make up for the small sample size, a conscious attempt was made to select a

sample population made up of villagers across a range of ages and gender. The final sample

population was made up of 9 men and 11 women, across an age range from 16 years to 67 years

old. Again, it must be qualified that this was not proportionate to the overall population



24

demographics, of which there was no information on. Nevertheless, the sample population achieved

the aim of gathering responses across almost every generational decade (from the teenagers to the

people in the sixties) and gender. The only exception to this would be young children of primary

schooling age. This was because they were having lessons in the village school on both the days

when the survey was conducted and I did not wish to interrupt the lessons. It is recognized though,

that data from this sector of the population would have provided important further insight, a point

elaborated under the concluding chapter of the report.

All the surveys were conducted on location in the village, where I moved from household to

household and the fields in which the villagers were working on. I conducted the surveys verbally in

Mandarin and relied on a local interpreter for the majority of instances in which the respondents

were only conversant in Tibetan.

A unique phenomenon under which these surveys were conducted was that they were mostly done

in group-settings. While I asked respondents individually for their responses, their family members

(in the households) and fellow villagers (in the fields) would crowd round to watch, whom the

respondents would then also engage in conversations with about the questions I posed. (Fig 4.1) It

is possible then, that some of the respondents would have been influenced in their answers by their

family and friends. While conducting interviews under individual privacy would have overcome this

problem, I felt that doing so would go against the general atmosphere within the village, under

which much was done through consensus and community. I did not wish to inject an alien style of

communication into my research which might have caused discomfort to the villagers.

In retrospect, the informal procedures and familiarity of the settings to the villagers in which the

surveys were conducted were perhaps helpful for the research in deriving free-flowing and open

responses from them, beyond the sometimes narrow and direct scope of my questions. This will be

elaborated under the sections on the interviews. The other significance of conducting the surveys

under group-settings was that it was likely that other members of the group, who were not

interviewed, probably shared the same views and opinions as those actually being surveyed. This

could be inferred by the nods of agreement all around as the respondents gave me their responses.

The results from the 20 people surveyed would probably then be reflective beyond the 20 people

themselves into their wider circle within what was a very closely-knit community.



25

Figure 4.1 Typical Survey and Interview Setting

Current Subjective Well-Being Levels

The surveys contained basic demographic questions on age, gender, years of education,

household size; and three specific questions pertaining to subjective well-being. The questions

were formulated based on three surveys previously conducted to measure life satisfaction. (The

database of results can be found under Appendix B.)

The first of this was the Gallup World Poll 2008, which calculated a life satisfaction score for 143

countries all over the world using the question “All things considered, how satisfied are you with

your life as a whole these days?”, whereby responses were made on a numeric scale from 0 to 10,

where 0 was dissatisfied, and 10 was satisfied. The national score for the People’s Republic of

China from this survey was 6.7, while the highest national score for any one country was a score of

8.5 for Costa Rica. An exactly similar question was asked for the survey in Xin Jian Tibetan village

and the average score of life satisfaction calculated was 9.25. This was much higher than the

Chinese national average of 6.7. The majority of respondents (65%) responded with perfect scores

of 10, while the lowest score among the entire sample population was 7.

The second question was based upon a nation-wide Gallup survey for China conducted in 2005,

which required respondents to answer the question of “Overall, how satisfied or dissatisfied are you

with the way things are going in your life today?” with the five option categories of very satisfied,

satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, very dissatisfied. This question sought to measure subjective well-

being as well, albeit through a conceptual approach of ‘satisfaction’, rather than the numerical

approach of the first. The results from that survey showed 63% of respondents being satisfied (51%

were satisfied and 12% were very satisfied), and 37% of respondents being unsatisfied (29% were

somewhat dissatisfied and 8% were very unsatisfied).



26

For the exact similar question posed to the respondents in Xin Jian village, 100% of respondents

reflected being satisfied (including both satisfied and very satisfied) with the way things were going

in their life currently, of which 60% of them were very satisfied. This was again, much higher than

the overall satisfaction level of China.

It is recognised that any form of cross-country comparison of life satisfaction based on these survey

questions would be difficult due to differences in cross-cultural interpretations of life satisfaction. For

example, where placed under exactly similar life circumstances, a Costa Rican may be pre-

disposed to give a higher life satisfaction score than a Chinese for a range of cultural reasons.

Similarly, little could be substantively concluded by comparing the average score of Xin Jian with

Costa Rica. However, as Xin Jian Tibetan village is a part of the People’s Republic of China, its

score would have been taken into consideration when measuring the score for the entire country.

Therefore, while it was completely conceivable that the Tibetans were culturally more pre-disposed

towards “happiness” than the average Chinese (of which the Han ethnic group was the majority), it

was possible to infer from the results from this survey that respondents from Xin Jian village would

have made a positive contribution to the overall Chinese score as they were above the national

average.

Time Analysis of Subjective Well-Being

A further third question was posed in the survey and it required respondents to reflect on their

present life satisfaction in comparison with 15 years ago. They were required to select from 5 option

categories: present much worse than past, present worse than past, present similar to past, present

better than past, present much better than past. The basis for this question was the findings from

Kahneman et.al (2004) that in spite China’s remarkable economic growth from 1994 to 2005 with

real income per capita increasing by a factor of 2.5, the percentage of people stating dissatisfaction

in life had increased and the corresponding proportion stating satisfaction had decreased.

The results from the survey in Xin Jian however, showed a completely opposite picture. 100% of

respondents chose the option that “the present was much better than the past”. While no

quantitative survey was made to ascertain if material conditions had improved in Xin Jian Tibetan

village, the material possessions of the households (telephones and televisions) as opposed to the

lack of these 15 years ago provided evidence to suggest that they had. Hence, there seemed to be

a positive relationship between improvements in material conditions with subjective well-being.



27

Conclusions

The findings from the surveys suggest two conclusions: that the villagers of Xin Jian Tibetan village

have considerably higher levels of subjective well-being (and hence well-being) than the average

Chinese national; and that an improvement in material conditions has had a greater and positive

impact to their well-being than it has on the average Chinese national. This report feels that these

conclusions should post important implications for policy makers in China.

Firstly, a policy of ‘urban migration for rural settlers’ implemented in villages such as Xin Jian would

have a immediate negative effect on average standards of well-being, as they currently have a

positive, rather than negative impact on the national average. Viewing well-being as the key

indicator and objective of development, such a policy would effectively be going backwards rather

than forward. Secondly, the material improvements made possible by state provision of

infrastructure (electricity and clean water) has a more positive impact on well-being in villages such

as Xin Jian than in other areas. This can be understood as a more effective and efficient usage of

state resources. While the survey results are significant for the current assessment of well-being in

Xin Jian, they do not provide any information on the ‘sustainability’ of such levels of well-being. It is

to this which the next sections turn to.

4.3 Physical Artifacts The Tibetan House

Set amidst beautiful scenery of a running stream against the backdrop of forested hills, the village

of Xin Jian is a collection of Tibetan Houses dotted all over a plateau. (Fig.4.2) The sight of the

Haba Snow Mountains (哈巴雪山 ) from the village may just have been another facet of the

remarkable landscape to the unknowing visitor, but actually carries huge significance to the local

Tibetan community. The early settlers of Xin Jian selected this location to establish their village

precisely because of its proximity and views to the Snow Mountains, which the community regards

to this day as a sacred Holy mountain to be revered.



28

Figure 4.2 Location of the village

The Tibetan Houses in the village have a distinct architecture and functionality that differentiate

them from typical village houses that can be found in other parts of China. The ground floor of each

house was an open-air grass-filled courtyard which traditionally had been where the livestock (cows,

pigs and chicken) of the household was kept in the night. (Fig 4.3) The first floor housed the living

quarters of the house, with a living room and the sleeping quarters. An open-air corridor extended

outside the first floor and along the front of the house, overlooking the courtyard on the ground floor.

The corridor was used for domestic outdoor activities including the drying of clothes and footstock.

The third storey or open-top of the house housed the altar room, where the statues and tangkas

(mineral paintings) of Tibetan Buddhist deities were placed. This three-fold segregation was based

on the Buddhist belief in the different ‘spheres of being’, with the heavenly realm at the top, the

human realm in the middle, and the animal realm beneath it.

It was explained to me that the structure and positioning of all Tibetan Houses were made in strict

accordance to natural conditions, such that it would be cool during summer and blocked from the

cold winds during winter. I also noticed that though rather dim, the entire house was lit by natural

sunlight during the day through the windows.

All the houses were made from local materials, primarily consisting of mud walls lined with straw

and wooden buildings. While the building materials were simple, the architecture of every individual

building was highly elaborate. Externally, the roof, windows and doors were wood carved with

intricate images of animals and flowers, while the internal walls were painted with colourful images

of auspicious symbols from Tibetan Buddhism and flora which can be found on the Snow Mountain.

(Fig 4.4) These wood carvings and paintings carried a symbolic significance that was believed to

usher in good luck and also reflected the close relationship the locals share with nature.



29

Figure 4.3 Courtyard of the Tibetan House Figure 4.4 Wood carvings on the exterior of the house

Village Farms

The main farming activities the village undertook were crop growing (barley, a local staple food was

the main crop) and livestock rearing (free roaming chicken, pigs and cows). The use of technology

on the farms was minimal, and the only hint of mechanization was the tractor. Farming methods

employed were largely labour intensive, and the harvesting season was in full progress during my

visit. The barley were laid out onto huge wooden structures to sun. When ripe for harvesting, the

villagers would climb atop these structures to take down the barley, before sieving out the grains.

The main farming tools were the basic ploughs, shovels and bamboo baskets. (Fig 4.5)

Figure 4.5 Harvesting the barley



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Conclusions

The analysis of the physical artifacts in Xin Jian Tibetan village produced important evidence

towards both the ‘well-being’ and ‘sustainability’ theoretical propositions. Firstly, the location, layout

and decorative elements of the Tibetan house all reflect the strong religious belief the villagers have

of their images of Buddhism and nature. This contributes to the theory on the significance religious

beliefs have on well-being, considering the high levels of well-being enjoyed by the villagers.

In terms of sustainability, there are noticeable ‘passive design’ elements in the architecture and

layout of the Tibetan houses that have gained prominence once again in today’s paradigm of ‘green

architecture’. The contribution of such elements in reducing energy usage for lighting and heating

has been noted as the key reasons for their promulgation. The literature review has identified the

use of local materials in building construction to have a smaller ecological footprint and lesser drain

on the earth’s natural resources. The fact that all houses in Xin Jian are built using local resources

and local manpower should count significantly in the overall assessment of its ‘sustainability’.

Finally, the use of traditional, labour-intensive farming methods, whilst limiting the productivity of the

farms, gives two important advantages as well: firstly, they provide employment opportunities for

the villagers (and while they may not be rewarded in terms of pecuniary allocations, it is the

importance to self-esteem and social relationships, and hence well-being, as reflected in the

literature review that should take precedence here.) Secondly, such farming methods will have a

much more benign effect on the environment in terms of carbon emissions.

4.4 Observations Food in the Village

On the day I arrived in the village, my host family had just conducted the slaughter of three pigs.

The slaughter had been carried out before I arrived, but the villagers were in the midst of the post-

slaughter processing when I entered the house. The men were dissecting the animals and

separating the meat from the rest of the carcass. The ribs and other bony parts of the pig were then

hooked onto the ceiling and left to sun. The women were stuffing the organs of the pig with a

mixture of pig blood and rice, forming a type of sausage. There was a clear division of work

between the men and women in this operation and no part of the pig was left to waste. (Fig 4.6 and

4.7) “One pig can last a household of six through the winter.” I was to learn subsequently.



31

Figure 4.6 Men dissecting the carcass Figure 4.7 Women filling the pig intestines

Lunch was served in the living room, which was dominated by a central heating stove. The stove

was connected to a chimney that ran through to the top of the house, and was heated up by the

burning of wood. Instead of just being a fireplace, this central heating stove was a hallmark of all

Tibetan homes and served three important functions: first, it was the main source of heat for the

entire household during the cold seasons. Second, it was used as a stove to boil water, and cook

food. Third, and linked to the first two reasons, it was the traditional focal point for family interaction

within the house where members of the family sat around and had meals or conversations.

Lunch was made up of the fried pork which had just been slaughtered, as well as other traditional

Tibetan fare. The main staple of the villagers was tsamba, a form of roasted barley flour rich in

protein, minerals and Vitamin B. This was taken together with yak butter tea, which was made by

churning tea leaves, yak butter and salt. Another important element of the Tibetan diet was a type

of rice wine known as qingkejiu made from hullessbarley (a type of barley), drunk during major

festive occasions or when guests visited. Taken together, the diet gave a good mix of

carbohydrates, protein and fibre, essential to the daily body needs. A key feature of all the food

however, was that they were all grown and processed locally in the village. This included the

rearing of yak and manufacturing of the yak butter, the growing and harvest of hullessbarley, the

fermentation of the wine and the churning of the tea. Over lunch, I learnt that most of the villagers

had four meals a day: breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner; while the more elderly would have an

additional meal of supper.



32

Relationships within Households

The surveys of life evaluation had included the question on household size, and the mean (and

median) household size was 6. My actual observation of the households was that they were mainly

tri-generational. As explained in the section on food processing, there were clearly defined

responsibilities within the household and this will be elaborated in subsequent sections. However,

despite the separation of physical duties (with preparation of food solely done by the female

members) the observed tone of relationships between family members of age and gender was one

of openness and informality. During meal times, all family members would sit around the stove and

share conversations across the stove with the frequent bursting out of laughter. There seemed to

be little inhibitions on the part of any members. These basic observations are certainly limited in

terms of possible conclusions that can be made from them, and the research does not purport to do

so. However, they do support a general picture of cordial family relationships.

Conclusions

Through my observations of the food and cooking habits of the villagers, four characteristics which

had significance on the pre-identified theoretical propositions of ‘sustainability’ emerged. These

were: the consumption of locally-produced food, zero wastage of food, the nature of the food

consumed and the multi-purpose usage of the central heating stove. The smaller ecological

footprint of locally-produced food due to zero transportation emissions is one of the significant

factors in ‘sustainability’, while the points on food production have already been covered in the

previous chapter. As I witnessed for myself, every single part of the pig was consumed or

processed into other side products, without any form of wastage. Also, as all food was processed

immediately on the spot before consumption or storage, no packaging in any form was necessary.

The huge contribution of waste towards the ecological footprint has been highlighted, but in the

village, perhaps due to the scarcity of resources previously, the traditional way-of-life had always

inclined towards minimizing wastage.

Thirdly, the attention paid to the Tibetan diet in terms of nutrition was observable by the food they

consumed. While the research did not go into the health statistics of mortality incidence, all the

villagers above sixty I met were still actively involved in the farm activities. This might perhaps be a

reflection of good nutrition, as complemented by the fact that they took four meals a day. Again

however, this will require much further in-depth research for there to be any firm conclusions.



33

Fourthly, the multi-purpose central heating stove had several ‘sustainability’ implications. To start

with, it was the only source of heat within the entire house, and used pure wood as the source of

energy. In terms of the ecological footprint, wood has an ecological efficiency only just inferior to the

various sources of renewable energy, and much more efficient than all other fuels. Next, the total

energy usage of the household was also lowered due to the dual-function usage of the central

heating stove, to cook and also to heat the house up at the same time. On another note, the third

function of the heating stove as the focal communal point for the family also meant that family

members spent most of the time in their homes around the stove together. This provided a space

within which family relationships could be built, a critical factor towards ‘well-being’.

4.5 Structured Interviews: Day Reconstruction Background

The structured interviews replicated the Day Reconstruction Method used by researchers into

subjective well-being from the school of ‘feelings and emotions’. (Kahneman et.al, 2004) The

interviews required respondents to reflect on the significant activities they were involved in the day

before, and to give an assessment on the level of intensity they had of a list of feelings (six positive

– ‘happy, capable, enjoyment, excited, calmness, warm’ and six negative – ‘frustrated, worried,

disappointed, tired, angry, impatient) during the activities. The assessment involved giving score of

0 to 6 for every feeling in each activity, and the consolidated score ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ score

would reflect if the activities were ‘pleasant’ or ‘unpleasant’.

The interviews were conducted verbally for a selected group of 7 villagers, who had also

participated in the evaluative life surveys. This group was selected to cover both genders of all age

groups within the village. The original usage of the Day Reconstruction Method by researchers was

to quantitatively calculate the percentage of time individuals were involved in ‘unpleasant’ activities

(known as the U-index) to compare happiness levels between individuals. The data collected within

our interviews also allowed for such a comparison. However, such a comparison will not be the

approach for data analysis of the results for two reasons: firstly, a cursory scan of the results

showed that all the 7 villagers reflected all their activities as pleasant and hence, their U-index score

of unhappiness would have been 0%. Secondly, this data would have provided little more in way of

evidence of an exploratory or explanatory nature which had not already been produced by the other

sources.



34

However, the information given by the respondents provided the opportunity to gain an insight into

the effect of place and activity on their feelings, often supplemented through their own voluntary

explanations of the feelings they experienced. This then allowed for a thematic analysis of the data

in terms of the propositions of ‘well-being’ and ‘sustainability’, which is the main focus of the next

section. The exact results of the interviews are inserted under the Appendix C, allowing for any

independent interpretation, or analysis on them beyond what is suggested by this report.

Self-Esteem & Capability

Two clear themes that emerged from the interviews was the high amount of self-esteem

respondents gained from their “work”, as well as happiness derived through knowing that their work

was directly contributing to the welfare of their households. All the respondents expressed a strong

emotion of ‘feeling capable’ when they carried out their “work” and this was regardless of age or

gender. A thirty-eight year old male respondent commented, “It takes me 3 hours to drive the tractor

up the hills, 3 hours to cut the trees at the top, before another 2 hours driving the truck-load full of

logs down the hills. All this is not easy work and requires skill, which is why I am proud of my work. I

also take pride knowing that I can sell these logs in the market, and make money for my family.”

Involved in “work” of a very different nature, a sixty-seven year old male respondent experienced a

very similar vein of emotions, “Taking care of the livestock is my responsibility and I have to prepare

and feed the chicken and pigs twice a day. I am happy when I feed the animals as it is what makes

them grow fat, so that our family can eventually sell or eat them.”

This division of labour and individual responsibilities also applied to two unique individuals in the

village whom I interviewed at the Barley Fields – both were middle-aged women, of whom one was

disabled with waist problems and another unmarried with no family. In spite of her disability, the

disabled woman was involved in the barley harvesting activities together with her family. The sense

of self-esteem created and social relationships formed under such working conditions were

unmistakable: “I am happy that in spite of my disability, I can still help out with the other women-folk

here in the harvest. Even though I receive monetary assistance from the government, I still feel I

can contribute to the village. I am especially happy to be working together with everyone here

everyday. We talk and laugh as we work; it is a very enjoyable way to spend the day.”



35

Seen in light of the importance of self-esteem through employment for well-being explained in the

literature review (Table 2.1), these results provide a key insight into the happiness of the villagers.

Within the village, there was no concept of “unemployment”, as every individual of age was involved

in some form of daily agricultural “work”. Within each household, there was a very clear division of

labour. The men were primarily involved with log-cutting, while the women worked on the barley

fields. The older folk were responsible for the feeding of the livestock and taking care of the younger

children. The interview responses drew a strong parallel with Layard’s conclusions of self-respect

and social relationships. (Refer to section 2.3 of the literature review)

Village Social Net

Through the interviews with the disabled lady and her unmarried counterpart, the existence of a

village-wide social net emerged as well. It was explained to me that there were 5 unmarried

women-folk in the village, an anomaly in the village. As the division of labour within each family

household was clear, the 5 unmarried women who stayed alone were disadvantaged from a lack of

family members in their daily livelihood. Hence, their welfare became the concern of the entire

village. In the words of a fellow villager, “The entire village takes care of them, be it their daily needs

such as food and company, or during times where they need special assistance.”

The importance of this village social net to these women was evident from the way my interviewee

expressed her feelings. “Certainly, I worry about falling ill, and having no one to take care of me,

give me medicine or bring me to a doctor. However, I am much comforted knowing that all the

villagers are concerned about me and will certainly help me when I need it. I am glad they have

accepted me into their families and allow me to work in the fields together with them. Without them,

I think my life would be miserable, but now, I am very happy.”

Again, these results could be understood through the importance of social relationships and trust

towards individual happiness. The strong trust the villagers had for each other, especially the

disadvantaged ones, was certainly one of the key factors contributing to the high levels of well-

being in Xin Jian Tibetan village.



36

Religious Belief & Appreciation of Nature

The other important theme that emerged from the interviews was the role of religion and nature in

the lives of the villagers. Most respondents would start and end the day in meditation or prayers,

and this was associated with a strong sense of calmness and serenity. Also, respondents reflected

that through these prayers, a sense of goodwill was evoked for their family, their neighbours and

even all beings in the world, as the basis of their prayers was compassion for all living beings.

Religion was also closely intertwined with their natural surroundings and an important place of

worship was the top of the hills next to the village, where the villagers had placed special relics. The

village was also where most respondents spent all of their time in and an appreciation of their

natural surroundings was an integral part of their happiness. “Standing atop of the hills doing my

cutting of trees, I sometimes look down onto the entire village. The beautiful sight of the river, the

Snow Mountains, the animals and our village never fails to bring a smile to my heart.”

“Every evening, I take my granddaughter who is five years old on walks around our village.

Watching my granddaughter explore this beautiful nature, it is such an enjoyable experience for me

every day.” These feelings resonate strongly with the themes of ‘personal values’ and ‘family

relationships’ identified as key to happiness levels. It could be stated that it was through this

symbiotic relationships between religion, nature and the family ties within which the individual

villagers found meaning and hence happiness in their lives.



37

5 Conclusions

5.1 Social Sustainability: Cultural Conviction to Happiness Having concentrated on the environmental aspects of sustainability thus far, the data analysis has

made no reference to social sustainability. Through the string of evidence from multiple sources

however, a broad picture of a cultural conviction to happiness clearly emerges. This conviction finds

expression in their chosen way-of-life and an appreciation of the world. This was a way-of-life that

can no longer be claimed to be a result of ignorance, as the villagers were exposed to images of the

outside world through the television sets which could be found in every household. There were

individuals within each households involved in employment outside the village, exposed to the

realities of urban life. Despite all this exposure however, the underpinning motivation was still the

leading of their chosen way-of-life, understood through their intimate relationship with their natural

surroundings.

‘I work in the city to earn an additional income, precisely so that the rest of my family can continue

to live comfortably and work in the village. When I have earned enough, I will certainly return to the

village permanently.’ one of the men in the village explained to me. When I posed the question of

urban migration to another one of the villagers, his reply, which gained a unanimous chorus of

approval from the other villagers was, ‘We all want to stay in the village forever. Here, we have

enough to eat to live happily. In the city, while there may be opportunities for some to gain great

material advancement, the majority will have a problem simply making ends meet. In the city, we

cannot grow our own food, and food is expensive.’

This conviction to happiness could best be expressed however, through the simple yet passionate

responses of the women I met in the barley fields. ‘We, Tibetans are the happiest people in the

world!’ ‘Harvesting the barley is the most enjoyable thing to do!’ ‘Every meal is enjoyable. I

remember the times when meals were much harder to come by, so every meal now is a blessing.’

All the different explanations and perspectives of the villagers pointed to a single conviction to lead

a way-of-life which they felt was ultimately meaningful. This could perhaps be the classic empirical

evidence of Amartya Sen’s theory of ‘development as freedom’. Through a collective identity and

determination, the ability of a community to ‘shape its own destiny’ and ‘choose the lives it has

reason to value’ is the ultimate basis for social sustainability.



38

5.2 Well-Being & Environmental Sustainability Having looked at the social aspect of sustainability, this conclusion will now summarise the key

conclusions from the ‘well-being’ and ‘environmental sustainability’ perspectives. Firstly, the findings

from the evaluative surveys on life satisfaction reflected that the level of well-being in Xin Jian

Tibetan village was significantly higher than the average levels for the People’s Republic of China.

With this acting as a contributing factor in itself, the research then drew on a variety of multiple

evidence sources to conclusively show that the levels of well-being in Xin Jian Tibetan village had

been achieved under environmentally sustainable means. This was done through an analysis of the

theoretical factors contributing to both ‘well-being’ and ‘sustainability’. Significantly, the research

found supporting evidence in Xin Jian for almost all the key factors contributing to both phenomena.

Table 5.1 provides a synoptic review of all these findings.

Table 5.1 Summary of research evidence



39

In addition to these evidences, the existence of the pre-requisite conditions of basic infrastructure

and rights such as electricity, clean water and education were analysed and explained within the

context of the local government’s Development Plan in the introductory chapter of the report.

Taking all the evidence throughout the report into consideration, a strong case has been made in

support of the main research hypothesis: the ‘self-sustaining village’ can be a sustainable model of

spatial development in achieving sustainable levels of well-being, provided the conditions for it are

in place. These conditions could be expressed through the ideas of Sen (1999), ‘the giving of

opportunity to the people in shaping their own destiny, through the building up of their capabilities in

basic infrastructure and education’, and correspondingly, a common conviction among groups of

people to such ‘self-determination’.

5.3 Policy Recommendations In the introduction to the report, the aim of influencing policy was explicitly stated. The strategy of

illustrating the sustainability of ‘self-sustaining villages’ to support the establishment of the ‘self-

sustaining villages’ as an alternative spatial development model to the ‘Eco-City’ has been actively

and successfully pursued throughout the report. It is with the backing of these findings that I purport

two key policy recommendations:

• To recognise the potential of ‘self-sustaining villages’ as models of sustainable development

providing a counter-weight against strategies of urban migration and linked to this;

• To contribute towards the realisation of this potential through the provision of opportunities

for self-determination to such rural communities , with the provision of basic infrastructure

and education paramount

The report however, recognises that there will be considerable barriers to the implementation of

these recommendations, the key of which will be objections to the validity of the conclusions to the

report. The first of these will come against the definition of ‘development as well-being’ used in the

report. It is an undeniable reality that many decision and policy-makers throughout the world, and

certainly in China, still see development within the restrictive paradigm of GDP growth. I have

argued theoretically why this should change. To complete the argument here though, I will return to

the Report of the CMEPSP. In its summary, the Committee address the report to political leaders in



40

the world, stating that ‘in this time of crises, when new political narratives are necessary to identify

where our societies should go, the report advocates a shift of emphasis from a ‘production-oriented’

measurement system to one focused on the well-being of current and future generations,’ It is thus

a political imperative within these times of financial and environmental uncertainty, that decision

makers take this bold but necessary paradigm shift in priorities.

The second argument will perhaps be against the applicability of Xin Jian Tibetan Village as a

model for other ‘self-sustaining villages’, indeed they might argue that the methodology of the report

states that Xin Jian has been selected precisely due to its unique nature. The report identified two

conditions before the sustainability of ‘self-sustaining villages’ could be argued for: opportunities

through basic infrastructure and education; conviction among the community itself for self-

determination. The first condition is what the report recommends that decision-makers should

implement through policy and hence this need not, and should not be unique to Xin Jian. The

second condition is trickier, as the report itself has noted the unique culture of the Tibetan people. It

may seem that this is a condition hardly replicable in other villages. I will refer back to the definition

of ‘self-sustaining villages’ given in the introduction, of villages where ‘the dependence on food,

accommodation and employment is primarily local’. This is the key defining quality of such villages

of which the cultural element is but one of the contributing factors. In fact, I will argue that the desire

to remain in rural villages itself is an expression of self-determination. It is the lack of basic

opportunities afforded to such communities that is a key reason for the exodus to the urban areas,

but the aspiration to eventually return to the village is ubiquitous. It must also be clarified that

cultural specificities are not limited to the Tibetan people alone, the majority of minority ethnic

groups throughout China all possess unique cultural characteristics that do not fit in with the

mainstream material discourse.

5.4 Wider Discussions on Sustainable Development An increasingly common strategy which governments take in the name of sustainable development

has been the utilisation of open countryside land for the generation of renewable energy. The

relevance of this issue was highlighted to me through an open-ended conversation I had with one of

the better informed villagers in Xin Jian. I was informed of a recent government decision to build a

hydro-electric dam further up the river that ran along the village. The villagers were not consulted on

the issue, and had to accept compensation offered by the government for the takeover of land next

to the river. Yet, the compensation amount was below the average remuneration villagers received

from growing crops on the land, directly affecting their income.



41

There is no scope within this report to address the implications of such circumstances. It would do

well though, to highlight the contested nature of the many different aspects of ‘sustainable

development’, which will require much clearer principles and rules of engagement. The interface

between governance and local participation should then be a key area of focus for future research

into sustainability of the rural areas.

5.4 Future Research & Acknowledgements This brings me to the final section of this paper. The entire research process from strategy design,

to data collection in Xin Jian and then the writing of this report proved extremely fulfilling as I was

constantly challenged logically and physically. The two main regrets of the research were the

inability to gather responses from the school-going children and the limitation of only making one

case study. The former is regretted as the responses of the children would have provided an

important perspective on the picture of well-being due to their age and their opportunity to be

schooled in a modern educational environment. While it is acknowledged that both regrets were the

result of a limitation in time and resources for this research project, it is the hope that future

research can address them both.

It is fitting to then end this report by expressing my gratitude to the many people whom without their

help and guidance, this research project would certainly have been impossible. Firstly, I would like

to thank my research supervisor at Cardiff University, Prof Kevin Morgan whose guidance on

relevant literature and report structure formed the framework for my entire research, and whose

invaluable comments on the subsequent draft reports enabled me to constantly improve it for clarity

and direction. Secondly, I would like to thank the staff and volunteers at NGO group Yunnan

Mountain Handicraft Centre (香格里拉妇女手工艺术中心) in Shangri-la who provided me with

accommodation and the starting point from which I could embark upon my research. Their

dedication towards the promotion of local artisan products inspired me in many ways in the direction

of this research paper. Thirdly, I would like to thank my local contact, Mr Lin Feng (林峰) who I met

incidentally in Shangri-la itself during one of my explorations of the local pubs. The owner of this

particular pub I went into, our conversations eventually led to my main objectives in Shangri-la. He

took a strong interest in my research and volunteered to link me up with the villagers in Xin Jian

Tibetan village, and even accompanied me on both of my visits to the village. And last but certainly

not least, I would like to thank the villagers of Xin Jian Tibetan village itself, for their hospitality in

welcoming me to their homes and sharing meals, their spontaneity in answering my questions, and

most importantly, for convincing me that my cause for this research was a worthy one.



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Appendix

Case Study Research Strategy Appendix A

The research design begins with the introductory and literature review which have two important

functions: firstly, to determine significant research questions for the purpose of research (and from it

the main proposition); and secondly, to raise secondary theoretical propositions which the research

can be based upon. The advantage of having research questions of a ‘how’ or ‘why’ explanatory

nature has been explained in the main report. Research questions of ‘significance’ are those

derived from phenomenon which are important beyond their immediate context, and which little, if

any research has been conducted on previously. The introductory chapter has the important role of

identifying and explaining the significance of the research questions.

Importantly, unlike research methods where the literature review tends to be seen as an end in itself,

or a cursory review of existing literature on the topic, the ‘case study’ requires a very rigorous study

of literature inclusive of wider individual and societal theories which can have impact on the

research topic. It is from the literature review process that the ‘case study’ research selects the

relevant secondary theories which form the backbone of the research. The literature review is thus

a crucial means to the overall research, rather than a stand-alone end.

Having identified the research question/s (and main proposition) and secondary theoretical

propositions, the research will then proceed to collect data on the unit of analysis from a range of

sources (both qualitative and quantitative in nature), keeping the questions and propositions in mind.

The case for multiple sources has been argued in the main body, but the selection of a relevant unit

of analysis must be emphasized here. The unit of analysis very much forms the context of the ‘case

study’ and its selection must be explained in its relevance and significance towards the research

question. In particular, the research must be clear in explaining if the unit of analysis requires a

spatial context or if specific to individuals or groups of individuals only. The significance of a chosen

unit of analysis must be related back to the theoretical propositions as well, to test if it fulfils the

critical context by which these propositions can be tested.



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Before proceeding to the data analysis stage, it is important for the researcher to consolidate all

data collected into a database, which can function as a stand-alone resource from the rest of the

research report. This can be in the form of interview transcripts, survey forms, or other written

documents that were researched upon for the project. This allows an external party to review the

data collected without being influenced by the conclusions of the researcher through his data

analysis.

The chosen data analysis strategy is one of ‘explanation-building’. The objective of explanation-

building is to “explain a phenomenon by stipulating a set of causal links about it”. (Yin, 1994:110)

This can be seen as a two-stage process which first requires the consideration of all data from

multiple sources in generating conclusions that support or refute the pre-formed secondary

theoretical propositions. It should be emphasized that it is the combined contribution of multiple

sources towards a single proposition that distinguishes the ‘case study’ from other research

methods, whereby separate evidence leads to separate conclusions. (Figure 3.1 illustrates this

convergence of multiple sources of evidence)

Secondly, the validity of the various individual secondary propositions must then be considered

collectively in answering the research question, thereby forming a basis of various evidences to

support or refute the main proposition. However, the research project does not conclude with a

mere explanation of phenomenon, but seeks to develop conclusions from these explanations which

have implications for policy-making as well as further research. To do this, the research must refer

back to the wider context of the research topic first described in the introductory section, and draw

important links from the research findings to the wider framework of policy-making within its social,

economic and political context. This entire research strategy design is summarized in a flow-chart

form for ease of appreciation in Figure 3.2.



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Evaluative Survey of Life Satisfaction Consolidated Results Appendix B



45

Structured Interview (Day Reconstruction) Appendix C-1 Candidate Age/Gender: 38/M Years of Formal Education: 3 Household Size: 6 Reflection on activities in the previous day Activity (1): Driving the tractor up the mountain Time: 9am to 12 noon Location: From village to mountain Company: Nil (Alone) Feelings Experienced: (rated on a score of ascendance in magnitude from 1 to 6) Pleasant Happy ( 6 ) Capable ( 6 ) Enjoyment ( 0 ) Excited ( 6 ) Calmness ( 4 ) Warm ( 0 ) Unpleasant Frustrated ( 0 ) Worried ( 0 ) Disappointed ( 0 ) Tired ( 0 ) Angry ( 0 ) Impatient ( 0 )

Activity (2): Log-cutting Time: 1230pm to 330pm Location: Logging area on mountain Company: Nil (Alone) Feelings Experienced: Pleasant Happy ( 6 ) Capable ( 6 ) Enjoyment ( 4 ) Excited ( 2 ) Calmness ( 6 ) Warm ( 0 ) Unpleasant Frustrated ( 0 ) Worried ( 4 ) Disappointed ( 0 ) Tired ( 2 ) Angry ( 0 ) Impatient ( 0 )

Activity (3): Transporting fallen logs down the mountain with tractor Time: 330pm to 530pm Location: From mountain to village Company: Nil (Alone) Feelings Experienced: Pleasant Happy ( 6 ) Capable ( 6 ) Enjoyment ( 6 ) Excited ( 2 ) Calmness ( 4 ) Warm ( 0 ) Unpleasant Frustrated ( 0 ) Worried ( 3 ) Disappointed ( 0 ) Tired ( 2 ) Angry ( 0 ) Impatient ( 0 ) Activity (4): Dinner and watching television Time: 7pm to 10pm Location: Home Company: Family members Feelings Experienced: Pleasant Happy ( 6 ) Capable ( 0 ) Enjoyment ( 6 ) Excited ( 0 ) Calmness ( 4 ) Warm ( 6 ) Unpleasant Frustrated ( 0 ) Worried ( 0 ) Disappointed ( 0 ) Tired ( 0 ) Angry ( 0 ) Impatient ( 0 )



46

Structured Interview (Day Reconstruction) Appendix C-2 Candidate Age/Gender: 37/M Years of Formal Education: Nil Household Size: 7 Reflection on activities in the previous day Activity (1): Going up the mountain for religious prayers Time: 7am to 10 am Location: From village to religious site on mountain, and back to village Company: Nil (Alone) Feelings Experienced: (rated on a score of ascendance in magnitude from 1 to 6) Pleasant Happy ( 6 ) Capable ( 3 ) Enjoyment ( 6 ) Excited ( 3 ) Calmness ( 3 ) Warm ( 6 ) Unpleasant Frustrated ( 0 ) Worried ( 0 ) Disappointed ( 0 ) Tired ( 3 ) Angry ( 0 ) Impatient ( 0 )

Activity (2): Resting (including meals and talking to family/friends) Time: 11am onwards Location: Home Company: Family and friends Feelings Experienced: Pleasant Happy ( 6 ) Capable ( 0 ) Enjoyment ( 3 ) Excited ( 0 ) Calmness ( 3 ) Warm ( 6 ) Unpleasant Frustrated ( 0 ) Worried ( 4 ) Disappointed ( 0 ) Tired ( 0 ) Angry ( 0 ) Impatient ( 0 )

Activity (3): NA Time: Location: Company: Feelings Experienced: Pleasant Happy ( ) Capable ( ) Enjoyment ( ) Excited ( ) Calmness ( ) Warm ( ) Unpleasant Frustrated ( ) Worried ( ) Disappointed ( ) Tired ( ) Angry ( ) Impatient ( ) Activity (4): NA Time: Location: Company: Feelings Experienced: Pleasant Happy ( ) Capable ( ) Enjoyment ( ) Excited ( ) Calmness ( ) Warm ( ) Unpleasant Frustrated ( ) Worried ( ) Disappointed ( ) Tired ( ) Angry ( ) Impatient ( )



47

Structured Interview (Day Reconstruction) Appendix C-3 Candidate Age/Gender: 67/M Years of Formal Education: Nil Household Size: 6 Reflection on activities in the previous day Activity (1): Taking care of the four year old grand-daughter (including strolls around the village) Time: 9am to 6pm Location: Home and village surroundings Company: Grand-daughter Feelings Experienced: (rated on a score of ascendance in magnitude from 1 to 6) Pleasant Happy ( 6 ) Capable ( 6 ) Enjoyment ( 3 ) Excited ( 3 ) Calmness ( 3 ) Warm ( 6 ) Unpleasant Frustrated ( 0 ) Worried ( 0 ) Disappointed ( 0 ) Tired ( 0 ) Angry ( 0 ) Impatient ( 0 )

Activity (2): Feeding the family livestock (dogs, pigs and cows) Time: 12pm to 1215pm and 5pm to 515pm Location: Home and village surroundings Company: Grand-daughter Feelings Experienced: Pleasant Happy ( 6 ) Capable ( 6 ) Enjoyment ( 6 ) Excited ( 3 ) Calmness ( 0 ) Warm ( 3 ) Unpleasant Frustrated ( 0 ) Worried ( 3 ) Disappointed ( 0 ) Tired ( 3 ) Angry ( 0 ) Impatient ( 0 )

Activity (3): Taking meals Time: 9am to 930am; 1230pm to 1pm; 430pm to 5pm; 9pm to 930pm Location: Home Company: Family Feelings Experienced: Pleasant Happy ( 6 ) Capable ( 0 ) Enjoyment ( 6 ) Excited ( 2 ) Calmness ( 4 ) Warm ( 4 ) Unpleasant Frustrated ( 0 ) Worried ( 0 ) Disappointed ( 0 ) Tired ( 0 ) Angry ( 0 ) Impatient ( 0 ) Activity (4): NA Time: Location: Company: Feelings Experienced: Pleasant Happy ( ) Capable ( ) Enjoyment ( ) Excited ( ) Calmness ( ) Warm ( ) Unpleasant Frustrated ( ) Worried ( ) Disappointed ( ) Tired ( ) Angry ( ) Impatient ( )



48

Structured Interview (Day Reconstruction) Appendix C-4 Candidate Age/Gender: 43/F Years of Formal Education: Three Household Size: 6 Reflection on activities in the previous day Activity (1): Harvesting the barley Time: 9am to 6pm Location: Barley fields in village Company: Family and neighbours Feelings Experienced: (rated on a score of ascendance in magnitude from 1 to 6) Pleasant Happy ( 6 ) Capable ( 6 ) Enjoyment ( 6 ) Excited ( 5 ) Calmness ( 3 ) Warm ( 6 ) Unpleasant Frustrated ( 0 ) Worried ( 0 ) Disappointed ( 0 ) Tired ( 2 ) Angry ( 0 ) Impatient ( 0 )

Activity (2): Cooking Time: 12pm to 1215pm and 745 pm to 8pm Location: Home Company: Daughter Feelings Experienced: Pleasant Happy ( 6 ) Capable ( 6 ) Enjoyment ( 6 ) Excited ( 0 ) Calmness ( 3 ) Warm ( 3 ) Unpleasant Frustrated ( 0 ) Worried ( 3 ) Disappointed ( 0 ) Tired ( 2 ) Angry ( 0 ) Impatient ( 0 )

Activity (3): Taking meals (and rest including watching television/ talking to family and friends) Time: 1230pm to 130pm; 830pm to 930pm Location: Home Company: Family and friends Feelings Experienced: Pleasant Happy ( 6 ) Capable ( 0 ) Enjoyment ( 6 ) Excited ( 2 ) Calmness ( 4 ) Warm ( 6 ) Unpleasant Frustrated ( 0 ) Worried ( 0 ) Disappointed ( 0 ) Tired ( 0 ) Angry ( 0 ) Impatient ( 0 ) Activity (4): NA Time: Location: Company: Feelings Experienced: Pleasant Happy ( ) Capable ( ) Enjoyment ( ) Excited ( ) Calmness ( ) Warm ( ) Unpleasant Frustrated ( ) Worried ( ) Disappointed ( ) Tired ( ) Angry ( ) Impatient ( )



49

Structured Interview (Day Reconstruction) Appendix C-5 Candidate Age/Gender: 65/F Years of Formal Education: Nil Household Size: 7 Reflection on activities in the previous day Activity (1): Meditation and chanting Time: 730 am to 8 pm Location: Home Company: Nil (Alone) Feelings Experienced: (rated on a score of ascendance in magnitude from 1 to 6) Pleasant Happy ( 6 ) Capable ( 6 ) Enjoyment ( 6 ) Excited ( 0 ) Calmness ( 6 ) Warm ( 0 ) Unpleasant Frustrated ( 0 ) Worried ( 0 ) Disappointed ( 0 ) Tired ( 2 ) Angry ( 0 ) Impatient ( 0 )

Activity (2): Eating Time: 9am to 930 am Location: Home Company: Family Feelings Experienced: Pleasant Happy ( 6 ) Capable ( 0 ) Enjoyment ( 6 ) Excited ( 0 ) Calmness ( 4 ) Warm ( 3 ) Unpleasant Frustrated ( 0 ) Worried ( 0 ) Disappointed ( 0 ) Tired ( 0 ) Angry ( 0 ) Impatient ( 0 )

Activity (3): Harvesting the barley Time: 11am to 6pm Location: Barley fields in the village Company: Family and friends Feelings Experienced: Pleasant Happy ( 6 ) Capable ( 5 ) Enjoyment ( 6 ) Excited ( 3 ) Calmness ( 3 ) Warm ( 6 ) Unpleasant Frustrated ( 0 ) Worried ( 0 ) Disappointed ( 0 ) Tired ( 4 ) Angry ( 0 ) Impatient ( 0 ) Activity (4): NA Time: Location: Company: Feelings Experienced: Pleasant Happy ( ) Capable ( ) Enjoyment ( ) Excited ( ) Calmness ( ) Warm ( ) Unpleasant Frustrated ( ) Worried ( ) Disappointed ( ) Tired ( ) Angry ( ) Impatient ( )



50

Structured Interview (Day Reconstruction) Appendix C-6 Candidate Age/Gender: 15/M Years of Formal Education: Four Household Size: 4 Reflection on activities in the previous day Activity (1): Harvesting the barley Time: 9am to 6pm Location: Barley fields in the village Company: Family Feelings Experienced: (rated on a score of ascendance in magnitude from 1 to 6) Pleasant Happy ( 5 ) Capable ( 6 ) Enjoyment ( 6 ) Excited ( 0 ) Calmness ( 0 ) Warm ( 0 ) Unpleasant Frustrated ( 0 ) Worried ( 0 ) Disappointed ( 5 ) Tired ( 0 ) Angry ( 0 ) Impatient ( 0 ) Ps. Disappointment was not due to the activity, but due to a breakup with his girlfriend the day before.

Activity (2): Rest (Meals and television) Time: 630pm onwards Location: Home Company: Family Feelings Experienced: Pleasant Happy ( 5 ) Capable ( 0 ) Enjoyment ( 6 ) Excited ( 0 ) Calmness ( 2 ) Warm ( 3 ) Unpleasant Frustrated ( 0 ) Worried ( 0 ) Disappointed ( 5 ) Tired ( 0 ) Angry ( 0 ) Impatient ( 0 )

Activity (3): NA Time: Location: Company: Feelings Experienced: Pleasant Happy ( ) Capable ( ) Enjoyment ( ) Excited ( ) Calmness ( ) Warm ( ) Unpleasant Frustrated ( ) Worried ( ) Disappointed ( ) Tired ( ) Angry ( ) Impatient ( )



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Structured Interview (Day Reconstruction) Appendix C-7 Candidate Age/Gender: 22/F Years of Formal Education: Three Household Size: 6 Reflection on activities in the previous day Activity (1): Harvesting the barley Time: 9am to 6pm Location: Barley fields in village Company: Family and neighbours Feelings Experienced: (rated on a score of ascendance in magnitude from 1 to 6) Pleasant Happy ( 6 ) Capable ( 6 ) Enjoyment ( 6 ) Excited ( 6 ) Calmness ( 0 ) Warm ( 0 ) Unpleasant Frustrated ( 0 ) Worried ( 0 ) Disappointed ( 0 ) Tired ( 0 ) Angry ( 0 ) Impatient ( 0 )

Activity (2): Cooking Time: 12pm to 1215pm and 745 pm to 8pm Location: Home Company: Mother Feelings Experienced: Pleasant Happy ( 6 ) Capable ( 6 ) Enjoyment ( 6 ) Excited ( 0 ) Calmness ( 6 ) Warm ( 6) Unpleasant Frustrated ( 0 ) Worried ( 0 ) Disappointed ( 0 ) Tired ( 0 ) Angry ( 0 ) Impatient ( 0 )

Activity (3): NA Time: Location: Company: Feelings Experienced: Pleasant Happy ( ) Capable ( ) Enjoyment ( ) Excited ( ) Calmness ( ) Warm ( ) Unpleasant Frustrated ( ) Worried ( ) Disappointed ( ) Tired ( ) Angry ( ) Impatient ( ) Activity (4): NA Time: Location: Company: Feelings Experienced: Pleasant Happy ( ) Capable ( ) Enjoyment ( ) Excited ( ) Calmness ( ) Warm ( ) Unpleasant Frustrated ( ) Worried ( ) Disappointed ( ) Tired ( ) Angry ( ) Impatient ( )



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