Great news! During our inspiring trip to Yunnan Province, China late last year, several of us decided to chip in and help finance the reconstruction of the Tibetan Cultural Center in Yongzhi village. Thanks to Rare trustee Ruth Yeoh, Kenneth Khaw Jin Teck, Jin Ligang and Shen Lei, we succeed in raising $3500 just before the holidays. Here’s a video “thank you note” from Mr. Ma, Rare’s Senior Advisor in Yunnan.

“What I’ve learned is that they will actually cut down the rate of deforestation by at least 20 percent by building these new homes.”

Rare trustee Ruth Yeoh joined CEO Brett Jenks and VP. Asia Nigel Sizer during part of their extensive field visit to Pride campaign sites in China and Indonesia in November, visiting with staff and partners in Bogor and Kunming. She also made the trek to visit a Rare Pride campaign with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) in the Meili Snow Mountains, located between the Salween River and the Mekong River, in the extreme edge of Northwest Yunnan Province on the Tibetan border. TNC has enlisted Rare’s help gaining adoption of a new home construction model that uses less wood for both building and heating. Below you can hear Ruth’s reflections on the visit in an interview with Brett.