China Tibet Network News "Ding Ding Ding, Bell Bell ......" Although the spring cold outside is steep, wearing a down jacket still feels the slightest coolness, but in the spacious and bright iron furnace processing plant in Jiangga Village, Kaga Town, Angren County, Shigatse City, Tibet Autonomous Region, the warmth is melting, and the sound of metal impact comes and goes. Here, the villagers are using the traditional craftsmanship of the village to make Jiangga iron furnaces, which are loved by the surrounding people.
The picture shows villagers in Jiangga Village, Kaga Town, Angren County, Shigatse City, Tibet Autonomous Region, making Jiangga iron furnace Photo: Liu Li
Jiangga Village is about 4,385 meters above sea level, and the whole village belongs to the semi-agricultural and semi-pastoral type, and the economy is mainly based on agriculture, supplemented by animal husbandry. The main crops are barley, Tibetan green beans and rape, etc., and they mainly raise calves, goats, sheep, dairy cows, cattle and other livestock. During the long winter farming slack, the industrious villagers of Jiangga Village made an indispensable living tool for plateau farmers and herdsmen in the severe cold season - iron furnace.
The picture shows the villagers of Jiangga Village, Angren County, Shigatse City, Tibet Autonomous Region, making Jiangga iron furnace Photo: Liu Li
According to the villagers, the iron furnace production in Jiangga Village has a long history, and because of the reasonable design, solid materials and excellent production, it is well recognized by the surrounding people, and the products are even exported to Ali area across hundreds of kilometers.
Previously, the Ganga iron furnace was built entirely by hand, and the villagers scattered around to make it. Now, under the leadership of the village party branch and with the help of cadres from Shandong Province to Tibet, the village not only has a professional iron furnace processing farmer cooperative, but also has built a warm and tall processing plant, which has carried out centralized integration of the traditional iron furnace processing industry in the village. The plant started construction in April 2023 and was completed in October of that year, benefiting more than 100 households in Jiangga Village. The processing plant has introduced a lot of machinery and equipment, injected modern technology into the traditional skills, greatly improved the quality of Jiangga iron furnace, and shortened the production cycle.
"The most fundamental thing about rural revitalization is that we still believe that the prosperity of industry leads to the prosperity of the countryside. According to the local characteristics, we have built a standardized production plant for the characteristic iron furnace processing industry, and concentrated all the scattered iron furnace processing workshops in the village into the plant to carry out standardized production, improve the living environment, and cultivate pillar industries. Wang Jiansheng, deputy director of the Angren County Development and Reform Commission and a cadre from Zibo, Shandong Province, said. In this way, it is not only easier to manage the quality control of the iron furnace, but also conducive to the elimination of hidden dangers and safe production.
The picture shows the villagers of Jiangga Village, Angren County, Shigatse City, Tibet Autonomous Region, preparing materials for the production of Jiangga iron furnace Photo: Liu Li
In addition, Wang Jiansheng believes that centralized and unified management of production and operation will also help enhance the competitiveness of products and create a model of "rural revitalization". "At present, Jiangga iron furnace, as a local characteristic handicraft product, has not fully gone out, its influence is still very limited, and it has not yet formed a sufficient brand effect. We asked a mainland design company to help the co-operative design the trademark, and now the trademark registration process is underway, if the registration is successful, the next step is to further enhance the competitiveness of the brand through various channels. ”
The masses have the will, the cadres have the deeds, and the iron furnace processing farmers' cooperative in Jiangga Village is flourishing. At present, the cooperative has a total of 28 employees, with an average annual output of more than 500 Jiangga iron furnaces.
The picture shows the Jiangga iron furnace made by villagers in Jiangga Village, Angren County, Shigatse City, Tibet Autonomous Region Photo: Liu Li
According to the village committee, in 2021, the cooperative helped the villagers sell more than 760 Jiangga iron furnaces, with a total income of 530,000 yuan and a net income of 130,000 yuan. In 2023, due to reconstruction and expansion, Jiangga Cooperative will sell 440 iron furnaces throughout the year, with a total income of 402,000 yuan and a net income of 158,000 yuan. The villagers have solved the problem of increasing income during the winter slack period, and have achieved employment at the doorstep of their homeland.
The picture shows a small pure copper stove made by villagers in Jiangga Village, Angren County, Shigatse City, Tibet Autonomous Region Photo: Liu Li
The villagers' money bags are bulging, and they are working harder. We actively studied the new needs of users brought about by the development of the times, and developed new products such as exquisite desktop small stoves made of pure copper.
The picture shows the village special product exhibition and sales center built in Jiangga Village, Angren County, Shigatse City, Tibet Autonomous Region Photo: Liu Li
A better life is created by industrious hands, and the village special products exhibition and sales center that has just been built in Jiangga Village will not only display and sell Jiangga iron furnaces in the future, but also new cultural and creative porcelain, agricultural and animal husbandry products, etc. The villagers of Jiangga Village are full of expectations for the future. (China Tibet Net Reporter/Liu Li, Kawa Tashi, Chen Weiguo)