Enterprise Citizen ｜ Helenbergh Helps Industry to Produce Honey, Bringing “Fresh Current” to Rural Revitalization

Rural revitalization is the key to national renaissance. In the future rural revitalization, the role of enterprise is inevitable. Actually, in recent years, many enterprises have already fulfilled the social responsibility and taken part in rural revitalization.

As early as Jun. 2018, Helenbergh has signed supporting agreement with Jinggangshan city Jiangxi Province, taking Dongshang County as the first pilot town, to help the region and its people get rich by industry. According to relevant person in charge, Helenbergh will face the new situation and new challenge with devotion to rural areas and rural residents. It will spare no effort in rural revitalization, showing the responsibility of enterprises in the new era by practical action.

Helenbergh established industry poverty alleviation base in Dongshang County Jinggangshan City.

Supporting Mode of Whole Industry Chain

In Aug. 2020, according to the “Work Updates”published by Jiangxi Bee-keeping Institute, with the help of Helenbergh, Jaignxi Bee-keeping institute, comprehensive test promotion station in central and south of Jiangxi, and the local government, bee-keeping industry in Jinggangshan has achieved unprecedented pace of development: there are 1200 bee-keepers, bee-keeping scale of over 8000 boxes, and 16 poor villages with bee-keeping as the leading industry, helping more than 60 low income families and over 140 impoverished people.

Actually, Jinggangshan is not only a region of revolutionary, but also a treasury with good environment. Data showed that Jinggangshan is the world biosphere reserve, and also the national 5A scenic spot and the national natural reserve, with more than 3400 types of plants including wild osmanthus, semiliquidambar cathayensis, Hovenia acerba, shansheying, and Chinese tallow tree. It covers an area of 1298 square kilometers and mountain forest area of 1120 square kilometers, with the forest coverage rate of 86.2%. The high mountains, dense forest and clear water makes it a natural bee farm with abundant nectar sources and excellent environment.

Previously, the bee-keeping of original ecology and traditional honey making method was very famous here. However, in the new era, the traditional method is no longer applicable due to its small scale, low technological content and low production. In recent years, the bee-keeping industry here remained in a standstill.

In order to revitalize traditional industry, in June 2018, during the critical period of enhancing and upgrading the poverty alleviation of Jinggangshan Jiangxi, Helenberh actively responded to the country’s call, chose to revitalize bee-keeping industry in this old revolutionary base areas after visiting many places in China, and signed supporting agreement with Jinggangshan City taking Dongshan County as the first pilot town. Helenbergh invested manpower and materials here, select a professional team to be stationed, started the industrial poverty alleviation mode of “enterprise+scientific research institution+cooperation+farmer”, with the plan of applying supporting mode of whole industry chain to realize continuous development of the industry, helping the region and its people to get rich with industrial development.

Helenbergh applied supporting method of whole industry chain towards bee-keeping industry of Dongshang County. The picture shows that Helenbergh is setting up Shiye Shanmi Development Company Limited in Jinggangshan Green Food Industrial Park.

In order to do well in industrial poverty alleviation, Yi Wei and Chen Fangding became the first “pioneers”of poverty alleviation sent by Helenbergh. Yi Wei remembered that when he went to Dongshang County Jinaggnagshan from Guangzhou, there was nothing in this place. They started from scratch. They only spent no more than 50 days from design paper, to workshop building and moving in equipment, and to the production of first batch of honey. “Our efficiency is quite good. We usually work late until midnight, and continue from eight in the morning everyday.”

According to Yi Wei, they didn’t have much experience at the initial stage. They explored their way out with many frustrations, so that the first products had some flaws. “We were not sure about package production and quality inspection, and not familiar with the equipment. We had to turn to professional people.”

In order to implement poverty alleviation into details and participate in the accurate supporting, Helenbergh established Shiye Shanmi Development Company limited in Jinggangshan. With the help of local government, Helenbergh employed expert team in Jiangxi Bee-keeping Institute to provide technical guidance to bee-keepers in the whole county, invested 10 million yuan to construct two fully automatic production factories, established the first packing line of natural ripe honey in Jiangxi, formed the industrial poverty alleviation mode of “enterprise+scientific research institution+cooperation+farmer”, and created the “new poverty alleviation mode of whole industrial chain” integrating production, processing and sales, so as to rapidly promote the entire bee-keeping industry.

Dongshang County Becomes the “Town of Honey” in Jinggangshan

According to the industrial poverty alleviation mode of “enterprise+scientific research institution+cooperation+farmer”, Helenbergh actively guided bee-keepers and low income families to join the bee-keeping team, and led poverty-stricken households capable of labor to develop bee-keeping career by signing contract with them. Adopting scattered bee-keeping and unified return management, Helenbergh collected bee-keeper’s honey above market price and then packaged and sold. The honey is collected once a year, and the benefit will be returned to the village collective economy at the end of the year.

Meanwhile, Helenbergh also provide fund and technical support to bee-keepers with packaged price, so as to ensure the low income families with capital investment can obtain 15% bonus. By investigation, signing contract, teaching, demonstration breeding, honey collection and producing and packaging, a closed loop of mature process from breeding to selling is connected.

Helenbergh actively guided excellent bee-keepers and low income families to join the bee-keeper team.



Moreover, in order to solve the difficulties in getting enough drinking water for people in the county, Helenbergh donated 3 million yuan to start Helenbergh Loving Care Project of Drinking Water, inviting professional construction team, and participating and inspecting the whole process from choosing high-quality water source to laying pipelines and reservoir construction. At the end of 2018, as the completion of Loving Care Project of Drinking Water, Helenbergh has thoroughly solved the basic water need for the local people.

“Provide people with money is not as good as provide them with method of earning money”, and the industrial poverty alleviation has brought income increase and the joy of getting rich for bee-keepers. Li Xinliang is a low income resident in Pulong Village Dongshang County. His son cannot move freely due to physical disability, and his granddaughter has cerebral palsy, so seeking medical treatment and eating medicine is an unbearable burden for his family. After understanding and checking the detailed situation, Helenbergh decided to provide him with capital and technical support, and helped him solve the product sales problems. Now, Li Xinliang’s bee-keeping scale has developed into 150 boxes with an annual honey output of almost 1,250 kilogram.

Liu Fuhua, who has not yet reached 40 years old, has had disability in left foot during work in Guangdong. He lives with his old mother in Dongshang County, with almost no income, so their living condition was quite difficult. With Helenbergh’s help, their living conditions has improved greatly. “His income has reached more than 20 thousand last year by bee-keeping. We also encouraged him to raise chickens. From last year to this year, he raised more than 100 chickens. Apart from his own sales, we also helped him to sell, and he could earn four to five thousand yuan out of it. This year, we encouraged him to learn to drive. In this way, he can be a driver during slack season to earn more money.” Said Yi Wei.

This is not the only example. In recent three years, with the help and guidance of Helenbergh, Jinggangshan has begun its scientific and sustainable development in large scale in the industry of bee-keeping. Because of the industry of bee-keeping, Dongshang County has become the “Town of Honey” in Jinggangshan.

Helenbergh Devotes More than 100 Million Yuan to Public Welfare

Dongshang County of Jinggangshan is a miniature of Helenbergh actively fulfilling its enterprise social responsibility. In fact, Helenbergh has achieved high-quality and sustainable development, and in the meantime, the company stayed true to its original inspiration by actively fulfilling each social responsibility, with accumulated devotion to public welfare of more than 100 million yuan.

It is worth mentioning that this is the first year of the 14th Five-Year Plan and embarking on the new journey to fully build a modern socialist country. The government work report of this year also proposed to fully implement the rural vitalization strategy, promote the steady development of agriculture and increase farmers’ incomes, continue to enhance the development of poverty-stricken areas, focus on agriculture production and improve production and living conditions in rural areas.

On Feb. 21, “Opinions on Comprehensively Advancing Rural Revitalization and Accelerating the Modernization of Agriculture and Rural Areas by CPC Central Committee and state Council” (the “No.1 Central Document”in 2021) was released, which is the 18th “No.1 Central Document”guiding the work related to agriculture, rural areas and farmers in the 21st century. According to the document, in order to revive the nationality and revitalize the rural area, solving the problems related to agriculture, rural areas and farmers should be the top priority in the whole Party’s work, taking comprehensively advancing rural revitalization as an important mission of the great revival of the Chinese nation. It is important to accelerate the modernization of agriculture and rural areas using the strength of the whole party and society, so as to help farmers to live a better life.

Actually, rural revitalization is a lasting issue, and a problem that must be considered to consolidate the achievements of poverty alleviation. It is important for us to do well in infrastructure construction and establish modern scientific management standards and sustainable development of the industry, so as to completely alleviate poverty and achieve revitalization.

From the perspective of industry, enterprise is the economic cell of the society, and also the intersection of multiple interest subjects, so that promoting social development is the obligatory social responsibility. Enterprises are responsible for creating economic value, and at the same time, they will also bring positive impetus to social progress and environmental harmony.