Monks help farmers with harvest

Farmers in the quake zone have not only lost their homes, but also their farms. The disaster is compounded because many borrowed money to build them. Many volunteers are willing to lend a helping hand - among them, Buddhist monks.

The farmer asked our reports to help them do one thing. She says she wants to sell the remaining mushrooms at a low price, just to make some money. She lives in Jiandi Township, Shifang, in Sichuan.

Each of these bags of mushroom spores costs two yuan, or about 30 US cents. After the quake destroyed the farms, the rainstorms soaked the bags. Master Suquan, abbot of Shifang's Luohan Temple, decided to bring his team of monks and volunteers to help harvest what's left, and sort out what spores can still be used. The abbot hopes they can save up to a third of the expected harvest.

Master Suquan, Abbot of Luohan Temple in Shifang said "With our help, we hope we can also bring the farmers courage to rebuild their lives. They were deeply sad after the quake. These farms are everything to them. Some said they would rather sacrifice their house than let their mushrooms rot in the field. I hope we can do a little to encourage them."

After almost a day, the work on this farm is almost finished. Master Suquan plans to joins his other group at another farm nearby.

Missing from the teams are the oldest monks. They wanted to come, but Master Suquan said no. Still, the age limit for the teams is 70.

The owner of this farm, Leng Changyuan, was so overwhelmed by the monks' help that he couldn't speak to us.

His wife blames nature for their hardship.

Liu Qiyu, farmer of Jiandi Township of Shifang said "The earthquake shouldn't have struck such a broad area. If you have to have an earthquake, have it only on our place. You have struck so many places. "

Liu Qiyu's house collapsed. All she and her husband have left is a mattress. She hopes she can get government loans to re-start her farm. And if necessary, she plans to send her husband to look for work outside the village, while she tends the farm.