People prepare to plant trees to control water and soil loss in the county last month. [Photo by QIU JIARUI/FOR CHINA DAILY]

New approach

In 1999, the couple decided to try growing chestnut trees. "On the television news, I saw that people had managed to plant grapes, even on stony mountainsides, by making holes in the rock and filling them with fertile soil. I felt I could also make that method work," Ma said.

However, continuous rain washed away the soil and sand, ripping most of her saplings out of the sodden earth which never drained properly.

"The rain not only took away my trees but also my money," she said, noting that she and her husband had invested all their savings, about 90,000 yuan, and borrowed more than 200,000 yuan.

"Some villagers said bad things about me. They said they felt sorry for my husband for marrying a woman who wasted money on barren mountains. Despite that, I refused to give up because I had put so much energy and money into my career," Ma said.

When she contacted experts from the local soil and water conservation center, they advised her to dig drainage ditches on the top of the mountain and build barriers at the foot to retain the water.

Later, under the guidance of local experts, she planted a kind of thick grass that helped retain the soil and water.

Ma also bought a suction truck and collected human waste from toilets in schools and other institutions. The fertilizer helped her trees bear fruit.

Now, she rents 32 hectares of mountainous land, where she keeps thousands of pigs and has also cultivated many chestnut trees.

This year, she planted about 7,000 new orange trees. Her annual income is about 1.8 million yuan ($283,000).

"Having seen my yields, some other villagers began to follow my lead," Ma said.