Li Chuanfu and his wife explain the problems they face in their efforts to rebuild their farmhouse, which was destroyed in the Sichuan earthquake on May 12, 2008. In the background is the front section of the house - the only part still standing. [John Sexton/China.org.cn]

But what Li Chuanfu really wanted to do was show us his old farmhouse just a few hundred meters from the settlement. He led us on his motor scooter to the ruins of what used to be a substantial courtyard house by the roadside, adjoining his farm. Only the entrance gate is still standing; the other three sides have collapsed. A ginger cat mewled incessantly and a white dog with a black patch on his face faithfully stood guard in the ruins as Li Chuanfu and his wife showed us round. To the rear, the blue government tent the family lived in for three months after the earthquake is still standing.

Li Chuanfu told us the government is about to begin construction of permanent homes nearby. That may be his most likely prospect of re-housing, but his aim is to rebuild his old home. He hopes to move back in within three years.

"I am going to try my best to rebuild, but it all depends on how much help we get from the government and others," he said.

Li's problem is that he needs more than 100,000 yuan to rebuild the farmhouse. The government will give him a subsidy of 22,000 yuan, half paid when building starts, half when the house is completed, but that leaves a gap of around 80,000 yuan. He told us he may be able to raise a further twenty thousand or so in loans, leaving him 60,000 yuan short. The gap seems just too wide for him to bridge

Other people in the settlement told us the same story; Deng Minlin, a young man of 22 or 23 who used to have a thriving business making and selling cheesecake, said the average price of rebuilding is around 80,000 yuan, leaving people with 60,000 to make up from loans or savings. The traditional way of raising money was to travel to eastern China to work in factories, but the collapse of exports due to the financial crisis has made it difficult to find work.

The Red Cross and other NGOs are providing rebuilding aid in Sichuan, but they are targeting the very poorest families among the homeless and Mr Li may not qualify for their assistance. In any case, NGO grants are unlikely to be large enough to bridge the funding gap he faces.

On the face of it, raising the 60,000 yuan he needs seems an impossible feat, but unless and until Mr Li manages it, the government subsidy will remain a paper promise.

When I asked him how he would manage he replied with the characteristically independent outlook of a small farmer, saying simply, "I will just have to rely on myself."

(China.org.cn May 11, 2009)