ZeShan in 2009 joined forces with Seeds Foundation and Si Yuan Foundation in supporting an initiative which aims to develop a training manual and provide “Training the Trainers” (TOT) courses for rural teachers. Developed by The Zigen Fund, an NGO committed to improving the livelihood of rural populations in China, together with experts in rural education, the manual introduces effective teaching and learning methodologies in the context of rural China, and reasserts the value of being a rural teacher.

Training has been provided to 120 county-level “master trainer” teachers in Hubei, Hebei and Yunnan provinces on how to use the manual. They are expected to train up to 3,000 rural elementary school teachers in the next three years. A conference will be held in 2011 to share best practice indicators for quality rural education, showcase the training manual, and hopefully inspire other adult education programs in rural areas.