The family that six months ago came to China to get a break from their previous lives. R is 27 years old and works now as a small scale farmer. His wife Y is 31 years old and they have 1 child. They live in a rented 1-bedroom house. The best thing about the house is its location, but they aren’t happy with the quality of the house. Their most loved possession is their family members. The family’s dream is to get the certificate to grow hemp.

The Japanese family living in China. R is 27 years old and works as a small scale farmer. His wife Y is 31 years old and looks after the household. They have one child, W, who is 1 year old. Together they work 148 hours a week. The family moved from Tokyo, Japan, all the way to a nature retreat in Yunnan, China, to take a break from their urban lifestyle. They rented a 1-bedroom home with a small farm and started living here 6 months ago. The house has uninterrupted electricity, a water supply in their yard that is safe to drink, and a toilet in their yard which is shared with 2 other families. They produce almost all of their own food and spend 30% of their income on buying the rest. They cook with electricity, natural gas, coal, and wood. The family is not saving money. More than half their income is spent on rent. There is nothing that they are planning on buying. They hope one day to be able to fulfill their dream of buying a certificate for growing hemp.