Battambang, KH – Collaboration and teamwork help design organic garden program – 20 Sep 2012

A team of five collaborated together to design a Food Always In The Home (FAITH) organic vegetable garden program in Battambang, Cambodia. The team consisted of two local farmers (CP and CBL), an agricultural expert from the Philippines (Reynaldo Diez), and two consultants from Better Lives (Chris Jenkins and Michael Oliver).

The team spent one month designing the processes, costings the parts, and training the people in order to develop the programs. As the name suggest, Food Always In The Home (FAITH) organic vegetable gardens allow a family of six to consistently harvest and consume healthy vegetables from their garden every day and earn some extra income from any excess vegetables. The first FAITH gardens were developed in the Philippines, and the team based many of the best practices on the original gardens, adapting the program to local conditions, vegetables, and costs.

CP and CBL provided valuable local knowledge regarding vegetables and soil and also enjoyed learning the organic practices that the other team members taught them.

A few test gardens were built in the immediate area and were received very well by the local community. The Battambang Garden Shop are anxious to spread the program throughout the area so that they can help as many families as possible!