Siem Reap, KH – Food and income security protects family

One of the oldest and most successful Food Always In The Home (FAITH) organic vegetable garden belongs to the LY family. Their garden was built back in 2013. After a period of six months consistently harvesting and caring for her garden, LY qualified for a micro-loan to purchase two piglets to fatten. She worked hard to raise the pigs and has since paid back the loan. With the remaining income from selling the pigs, she was able to purchase a water pump and extend her garden.

Since the rainy season’s arrival, things are going quite smoothly for the family and they are now focusing on developing their commercial garden and selling their products. Over the past two months, they have made over US $300 from selling cucumbers and eggplant alone. LY says that the FAITH garden program has taught her the importance of producing multiple products at different times of the year so that she can always have something to bring to the market. She also has learned the importance of raising animals, like ducks chicken and pigs. She said that she feels like she is finally able to breathe now that she can provide for her family’s basic needs.

The LY family continue to work hard and maintain their productivity despite the many challenges they face that include severe dry seasons, pests and low market prices for vegetables. Earlier in the year, their five year old son was hospitalized for a short period of time due to sudden illness. As a result of the extra income the family have made, they were able provide timely medical care and their son was able to make a full recovery.