Siem Reap, KH – TP overcomes land mine injuries – 8 Feb 2014

TP and his daughter harvested radish

TP, his wife SP and their 6 children live in Peak Snaing Tmai Village, Siem Reap province.

TP is one of thousands of people who have fallen victim to land mines.  In the community, he is usually seen as a person who cannot do things on his own and even if he is working, he is still treated as incapable of finishing his tasks competently.  He wants to live life no differently than anyone else, and wants to be able to go to work in the garden, go out to eat, and enjoy life fully. With the help of his wife, he does a number of jobs to earn a small income.  He works as a fisherman, harvests timber and fuel wood from the forest. He does not want his disability to be a hindrance to his work.

TP working in the garden

However, life was a struggle for many years. Due to an insufficient water supply and poor soil fertility on his land, the family only grew rice on their farm.  They were heavily dependent on fishing and harvesting timber as firewood to sell.

When the garden shop started the vegetable garden program in the village, TP was a regular visitor to the shop’s farm.  After seeing a good example of productivity and organic farming techniques in the shop’s garden, he asked if the shop team could help him build a garden. After a few months, his family have successfully harvested morning glory, radish, lettuce, beans and gourd.

TP garden

They then began converting more of their home lot into vegetable gardens and began to grow new crops such as squash, watermelons, cucumbers, gourd and sweet potato as additional crops for income generation.  They have also built new pig pens close to their house and a compost pit, which has facilitated feeding and the collection of manure.