Siem Reap, KH – HCP family grows closer through gardening– 30 Sep 2016

HCP lives with his wife and five children in Peaksneng village in Cambodia.  He is able to feed his children organically grown vegetables from his garden. He believes the garden has made his family closer because they all help out and take pride in their daily harvest.

HCP has worked hard his whole life and is a leader in his community.  He inherited half a hectare from his parents on which he grows rice and he bought a smaller plot of land where he grows cassava.  Before building his organic vegetable garden, his family used to buy vegetables that were grown in bulk using chemicals and had low nutritional value.  He and his family love eating the fresh organic vegetables from their garden because they taste better and there is a noticeable improvement in the nutrients they are receiving.  The garden also gives the HCP family a chance to work together and bond.  They all take great pride in their garden and have grown closer since planting it.

The family faced a major grasshopper infestation three months after planting their organic vegetable garden, so the Peaksneng Thormacheat Garden Shop taught them to make and use an all-purpose natural pest repellent. There have been no reported issues since learning this new skill.  HCP even started adapting the organic techniques he learned from the shop to improve his larger farm.

Although he raises pigs, chickens and ducks, he would like to increase his income so that he will be able to continue to send all five of his children to school.  He is interested in raising additional pigs and is looking into joining a village cow share.  The family also dream of improving their home so that they can sleep peacefully even in the harsh rainy season.