Siem Reap, KH – Garden provides basic need for healthy food – 30 May 2014

KN were a newly married couple blessed with a 2 year old child, but they were a couple without employment. Life was tough because it was difficult to make a living and support his family in the village.  As a result, in 2012 KN decided to go Thailand to work, he was one of the many Cambodians who go abroad looking for unskilled work. His wife borrowed money and sold properties to pay for him to travel to Thailand in the hope that he would be able to work there and send the family some money.

KN worked for about 2 years and  earned very little, so he had no savings to pay for medical care when he fell ill because of his work. He then came home with so little money that he did not even have enough to pay for all his transport back to Cambodia.

In the Village they started again from scratch.  They built a little hut and started planting some vegetables but the garden did not have much success. Then KN went to visit a local family’s garden, and learned about the Food Always In The Home FAITH organic growing techniques. He was impressed with the garden and saw that it was a beautiful and productive garden. He said  “It was the inspiration of the FAITH garden that pushed me to try and have my own vegetable garden and make it successful”.

KN went to see Rey at the garden shop farm and asked him to help his family to build a garden. After KN visited the farm a few times, the garden shop team decided to help him build a FAITH garden.
Around a month after building the garden, KN said; “Now we enjoy the products produced from our garden, we are happy to see the garden providing fresh vegetables to eat, extra vegetables for sell, and help cutting back food expenses”.

Besides providing help building the garden, the NK family were able to get additional help with a chicken loan from Rey at the garden shop. The success of the garden and chickens have motivated KN’s family. So KN and his wife have started a little store that sells all kinds of everyday essential goods in small packets, or as a single item. Items like oil, shampoo, vegetables, bread, biscuits and candies.

KN says that “Thanks to the FAITH garden program, I can now supply my family, my two nieces and my mother with food”.

He also says “I am really happy about what the garden shop team have provided. They are really motivated and they have built an example garden that shows that gardening is one of the ways to help improve the lives of people, by providing for the basic need for healthy food”