Siem Reap, KH – Family increases productivity through organic principles

PWP and his wife moved to Peaksneng village, Cambodia after they were married, with ambitions to build a successful life and healthy family together. However, they arrived with very little money and lacked the knowledge to cultivate productive assets. Now, they have a productive organic cucumber farm and vegetable garden, have qualified and repaid a piglet fattening micro-loan, and have numerous chickens and ducks for which they are able to earn income from selling.

PWP inherited a piece of land where he built a small hut and planned to start a cucumber farm. Shortly after building his hut, he started noticing small productive gardens around the village. He enquired with one of his neighbors and discovered that the gardens were part of Peaksneng Thormacheat Garden Shop’s Food Always In The Home (FAITH) organic vegetable garden program. PWP contacted Reynaldo Diez, the shop manager, to learn about the techniques they use in their gardens. He visited the farm and learned how to create and maintain soil productivity using compost, rice hull charcoal, crop rotation, and various natural sprays. Using the knowledge that he gained, he prepared his 1,000 square meter piece of land using compost and rice hull charcoal, then planted cucumbers. In order to pay for the seeds, they took a loan from the seed company. After two months, the harvest was ready and he was able to earn approximately US$150 after repaying his loan! With this money he was able to purchase chickens and ducks and to prepare their their land for planting rice.

Knowing that it was important to not plant the same thing in the same area twice to maintain soil fertility, PWP applied for an organic vegetable garden through the Peaksneng Thormacheat Garden Shop so that he could learn to plant other vegetables. The garden shop helped him to plant morning glory, long beans, basil, bitter gourds, and eggplants in his newly built garden. After six months of maintaining his garden, he qualified for a micro-loan to raise two piglets for which he earned US$200 net income.

Last year, the dry season hit the PWP family hard and made it difficult to grow anything especially after his hand dug well dried up, so he went one month without a successful crop. The welcome rainy season came and PWP worked hard to develop his garden and farm back to a productive level to where it has stayed.

Now PWP makes his own compost and natural sprays using chicken manure, pig manure and other waste materials around his house to keep his garden productive. His wife gave birth to a baby boy in 2014 which focuses PWP on improving their home so that their child can sleep in a secure environment. He also dreams of diversifying his income sources so that he is not vulnerable to droughts in the future.