Help Rural Cambodians Escape Hunger and Poverty

A few years ago, Trailblazer organized an agricultural training course on the Integrated Farming System in Rom Deng Village. This training is aimed to help local farmers improve their livelihoods by using sustainable farming methods.

Mr. Chhon was one of the beneficiaries of this training. A recent interview was conducted with him and his family to understand how the training has impacted his family’s life and farming practices.

Before receiving the agricultural training, Mr. Chhon worked as a construction worker. He did not have enough knowledge or skills in farming, and his family mostly depended on unstable daily wages. They faced difficulties in earning enough income and had limited access to homegrown food.

Mr. Chhon’s family experienced both economic and health challenges. With little income, they could not afford to buy enough nutritious food or take care of health needs properly. Their living conditions were modest, and they often struggled to meet daily expenses.

After completing the Integrated Farming System training, Mr. Chhon began applying what he learned. He started planting many types of vegetables and raising chickens and ducks around his house. These changes greatly improved his family's income and food security. Now, he can harvest and sell vegetables and poultry, earning around 2,000,000 Riel [$500USD] per month. This is quite a substantial amount when you see that the average annual salary for a farmer in Cambodia is 13,079,500 Riel [$3,270USD]. It is clear that Trailblazer’s Integrated Farming System training is working and helping to reduce poverty and hunger.

Mr. Chhon proudly shared how his life has changed. His home garden is now filled with various crops and livestock, providing a stable source of food and income. His family eats more nutritious meals, and they are no longer dependent on outside work. He is also more confident and proud of being a farmer.

Thanks to the support and training from Trailblazer, Mr. Chhon’s family now enjoys a better quality of life. The Integrated Farming System has not only increased their income but also strengthened their health and self-reliance. Mr. Chhon expressed deep gratitude for the opportunity to learn and grow through this meaningful agriculture project.

With your support you too can help other villagers escape hunger and poverty like Mr. Chhon.

Trailblazer’s Food Security program is focused on improving the quality and quantity of food our rural partners eat, thereby reducing the villagers’ hunger and poverty.  At the core of Trailblazer 's Food Security program is the five trainings we provide to village farmers in Siem Reap province.

These education courses help improve the people’s knowledge about how to better grow crops so they can better feed their families, that helps reduce malnutrition and poverty. 

 Our five trainings include:

-  Soil Preparation and Management

-  Horticulture

-  Organic Pesticides/Fertilizers

-  Composting

-  Homestead Garden cultivation and management

Farmer participants are identified through a local needs assessment process. Trailblazer's staff visit the village chiefs and interested farmers to identify farmers that are best suited to participate in the training courses. This determination is laregly made based on the nutritional needs of the farmer's family, the motivation of the farmer to attend the trainings and institute the skills and knowledge gained, and the farmer's land capacity for agricultural puruits.

The story below is just one example of the success that Trailblazer's agricultural education can have on rural farmers, their families and their community.

Mr. and Mrs. Van and their three children live in a village about an hours drive outside of Siem Reap city. They are farmers of two hectares of land a little way from their village. They have been growing rice and vegetables on it for many years.

The Van family were one of 25 farming families in this area to be part of the agricultural education program run by Trailblazer.

A former Board member, Justine, met the family and talked about the impact of the program with Trailblazer's Food Security Manager, Chanto.

Chanto began by explaining that the first step when working with farmers new to the program is to assess their land to determine which crops will grow and how best to improve the soil.

The second step is to engage with the local market to find out the crops, and in what amounts and of what quality, are most desirable. The link between the farmer as the producer and the market as the buyer was critical for the economic development of individual farming families was emphasized.

Chanto described that the program's success relied on working alongside farmers intensely for a year, teaching them how to maximise their yield of quality produce and nurture their land so they could grow more over time. The ongoing assessment, advice and recommendations tailored to each farmer over the first year was followed up with periodic checking-in and practical advice in the second year.

The Van family completed the program and experienced real benefits from having gone through the program. Mrs. Van told Justine about the impact on her family. “Our lives are easier, less stressful.” She said. “We now grow better rice and vegetables. We have vegetables to take to the market all year round now. It used to be just one crop.”

Chanto reported that the family’s income had increased about 150% through the changes they had made, and there was potential to increase that even more. The family had also diversified and were raising cows to sell for beef. The big shift was that the family had gone from growing food just to feed themselves to being focused on the business of making a sustainable income by supplying produce and beef to the local market for sale.

The family also experienced the added benefits of having had a well installed by Trailblazer. The consistant supply of water means they can manage easily through the dry season with the water being used to irrigate the crops, water the cows and for the family's personal needs.

“Our lives are changed,” Mrs. Van told Justine. “Before, we just had a little money and now we have a lot more.  We work a lot more, and it is good for my husband and our children.”

The Van family is planning ahead, secured a water filter from Trailblazer and intend to buy some adjacent land so they can increase their production even more. Participation in the Food Security program truly paid off for the Van family.

You can help a rural family too by supporting Trailblazer's Food Security program with your caring and generous gifts. The impact you can make is life changing.