The benefits of permaculture garden

Mr. Khut is 55 years old. He is developing his home gardening after he has joined in the permaculture training in a village supported by the project. After he has made the garden for his own family, he was also able to share to his neighbor the techniques and its benefits who then adopts them and make a garden out of it. 
Please check out the video story below to learn more:

A visit to the mandala garden

Permaculture training has been proposed to conduct in the beginning of July 2018, as the result there are 59 trainee were completely participate and able to conduct and implement at home. From 4 days training the participants were able to learn about the principles, ethic, and how permaculture link to earth as well as the design of different type of gardening.

Mandala garden in Koh Krasang village

The trainees were able to learn the benefits of creating harmony earth and how gardening could help them access safe vegetable and herbs by rehabilitating the soil and created abundance food around their home either use their free land to fill with variety of cash crop and vegetable for food. As the result, most participants from the training have been making their own mandala garden and premium keyhole bed at home for family food security.

Mandala garden with banana inside

Kate from ADRA Australia visited the garden on her planning visit

Kate from ADRA Australia visited the garden on her planning visit

Permaculture Short Course Training

4 days of Permaculture short course training were done with total of 59 trainees from 9 villages in Snam Preash commune. However, within 4 days we have done many activities and lesson learn from both the trainer as well as the trainee. For the final gift for PDC training we have conduct implementing 1 mandala garden and 1 premium keyhole right there at the training venue. All our trainee were glad to join in this training and they’re were commit to make one each of keyhole and mandala garden at their home for family safe food and to improve their kid nutrition through good vegetable and animal raising.

Free ground with grasses before making keyhole bed.

4th Days of training trainee creating keyhole bed

Complete keyhole bed gardening

Complete Mandala Garden in Koh Krasang village, Bakan district, Pursat province.

Ponds for areas with greatest irrigation need and opportunity

The CHOICES for Children project of ADRA Cambodia has been facilitating pond digging by voucher discount system to support the vulnerable households in CHOICES `s coverage villages.

 The pictures below shown on the activities of pond digging in Thmey village on June 18, 2018 done by a pond contracting supplier. This pond belongs to the beneficiary as a RC member named Khem Yeab 31 years old, her husband named Bun laikee 36 years old-farmer, living with 5 children (1F eldest, 4M)- 7 days old, 3 yrs. old, 6 yrs. old, 8 yrs. old, and 14 yrs. old female. The pond size is 10 meters wide by 12 meters long with 3 meters deep. In purpose the beneficiaries use pond water to grow vegetable, using in family and for animals and etc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Most Significant Change Story - Improved gender equity and rights for poor and vulnerable women and children through empowered planning, decision making, and care.

Mrs. Oeur Theakong 54 years old living in Aren village, Snam Peahl commune, Bakan District married her husband named Soth Polounh 48 years old. They have 4 daughters and 2 sons, the youngest one is 10 years old. Main career in family, Theakong made palm cake and sell in village and her husband made palm juice and produced palm sugar. Polounh was drunk almost every day and he often beat his wife Mrs. Theakong from jealousy with other men. The family was in debt of the neighbor.  Polounh and Theakong used to migrate to work in Thailand but did not success.

Theakong has become the woman RC member since year 2016 and she regularly joined learning topics in RC discussion such as gender equity, LTP, child protection, nutrition, breast feeding, etc. She also attended chicken raising training conducted by ADRA staff in year 2016. It`s lucky her husband Mr. Polounh has become a man RC member since the beginning of year 2017 and he learned on gender equity, LTP, child protection, nutrition and etc. in RC discussion. 

Now Soth Polounh completely stopped alcohol drinking and he stopped beating his wife. He continues participation in RC discussion. He has changed habits and behaviors in doing of house`s works such as cook foods, take water from well, find fire wood, look after children, including feed chicken and plant vegetables, etc. In the last home visit by ADRA staff, saw that Polounh has good communication and delight talking with the monitoring team.

Theakong said, Since her husband has become the man RC member he helped in house`s works and did outdoor hard works for the family. Now the family is not in loan or debt. Career of chicken raising is improving the family living. Chicken/hens do not die like in the past. She is happy with getting income in the average per month 20,000 riel from chicken sale, 15,000 riel from taking care of neighbor`s buffalo, and some income from vegetable sale. Her family plans to expand chicken raising, and make home gardening to be farming gardening. “I`m thankful to ADRA team and ADRA`s supporters for the trainings I have received as well for the development activities that have been happening in my village so far” Theakong smilingly said to us. 

MANDALA Garden Propose

Training over facilitator (TOF) on RLU #10 were complete successfully to 17 Reflect Circle Facilitator men, women, and child facilitator in 5 villages: Prasat, Kampong Kdei, Rong Takok, Kon Thnout, and Damnak Trach. However, all the trainee were glad to obtain the new key message as well as the content in 5 topics in this unit roll out. Meanwhile, we are particularly understand the new technique of designing the new mandala garden for the better growth of cash crop during dry season and the rainy season.

Within 3 days we are focus on the brief discussion on the theories and objective, divided into group discussion to compare between old practice and the new practice in agriculture field work. in contrast, we have made an agreement to practice our Mandala design one at our trainee house in order to show what to prepare and how is the Mandala gardening look alike. Than the last day of the training were compromise to prepare the stuffs and the place to build the garden.

However, Khim Sreymao house have been propose and select to do this garden. In the meantime, our trainee were glad and enjoy together to build up the structure of Mandala garden. And the special part of this training is all of our trainee are able to do very well on their post-test and they’re can be able to facilitate to their group members the impact of getting involved with reflect circle group discussion.

Animal Husbandary Training

Rice harvesting time were done to many of our Reflect Circle member, it is a good time to learn new thing to improve the knowledge. Besides doing rice planting, many of the farmer seeking for the technique of raising chicken as an extra family income during the free time. As we can see that natural chicken meat having a great demand in the local market with the constant price between $3.50 to $4.25 per Kg. However, even though the local market having the great demand of natural chicken every day, still the farmer cannot raise on time to supply according to this demand.  Agriculture team having a great pursue to fulfill this lacking point over this issues. We are concerning to any struggle which is harmful to our member who lack of motivation in raising chicken for the extra income during this free time. Many farmer were losing their courage to raise chicken again just because they’re don’t know what to do while encountered chicken sick and die too many time. However, agriculture component try to put our eyes on this issue and try to figure out for any possible way to help out so that our farmer able to try again.

Likewise, 2 animal husbandry training have been proposed to 5 villages in Snam Preash commune, Bakan district, Pursat province. This training held for 3 days started from 19 to 21 of December 2017, within 3 days all the trainee should get to understand the first start and the introduction of how to get start in field of chicken raising and can be able to select the good chick to start raising, able to build the chicken house, able to make their own chicken feed, able to clean up hygiene around the cage, able to cure diseases as well as doing vaccine by themselves. After complete this training successfully we are strongly believed that all of our trainee able to work very well on animal raising at home and we also hope that they’re can be able to earn the income from raising chicken every month.


Trainer indication the technique of using vaccine CHOLERA to trainee

Our RC member were thrilling to be workout by themselves

TOT Unit 10 (Home gardening + Permaculture)

Roll out Learning Unit (RLU) # 10
Home Gardening and Permaculture Training

Handbook for TOT training.

Nutrition are essential for all living life on earth. Vegetables and the cash crop counted as the source of highly vitamin and protein for build up the healthy body. In fact, human eating vegetable and cash crop less than meat just because meat having more highly protein than the vegetable. In the meantime, we assumed that vegetable are less protein than meat and that is why human preferred meat rather than vegetable. on the other hand, as long as we eat vegetable with the large among we still having enough protein just like we eat meat too and it even more healthy than the meat. CHOICES for Children project aims to strengthening and empowering the community household to have enough vegetable and cash crop to serve in the entire family for the whole year, especially those who has encounter malnourish. Home gardening and Permaculture were the best resource to help maintenance the food supply for every household to eliminate the malnourish from the community. However, from November 21 2017 to November 22 2017 CHOICES for Children Project held out a training over trainer to staffs and community supervisor for 2 days which is support by CHOICES for Children itself Agriculture component as the trainer. Within these 2 days we were provide on 5 brief topics: 1. Soil rehabilitate in home gardening. 2, Home gardening. 3, Design of Mandala garden, 4, System of rice intensification. 5, Understanding the factors that causes animal unhealthy. each topic were given the brief explanation to the audience as well as to exchange the experience between one another so that the audience could provide the best TOF afterward to our RCF.

Socheat perform his new facilitating skill on Soil Rehabilitation in Home gardening.



Our Beautiful Home Gardening (song service)

Good participant. He got 3/10 score on the pre-test and he got 10/10 on post test

Chetra showing the technic of designing Mandala garden and he still the audience attention.

SRI group discussion

 

"Home garden is our hope! Thank you ADRA!"

Check out some lovely pictures from our staff who made a visit to one of our beneficiaries this week and has experienced seeing their smiling faces with their lovely vegetable home garden supported by our project. The family is very thankful to ADRA and the donors who have supported them with this home gardening and others in the community. They said that the garden is the hope for their family since they could earn the income and sustain the family's livelihood.

Mrs. Korn is very happy and proud with her crop growing

Mrs Korn's family is happy with his home garden

checking the garden

checking the garden

working together at the garden

working together at the garden

Happily working together at the garden

The spring for the garden

The spring

The vegetable seeds of the garden

A very happy and successful couple at their lovely garden

A very happy and successful couple at their lovely garden

A very happy and successful couple at their lovely garden

Photos: Phano Kong

Practicing new Rice improvement program!

We are in the rainy season here in Cambodia, and it is a right time for community members to start to grow and transplant their rice! Supported by our CHOICES for Children project, we have introduced the Rice Improvement Program for better yield and savings...! These techniques have been introduced in our Reflect Circle Group meetings followed by some ongoing training for those who are interest called Interest Groups. Below is a summary of the 12 key SRI practices:

1. Apply natural fertilizer (especially compost). 

2. Transplant only healthy seedlings.

3. Wider spacing between hills.

4. When transplanting, softly uproot seedlings to avoid trauma, especially to the roots.

5. Transplant young seedlings, ideally less than 15 days old.

6. Transplant fewer seedlings per hill; preferably one seedling (maximum of three).

7. Shallow transplanting.

8. Transplant seedlings quickly and carefully.

9. Transplant seedlings in a square pattern.

10. Maintain lower level of water in the rice field.

11. Weed frequently to improve soil aeration (2-4 times).

12. Level the soil of both the seedbed and rice field.

Here are some pictures showing our project team working with the farmers practicing the new techniques: