Success comes from endeavors and creativity
The Integrated Community Development programme in Preah Vihear province (ICD-PVH) of Development and Partnership in Action (DPA) continues to coordinate with the Misereor consultant to reflect the People Lead Development Process (PLDP) concept and practice for enhancing community self-reliance and sustainability. The PLDP process enables us to carefully listen to the current issues of villagers, existing local experiences and knowledge dealing with their issues by using local knowledge and resources and mobilising the local resource.
Mrs. Phay Bunny, aged 54, is a widow who lives in Krasang village, Chhaeb Mouy commune, Chhaeb Mouy district, Preah Vihear province, with her three sons and one daughter. In the past, her family was one of the poorest families in the village since she is a widow and has a small area of lowland rice. In addition, she and her children need to go to the forest to hunt for mushrooms, bamboo shoots and dry resin to sell, so they are unable to school with the other children in the village.
“In order to solve my family’s livelihood, my children and I try to expand our area of lowland rice for transplanting rice,” she said. “In addition to working in the rice field, about our neighbours’ experiences and techniques in planting crops like cucumber, string beans and corn and rearing animals like chickens and pigs, and we also recently started weaving thatch to get more income”.
Each year, Bunny’s family is able to earn more income from their activities, which ranges from 800,000 iels to 900,000 Riels from vegetables and 100,000 Riels to 150,000 Riels from corn planting. This year, she can earn 150,000 Riels from selling of thatch.
“I will expand my vegetable growing and corn planting because this has helped my family improve our livelihood and my children can go back to school. I am no longer as worried as in the past even though I still get low yield from rice planting.” she said.
Ms. Van Sina, aged 38, is a neighbour of Mrs. Bunny, who said “I am deeply interested in her vegetable and corn planting because this work has helped her family have better livelihood. This year, I am starting to prepare a home garden and have found a place to plant corn near the stream and I hope to learn from Ms. Bunny about techniques in planting crops. I hope to get more income from vegetables and corns planting like my neighbour.”
DPA-Preah Vihear continues to encourage the poor and the poorest families to understand the possibility of local resource helping resolve common issues. This is also likely to improve community solidarity and enhance self-reliance in a development sustainable manner.