Empower Cambodian Communities to Protect Forests

The Community Agricultural Development Program (CADP) was created in response to an urgent need to stop deforestation caused by unsustainable slash-and-burn cultivation, a direct result of the extreme poverty of farmers living isolated in the heart of the Southern Cardamom Mountain Range. Since 2004, Wildlife Alliance has offered alternative, sustainable livelihoods to the families of Sovanna Baitong, providing agricultural expertise and lifting families out of a cycle of poverty and destruction. An important part of CADP is building local institutional capacity. One aspect of this is the Community Fund, a revolving micro-credit fund which includes compulsory and voluntary savings for families participating in the program at Sovanna Baitong.

The voluntary savings component has already generated $2,310 in deposits. Members of the group have access to this fund for emergencies such as medical, school or ceremonial expenses. These funds can also be loaned out to community members to purchase equipment or start new businesses. The group members collectively decide on loan applications and how to distribute these funds.

The compulsory savings component of the fund has reached $5,626. This form of savings has remained intact in the Community Association’s bank account since 2004, and will be used by the Association for future operation costs and continued development of infrastructure. The association chief, credit chief, and association accountant are responsible for the disbursement of this component. 

The Community Fund has been a successful endeavor, as loans that were dispersed to community members for generating new income have all been paid back on time and in full, and have resulted in higher household incomes. The Community Fund remains an important aspect of CADP, as it not only gives community members access to loans for emergencies and business development, but also provides a sense of security and pride to the community as a whole. This is an integral part to our model for sustainable conservation as it protects the community from having to return to previous slash and burn practices of farming.

In Sovanna Baitong, where Wildlife Alliance’s Community Agriculture Development Project (CADP) has been located since 2004, the community is made up of mostly former slash and burn farmers, illegal loggers, and wildlife poachers.  The target monthly income for participants was set at $40, roughly equivalent to what they were making through illegal activities. However, by the end of 2011, more than 42% of families were generating a monthly income of over USD $120. With this increase in income it has been essential to strengthen community values and create social cohesion through not only economic opportunities but also community empowerment.  For that reason, the Community Agriculture Association was created at the outset of the project and has been growing ever since.  The strengthening of civil society is vital for long term development, as these families previously lived in the forest and came from extreme isolation and poverty, with little knowledge about basic infrastructure necessary for community living. The Association functions to lead and manage the community’s agricultural production with the goal of self-sufficiency and sustainability.

The Community Agriculture Association helps villagers take managerial control of developing their community, so that they will be able to maintain and advance it well in to the future. It is made up of different service groups focusing on agriculture, marketing, credit, health, education, and natural resource management. These groups promote solidarity, cooperation, community participation, basic community services and biodiversity conservation. With constant innovation and evolution necessary for sustained development, 2011 saw the creation of a new service group, the Key Support Committee. The goal of this committee is to provide key development initiatives or projects for the community that will create additional revenues and new opportunities to the families. In the short time since its creation, the committee has been instrumental in the implementation of new projects such as cassava growing, choosing the site location for the new pre-school, repairing the mechanical bull, and creating a new system of water recording.

Due to the immense success of the Community Agriculture Development Project, the Association also works to promote these ideas throughout the country. Today, villagers of Sovanna Baitong are not only active participants on a regional scale, but also on a national level, leading the charge for alternative sustainable livelihoods, communal democratic management, and better stewardship of lands. 

In the rural Cambodian village of Sovanna Baitong, where Wildlife Alliance’s Community Agriculture Development Project is located, 187 families have been provided the tools to increase their household income in ways that are sustainable for both their families and the environment they used to destroy.  What is remarkable about this community however, is the indispensable role that women have come to play in the community at-large.

In many families women are managing their household, determining what crops to grow during which season and what techniques to use.  Outside of their homes, women hold the majority of the leadership positions in the community.  Of the 10 senior positions on the Agriculture Association – the body of community members that manages life in the village – 7 are held by women.  They run such groups as the Marketing Group, which sets prices for village goods in local markets; the Credit group, which manages the Community Fund and loans to villagers; and the Education group, which oversees educational facilities and curricula in the community.  That group even facilitated the creation of a preschool in the last year.  Many of the major mechanisms of village society are in the hands of these women.  Women have also created small enterprises outside of the agricultural pursuits of their homes.  Small businesses such as bread-making and massage therapy have been initiated by women and have created a diversity of activity and increase in income for the whole community.  Furthermore, with the increased educational opportunities available to children in Sovanna Baitong, the next generation of women is being groomed for leadership.

It is important that these women – formerly landless, many uneducated – find empowerment through their community in Sovanna Baitong.  Ensuring their agency in the activities of the community ensures the success of the project and the future of these families.

Wildlife Alliance has been working in the village of Sovanna Baitong since 2004.  In that time, the organization has helped the villagers learn about modern agriculture methods, including crop rotation and drip irrigation, assisted in the creation of the Agriculture Association and the implementation of the Agriculture Store and Nursery, and helped to set up schools and health care facilities.  So far, the success of these initiatives speak for themselves – the villagers have seen an increase of 300% in their income.  But eight years on, the focus of Wildlife Alliance’s efforts in Sovanna Baitong have shifted.  Now it is important to work on capacity building and community management so that members of the community take on more and more responsibility for the administration of their neighbors and environment.

Recently, there have been major strides made towards this goal.  Important components of the infrastructure in Sovanna Baitong are the Community Fund and Micro-Credit System.  Wholly managed by members of the Agriculture Association, the Community Fund already has over $5,500 in the bank in the form of compulsory savings and another $2,300 in voluntary savings on top of that.  This money will lay the foundation for the future operations of the village.  The Micro-Credit System allows families to diversify their income-generation activities.  In 2011 alone, 22 families availed themselves of new loans to start small businesses such as motorbike repair shops, fish farming, and produce trade businesses.  This entrepreneurial spirit not only brings increased energy to the village, but it helps Sovanna Baitong to grow into the regional hub for agricultural production that it is already becoming. 

Further development of the educational opportunities and extension of health care services have also helped Sovanna Baitong to grow.  Nearly 300 children are in consistent attendance at school and a pre-school program for children ages 3 to 5 has recently been implemented.  One of the main goals for families in the community is to keep their children in school longer than they themselves were able to.  The village’s 14 health volunteers also increased their training so that they can handle non-emergent issues ranging from pre- and post-natal care to immunization awareness.  The community also brought in a group of ex-pat dentists to perform free dental checks and extractions for the whole village. 

While increased agricultural production and income has been and continues to be important for the village of Sovanna Baitong, creating new opportunities, a more robust community life, and increasing capacity for community management are the vital next steps in the evolution of the village.

In 2011, the Community Agriculture Development Program instituted a community volunteer project to bring international volunteers to Sovanna Baitong to assist and enhance the work taking place there.  Volunteers from Israel and Australia have been arriving throughout the year, staying between one and three months, and bringing with them a diversity of skills and ideas to enrich life in the village.  The project has invigorated the social dynamics of the village, while at the same time laying a foundation for capacity building, youth skills development, income generation, and greater awareness of issues that villagers face. The technical assistance and support that Wildlife Alliance provides to the village can only go so far, as our focus is on the growth and improvement of agricultural practices and mechanisms for civil society.  Having volunteers spend time in the village and bring a wide variety of experiences to the table helps to diversify the knowledge that villagers have access to.

Community volunteers have undertaken some exciting initiatives since the institution of the program.  English language lessons have helped both children and adults develop skills in English to help with educational and employment opportunities.  Arts and crafts activities for the children are not only entertaining but teach a new skill and make use of recycled materials that help with natural resource management.  Volunteers have helped establish a women’s group where female community members can share life experiences, communicate aspirations, and find mutual support.  Entrepreneurial and managements skills have been taught to some of the community youth through the establishment of library that they run on their own and a small bread-making business.  Other business opportunities have been provided to the community as a whole through the construction of a wood-fire brick oven and training in massage.

The biggest project that the community volunteers undertook in 2011 was the creation of a community youth center.  The idea stemmed from a desire to create a safe and comfortable, open air place where children and their families could convene, hold meetings, celebrations, and other activities.  In order to give the community a sense of ownership, they were invited to help with the construction from the ground up.  Some children and teenagers helped build the walls, roof, and few wooden tables for the center.  In an effort to involve the wider community and raise awareness about the purpose of the center, community leaders were invited to a meeting to explain the center and encourage their dissemination of information about it.  They were also asked to collect panels of grass-thatch from their neighbors to construct the roof.  In an inspiring moment of community spirit, groups from all three phases of Sovanna Baitong donated more than 200 roof panels!  The community volunteers have obviously been a great asset in the village and we look forward to more volunteers in 2012!