Bareebo: Ponds for Organic Farms in Cambodia

Bareebo will dig 20 irrigation ponds for small-holder families in rural Cambodia so they can farm organic gardens year-round to improve their food security, and produce output for sale at local markets.  This pond project is one component of a broader Bareebo program that will also provide trainings to these 20 families on organic food production and how to produce organic food for the market.

If the rains from the monsoon season could be collected and stored properly in earthen ponds, families could have access to sufficient water year-round to irrigate organic home gardens and grow food both for home consumption and for sale at the market.  This water resource will help small-scale family farmers improve their overall quality of life and increase their income.  The target groups for this project are small-holder farmers (this refers to farmers with land holdings of less than 5 hectares, which represents 85% of the farmers in the target areas) living in six rural villages located in Banan District of Battambang Province in northwestern Cambodia.

This project will provide funds solely for the pond digging efforts listed under Activity #1 below, but these same 20 small-holder families will also benefit from the efforts listed under Activity #2, though these activities will be supported from other funding sources which Bareebo has already secured.  Any donations to this project to dig irrigation ponds will be coupled with other funds to ensure that the families are capable of growing organic produce and selling it on the market.

Activity #1: Pond Digging 

Goal: Small-holder farmers have access to a year-round water supply for growing food

 	
Dig home ponds averaging 1,000 m³ each for 20 households
 	
A total of 20,000 m³ of water storage created
 	
Install 20 hand-powered water pumps
 	
Provide water/pond management training to 20 project participants

Activity #2: Organic Home Gardening for Selling at Market 

Goal 1: Project participants can produce organic food for selling at market

 	
20 project participants (one designated representative from each family) will participate in 5 full-day training courses on organic food production in home gardens
 	
20 project participants (one designated representative from each family) will participate in 3 full-day training courses on producing organic food for sale in markets

Goal 2: Project participants earn money from selling organic crops produced in home gardens

 	
Village development committees (VDC) & Self-help-group (SHG) leaders participate in 3 full-day training courses on market research
 	
20 project participants (one designated representative from each family) will participate in 3 full-day training courses on small-business management
 	
It is anticipated that 90% of project participants will report an increase in annual income because of Bareebo's project