The objectives and the Combination of specific activities
Livelihood Improvement through Ecological Agriculture / Technical School

¥

Program background

Economic indicators have shown that Cambodia has continued sustainable growth. However, the country is dependent on imports from foreign countries for most of the raw materials used in the industrial sector. The kind of economic growth happening has hardly brought advantage for vast majority of the people.

Population in rural areas accounts for over 80 % of total population, but their agricultural output reach to only 30 % of GDP and 70 % of domestic income is concentrated within only 20 % of the population. The gap between the rich and the poor tends to grow wider as Cambodia has yet to establish a system to redistribute wealth equitably.

In fact, the manufacturing sector is not yet mature enough to absorb labor from rural areas even though more and more people are moving from rural areas to urban areas as many have lost their properties due to difficulties, which in turn leads to the spread of poverty in urban areas.

In order to sever this vicious cycle, it is essential to improve the livelihoods of rural villagers.

Summary of activities

1. Community Livelihood Improvement through Ecological Agriculture and Natural Resource Management (CLEAN) - Siem Reap Province

JVC launched the Community Livelihood Improvement through Ecological Agriculture and Natural Resource Management (CLEAN) in Chi Kreang and Sutr Nikom Districts in Siem Reap Province in 2007 for an initial phase of 3 years. Under the CLEAN project, JVC sets up agricultural training to increase production through ecological agriculture (EA), without chemical fertilizers and pesticides that are a heavy burden on both farmers' livelihood and the environment.

2008 Annual Report

About 1,000 farmers participated in EA training on the System of Rice Intensification (SRI). The far-mers successfully increased their yields 2.4 times on average. In fiscal year 2008, JVC also introduced a new method of rice planting involving feeding ducks in paddy fields on a trial to control pests and weeds. About 300 farmers in 10 villages were engaged in nutrition gardening in order to secure a stable yield of vegetables. In addition, JVC set up training for cultivating young plants and 9,495 young plants were grown. After that, JVC provided tree planting training 13 times, and distributed 7,032 young plants to 238 families in 15 villages upon request, 1,450 young plants to five elementary schools, and 193 young trees to two villages for their public reservoirs.

2009 Annual Plan

JVC will not only set up EA training on System of Rice Intensification (SRI), nutrition, home gardening and composting but also go ahead with its projects centering on environmental education (EE) and tree planting for schools and communities. JVC is eager to create opportunities to discuss various issues in daily lives of farmers, and provide support for group activities for these farmers upon their request.

2. Environmental Education, Trainers' Resource Center (TRC) - Kandal Province

JVC is managing a library of documents on sustainable agriculture and the environment for farmers, students and NGO staff, known as the "Trainers' Resource Center" (TRC), in Phnom Penh. At the TRC, we lend out books, posters and audiovisual materials free of charge. In addition, JVC is also managing "Community Resource Centers" (CRCs) for farmers and prisoners in rural areas and two prisons. JVC is also providing environmental education in primary schools and the TRC to increase awareness of the environment and agriculture among younger generations.

2008 Annual Report

JVC provided environmental education to 694 students in five primary schools in Angk Snuol District in Kandal Province. JVC also held a series of seminars on the environment and development for university students and young NGO staff at the TRC in Phnom Penh, in which 34 people participated. The TRC obtained 172 new books, and now houses 6,427 books. A total of 674 people, including university students, visited the TRC. In CRCs in rural areas, JVC held seminars for members of the library management committees to reinforce their management ability. As a result, all CRCs now take responsibility for bookkeeping required in the management of their libraries.

2009 Annual Plan

JVC will provide environmental education for 4 primary schools in Sout Nikom District, Siam Reap Province, in fiscal 2009. Making good use of its experience, JVC is willing to have exchanges with teachers, who are in charge of environmental education, in the Angk Snuol District, Kandal Province. In addition, JVC will not only continue to open the libraries of CRCs to university students and NGO staff but also work to foster human resources through a series of seminars, and develop materials to be used in environmental education and agricultural training.

3. Santa Piep Technical School (JVC technical school) - Phnom Penh

With a goal to foster young people who will take responsibility for the future of the country, JVC has been providing automotive technical training since 1985. At present, about 120 students are learning auto mechanic and repair work. The school has been financially selfsufficient since 2000, being able to continue free training, employing 37 instructors such as teachers, mechanics and staff members of the school, thanks to the income from the repair workshop affiliated to the technical school. JVC is providing support for students' living expenses as well as giving counsel to the school on its management.

2008 Annual Report

At the request of Cambodian government, a new workshop and school started in a new site. The in-auguration ceremony was postponed until fiscal year 2009 due to the delay in the transfer of juris-diction over the workshop and school. The school budget including school management expenditure ran into the red because of the suspension of workshop operations and the decline in the number of customers, but the deficit was covered by funds from companies using facilities in the former workshop. At present, the school has a total of 150 students, of whom, 50 of the freshmen and 50 of the sophomores are exempted from tuition.

2009 Annual Plan

To continue to provide free training in the technical school, JVC will improve services of the workshop affiliated to the school for stabilizing the workshop's income. The technical school will accept 100 new students in October and continue to offer scholarship to a total of 200 students, 100 freshmen and 100 sophomores, as the occasion demands.