Environmental research

Six members in project team of For Livelihood And Forests had conducted VRA on 06 and 08 October 2011 in Knach and Treap, Tmei commune, Chet Borei district, Kratie province with 41 participants, 18 women, including commune councilors, village head, village elders, DoA, and local villagers. The assessment was done with extensive discussion and application of H-Form. According to the assessment, extreme climate events such as prolonged drought, irregular rainfall, increased heat, and wind storms, are increasingly facing villagers at Treap, Knach and Chranal villages. Drought is the highest priority causing water shortage for irrigation, human and livestock, and thus local villagers could not do dry season rice or home gardening, and many people and livestock face with diseases. In 2010, for instance, an outbreak of acute diarrhea was noted with 281cases, 142 female, and 6 death (DoH, 2010). As indigenous community have limited knowledge and ability to expand their crop production since they have no access to irrigation facility as they are damaged or not function thus cannot hold water for adequate use during the prolonged drought. Local indigenous people also have no knowledge of improved agriculture technologies and home gardening. In response to the current issues and need by the communities in Thmei commune to project on Improvement of indigenous community capacity to adapt to CC seeks to implement a range of initiative as follows: - Provide knowledge on CC for community to prepare and respond to drought and flash flooding, and improved agriculture and home gardening techniques; - Organize and support for SRI and home gardening practices and assist with marketing their crops; - Support SHGs so they have sufficient fund to improve their rice production and home gardening and to promote small businesses in the community to enhance household income; and - Repair Phnom Mean dike, 250m long, 4m top width, 3 m high, and build a sluice gate in Knach village, and rehabilitate Tapong pond, 80m x 70m x1m, in Trea village, Thmey commune, Chet Borei district, Kratie province. 1.2 Project goal The project aims to improve community ability to adapt to drought through provision of sufficient water for household consumption, livestock raising, and irrigation of rice and home garden and repair a dike to provide people with access to enhanced rice production and community home gardening, and to improve livelihood on indigenous community in Teap, Knach and Chranal villages, Thmei commune, Chet Borei district, Kratie province. 1.3 Project outcome Outcome 1.0: Awareness raised with at least 500 participants, 250 women, including commune councilors, village heads, and members of the indigenous communities in the 3 target villages, on driving factors for CC, preparedness and response to drought, improved agriculture production, home gardening and at least 220 farmers, 100 female, from 45 households applied SRI in both wet and dry season rice farming and also home gardening. Outcome 2.0: Access to sufficient water secured for 4,801 indigenous community members, 2,386 female, from 947 households, in Treap, Knach, and Chranal villages, for domestic and livestock use, irrigation and for home gardening in both wet and dry seasons. 1.3 Expected outputs and major activities Output 1.1: Knowledge gained on CC and preparedness and response to drought and improved agriculture and home gardening. Activities - Development of manual, in collaboration with NAPA Follow-up Project, UNDP Cambodia, DoA Kratie, to provide training for commune councilors, village heads, and local communities members of CC and preparedness for drought, and SRI and home gardening; - Provision of 6 trainings on CC and preparedness for drought, SRI and home gardening with at least 150 participants, 75 female, including commune councilors, village heads, and local communities members, in 3 target villages; and - Provision of 3 awareness events through screening of films on CC, preparedness, and responses to drought with at least 600 indigenous community members, 300 female, in Thmei commune. Output 1.2: SRI demonstrated for 90 farmers, 45 women, from 18 households in the 3 target villages and access to rice and vegetable by community is secured. Activities - Select, in collaboration with village head, 18 households for demonstration of SRI and home gardening, 6 households a village, based on defined and approved criteria; - Provide training on vegetable farming and drought resistant rice production and demonstration with 18 households; - Monitor and strengthen the demonstration of rice and home gardening with farmers interested in SRI and home gardening; - Organize field visits to demonstrated rice and home garden, one per village, in collaboration with Kratie DoA and commune council with at least 60 farmers, 25 female, when the fields are prepared and plants are grown when the farmers can share their knowledge and experience they generated; and - Facilitate, in collaboration with CEDAC, the effort to find the market for their products. Output 1.3: SHGs established participated by 450 farmers, 300 women, from 90 households of indigenous community, with fund available for making loan to members to expand their rice and vegetable production and for small business development in the community. Activities - Organize SHGs, in collaboration with village heads, in the 3 target villages; - Provision of USD400 to each of the 3 SHGs in collaboration with commune counci

Cambodia