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A Story of Success!

Thing Sal currently lives with her family in the Sam Roung village, part of the Klang Hay Commune in the Srei Srnom district of Cambodia. She spent three years (1999-2002) as a migrant worker in Thailand with her husband, while her mother and grandmother raised her children at home. She was only able to visit her family once each year, and always sent money back to help support the family. She moved back to Cambodia when her mother became ill in 2002, while her husband remained working in Thailand.

 

During her time home, she started raising chickens and a pig and planted a garden with a variety of local vegetables like herbs, melon, and corn. This garden fed her family, with enough left over to sell to her neighbours, earning her about $75-100 per month. She joined an NGO and was able to extend her garden through their Harvest Climate Program.

 

Since February 2015 she has been a participant in the Rachna Satrei Income Improvement and Nutrition Project (INCOME), designed to improve the lives of women and community through education and empowerment. Her dream was to become a model of a woman with full knowledge of the agricultural sector, and a leader in her community. She credits Rachna Satrei with enabling and empowering her and other women in the community to make their dreams come true.

 

Recognizing her interest and potential for being an educator and leader of change in her community, Rachna Satrei arranged for her to get more training. Her study included communications, gender and leadership, animal husbandry, and financial management. As a result, she has expanded her farm and her family income, adding 8 pigs, 200 chickens, and 5 oxen. She’s also dramatically increased the output of her garden, building a shed and composting.

 

In all, she’s increased her income over 5x since she first started her garden. With the $500-600/year she now earns from the vegetables alone, she’s able to provide for her family, buying clothes, bicycles, and sending her children to school. Her husband has moved home from Thailand to work with her, and they now live happily with her mother and their children in a far better situation.

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