An Overview Of Our Solution
Green Shoots Foundation's mission is to “foster Sustainable Development by promoting holistic programs that combine Economic Development with Food & Agriculture, Education or Medical Aid”.
In 2012, Green Shoots Foundation launched its Food & Agriculture and Social Entrepreneurship (FASE) Initiative in Cambodia through a series of pilot projects and with the intention to invest in the skills of people for long-term development whilst promoting environmental stewardship The initiative has been designed with 3 Stages:
Stage I: Food & agriculture vocational vegetable gardens in schools and education centers;
Stage II: Sponsorship of students for food & agriculture vocational training.
Stage III: Investment in rural food & agriculture social enterprises for young entrepreneurs.
Who is this solution impacting?
Community Type
Rural
Additional Information
- Population Impacted:
- Continent: Asia
General Information
Organization type
Nirlaba
Ecosystem (select all that apply)
Forests
Grasslands
Population impacted
12,000 people
Challenge
Size of agricultural area
42 vegetable gardens of the size 20m x 30m and one 5 ha Rice paddy (4 Ha is used for rice cultivation and 1 Ha is used for cassava)
Production quantity
Approximately 1.8 tones/ hectare for the rice paddy and varies for the vegetable garden
People employed
Agriculture trainers x 3 and farm laborers for the harvest
Solution
Describe your solution
In 2012 we piloted our first agriculture skills project for FASE in the rural town of Samrong in Odar Meanchey, Province, North West of Cambodia, 40 Km from the Thai border.
We partnered with Enfants du Mekong (EDM), a French-Cambodian NGO that operates educational centers and boarding facilities in SE Asia since 1958. Their center in Samrong is for 80 students and with them we established and provide training for:
(i) A 5 ha rice paddy that is managed by the students and
(ii) A 20mx30m vegetable garden for the education center’s kitchen.
In 2014 this approach was scaled up to the Agriculture Skills in Public Schools (ASPUS) Project. For this we partnered with a local Cambodian organization, Community-based Integrated Development (CIDO) who has an exceptional track record in grassroots interventions for agriculture and water resources.
With them we set-up, managed and advised on vocational vegetable gardens in 42 public (government-run) schools in two districts of Odar Meanchey province. Our aim is to continue with indigenous knowledge; we only replace local techniques if they are inefficient.
Our intention for 2018 is to update our strategy and transition into the second stage of FASE i.e. “Sponsorship of Students for Further Training & Education” We will focus more on vocational skills, entrepreneurship (so farmers are able to ascertain the financial viability of eco-friendly methods) and capacity building of the local partner.
Implementation
Describe your implementation
We have been running our first FASE project, Agriculture Skills in Public Schools Project, since 2014 according to the lifecycle below. 95% of the students and teachers we work with come from an agriculture background- many will be tending a rice paddy or vegetable garden alongside their day job or schooling.
For the project to be holistic and create an enabling environment we chose to focus on “Training of Trainers” modules- this meant teachers were trained and guided in creating a curriculum for organic horticulture studies in schools. Our quarterly Monitoring & Evaluation process is essential for quick problem solving and ensuring long-term improvement and change. Some of the key success factors of ASPUS have been:
• Motivated School directors and teachers
• Accessible training schedules and breaking them down into smaller components for school children
• Many schools earn a small income from selling a percentage of the vegetables- they have reinvested this in the garden or school premises. This incentivizes teachers to improve the garden and students to participate
• Community involvement, as this leads to local ownership.
Some obstacles faced have been: Firstly, the difficulty in promoting community involvement. This was overcome by reaching out to Parent-Teacher committees in the school, inviting them to training exercises and also the certificate ceremony after student training. Secondly, we were unsure if trained teachers might leave during project implementation.
What we plan to do, FASE Stage II:
Adopting a more strategic approach to technical skills delivery by three main activities:
1- Purpose-built training area (classroom and demo-site) for sponsored students. (100% eco and biodiversity friendly construction)
2- Based on performance, they will be offered apprenticeship at CIDO.
3- Capacity building of local trainers via missions from overseas trainers.
External connections
Provincial Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport in Cambodia
Provincial Ministry of Agriculture in Cambodia
Trellis Fund Partnership – access to overseas trainers (Grad student will be placed in June 2017)
(in the pipeline) Barclays in Singapore for social entrepreneurship
(in the pipeline) HEAD Foundation partnership
(in the pipeline) KOMITU Architects- eco building projects around the world.
Building relations with small organizations in the UK from where trainers can be sourced.
Gawad Kaling, our partner in the Philippines running a similar farm-based education approach
Results
What is the environmental or ecological challenge you are targeting with your solution?
The main environmental challenge we face is the lack of skills for (commercial) farming in an environmentally friendly manner for a changing climate. 80% of the population lives in rural areas and works in farming. We are looking for solutions to:
• Improve productivity of land whilst promoting environmental stewardship
• Promote climate change adaptability and resilience
• Improve Water resource management as many farmers face drought conditions / decrease in rainfall or increased run-off after high frequency of rain on parched soil
• Combat age-old, inefficient practices such as: “slash and burn”, scattering seeds, rain-fed agriculture. Which are either detrimental for the environment or ineffective for farmers.
• Introduce better land-use approach- most farmers are farming only during the rainy season meaning their land is exposed to erosion of topsoil and nutrients aren’t being fixed for extended durations of time. This also leaves the land vulnerable to grabbing.
Describe the context in which you are operating
The stats show that:
1. Cambodia’s agriculture sector is labour intensive but also inefficient, people are unable to earn a decent living from it. One reason for this is that they are unable to adopt techniques and compete with neighbouring countries. Despite agriculture activity being ubiquitous, the proportion of population living under the food poverty line is 18%.
2. Cambodia has the “youngest” population in SE Asia, and many of them end up in low-paid agricultural jobs with little access to vocational training or they migrate to urban areas or across the border to work in garment factories.
According to the World Food Program the main threats to food security faced by Cambodia are:
• Repeated natural disasters (monsoon flooding, drought spells)
• Small landholdings (which aren’t resilient to absorb Climate Change shocks)
• Lack of adequate rural credit
• Lack of irrigation
• Limited off-farm employment opportunities (impelling young people to migrate and take up low skilled/ high risk jobs in factories)
Our aim has been to design a holistic project that build on existing work in the area and (gradually/ sustainably) assists locals to build their capacity and overcome threats to food security.
How did you impact natural resource use and greenhouse gas emissions?
The FASE project involves skills training for eco-friendly agriculture in two districts of Odar Meanchey, North West Cambodia. We have taken a fusion of two well-known approaches, Agroecology and Farmer Field Schools, and modified it to the local context and conditions for optimum success.
For example:
(a) Between 2013 and 2017 we took agri-training to the school level to ensure young people are the primary beneficiary (as they are the custodians for preserving a rural economy)
(b) We are now looking to have a purpose-built training area, so even our trainers are able to access new knowledge.
(c) We incorporate an agroecology approach, which includes a long-term thinking for productive land that can earn an income but keeps ecological preservation in mind.
Biodiversity gains have included: improved soil nutrients, more pollinators in the gardens- all because we employ “inter-cropping” techniques which allow us to “manage pests” as opposed to wiping them out- which is far more detrimental.
Language(s)
Which language(s) are spoken in the area where your solution is implemented?
Water
11 new ponds were dug and 11 existing ponds were restored. Community members are engaged to maintain and improve the water quality- by planting grasses to reduce erosion.
Food Security/Nutrition
Diversity in diet- On average, each school is ground 4 different types of vegetables that they are able to take home after harvest. The produce is chemical free.
Economic/Sustainable Development
Vegetable gardens are able to earn an income. Approximately 50 USD/ harvest.
Climate
Not applicable
Sustainability
For ASPUS the teachers have placed a request with the provincial department to include vegetable garden expenditure in the national budget allocation. Otherwise, many schools are able to supplement production from the sales of vegetables.
For our Stage II, we are currently fundraising and engaging potential partners for eco-building.
Return on investment
It takes USD 500 per school to: train 1 teacher and 90 students per year, set up a vegetable garden, improve water resources, install pipelines, and prepare the land for a second harvest.
By selling 30% of their harvest a school can earn up to USD 40- the rest of the produce is currently shared between the students. All the gardens we have implemented the project in are active. Green Shoots has a quarterly M&E exercise, which insures quick problem solving and targeting schools individually.
Replication and Scale
How could we successfully replicate this solution elsewhere?
The ASPUS methodology is replicable provided motivated individuals are available. We have successfully replicated this to an another NGO education center in Siem Reap (two hours from the original location)
Having a purpose built training area, as in Stage II, is a Key Success Factor for ease in replication as we can invite interested parties to have training and take back methodologies to their locations.
However, we hare happy to share methodologies for you to replicate approach.