BB2C has focused our initial efforts in the Province of Kampong Chhnang for a variety of reasons. First, it is easily accessible from BB2C’s office in Phnom Penh. This allows the team to make frequent trips to participating villages to publicize the pumps and gather information. Second, the topography of the area encourages the growth of the types of crops the pumps were designed to support. On average, Kampong Chhnang has a higher elevation than many provinces in Cambodia, which stimulates greater vegetable and non-rice cultivation in this region. Finally, this area has a reliable supply of water, so people there can use the pumps effectively year-round.
Within Kampong Chhnang province we work extensively with 14 communes, each commune containing between three and 21 villages. Each village can be home to anywhere from 50 to 800 families.
Below is a sampling of the villages we currently serve:
Chhouk Kranhas, located 69 Kilometers (43 Miles) northwest of Phnom Penh
In the village of Chhouk Kranhas the farmers must first walk over two miles to get to their fields. Then they irrigate those fields by carrying water to them in buckets from their water source. We are thrilled to know that the pumps are relieving them of this grueling task.
Andaung Tramoung, located 50 Kilometers (31 Miles) northwest of Phnom Penh
Population 225 families (average 5 people per family). About 70% of them earn their living by planting vegetables.
Trapeang Khtum, located approximately 50 Kilometers (31 Miles) northwest of Phnom Penh
Population 180 families (average 5 people per family). About 50% of them plant vegetables.
Prey Pea, located approximately 50 Kilometers (31 Miles) northwest of Phnom Penh
Population 116 families (average 5 people per family). About 10% of them plant vegetables.
Sambour Community
The village of Sambour is located about 25km (15.5 miles) from the archaeological site of Angkor Wat. After the end of the Khmer Rouge rule in 1979, Sambour still suffered from skirmishes between the isolated and desperate hard-line Khmer Rouge leadership and the Vietnamese Incursion Forces. The situation lasted until the late 1990s, denying Sambour all prospect of economic growth. A lack of education and marketable skills leads locals to work far away, if they can afford to pay for transportation. Seventy percent of the population survives by cutting wood in the nearby mountains and reselling it. This activity takes three full days of work at the mountain and creates five dollars of gross income, which is not enough to feed a family.
The community's abiding concern is their children’s welfare. Here a child is easily fatigued from lack of proper nuitrition.
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