Dream It, Then Believe You Can Do It
It took Thea a couple of years of participating in the program before she felt confident in her abilities. So confident that she convinced her husband to help her on their little farm rather than return to construction work out of town, previously their largest source of income.
Thea was glad to attend meetings, workshops and training in agricultural techniques by local partner Occupation of Rural Economic Development and Agriculture (OREDA).
She soon became passionate about agriculture and nutrition. She also joined a savings group with other women so she could eventually raise money to improve her farm.
Even though she studied and carried out vegetable planting and animal raising techniques and got a lot out of exchange learning visits with some successful farmers, Thea worried she didn’t have the aptitude to be a good farmer herself. She kept at it, though, because she would otherwise have no income to pay back the loan from her savings group.
But with regular mentoring, and encouragement from her husband, Thea finally started to feel hopeful about farming. She took out another small loan to build a chicken coop and set up a vegetable garden on a 33’ x 66’ parcel of her land. The family finally has a nutritionally balanced diet, and she sells enough surplus that she can save more than the minimum requirement in her savings group.
The income from their farm is still not what she hopes it will eventually be, it now makes more sense for her husband to stay home and help with the work than to work in construction.
Thea says, “Because of this agricultural program, I have an income. Having my husband at home makes me feel safe. I used to dream about this, but did not dare to act on my thoughts. I see now that, once I started to believe in myself, I had hope, and once my hopes were realized, I became more successful.”
Cambodia South Program
Led by World Renew and Local Partners Khmer Angka for Development of Rural Areas (KADRA) and
Occupation of Rural Economic Development and Agriculture (OREDA)