As part of PEPY's effort to learn more about what other organizations are doing in Cambodia, this morning most of our staff visited Digital Divide Data (DDD), a non-profit social venture based in Phnom Penh.
DDD provides high quality, cost-effective data-entry and digitalization services to both international and local clients. DDD aims to use technology to improve lives of some of the world's least developed nations by bringing well-paid technology jobs to countries where they didn't previously exist and to groups who struggle just to survive.
Founded in the summer of 2001 by a group of North American volunteers, DDD opened its first facility in Phnom Penh, Cambodia by hiring a pair of local managers and a group of 20 initial employees. These employees came from Wat Than's disabled persons training program (for Polio and landmine victims) as well as the Cambodian Volunteers for Community Development's youth training program.
DDD now employs more than 150 people in their Phnom Penh office, who not only benefit from having a job experience and a wage income far above local standards, but they also receive scholarships for education, health benefits, and work in a safe, ergonomic environment. Many of the employees are enrolled in university as well so they can proceed from data-entry jobs to more advanced positions in the IT and business world.
We at PEPY think DDD is a responsible organization which is not only meeting a business need, but providing opportunities for Cambodians to support and develop themselves.
To learn more about DDD, please visit www.digitaldividedata.org.
Friday, February 8, 2008
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
PEPY Joins Heritage Watch Sustainable Development Initiative
The following was published in PEPY's December 2007 newsletter.
This past summer PEPY established a promising partnership with Heritage Watch, an organization that aims to protect the cultural and architectural heritage of Cambodia. Concerned about the unchecked looting of many ancient temple sites across Cambodia, Heritage Watch was created by a group of archeologists in 2003 to “preserve the past and enrich the future” of this developing nation. In addition to their conservation efforts, Heritage Watch recently initiated its first sustainable development project at the ancient Khmer capital of Koh Ker, more than 1000 years old.
While Koh Ker briefly served as the center of the Khmer civilization, it is now overshadowed by the nearby temples of Angkor, which receives the majority of the benefits of the current tourism boom in Cambodia. The people of the Koh Ker community are among the poorest in Cambodia, most of whom support themselves through subsistence farming. Due to the extreme poverty, local resources to help protect the temple complex, which has been looted heavily since the 1990s, are scarce. Heritage Watch’s initiative will not only promote the protection of this important site, but also aims to help locals prepare for the increase in tourism which will certainly reach Koh Ker in the coming years.
Heritage Watch will provide training in heritage protection and conservation for the local community, helping them to organize and equip community patrols to protect the temples from looting. Additionally, the Heritage Watch training center will provide education to community members in the hopes that they will directly benefit from tourism, offering training in Khmer literacy, English language, , tourism and cultural heritage. The program will also offer small business management training with the goal of sparking entrepreneurial efforts amongst the community members. Watch will educate locals about land rights as well. As the site attracts more foreigners, there is risk of not only increased looting, but the loss of land to wealthy outsiders. Thus, it is imperative that the community learns to protect and manage the temple complex, as well as benefit from increased tourism.
While the training center provides an excellent opportunity for community members, many felt they did not have time to attend training sessions. Women especially, due to domestic responsibilities, were unable to come to the center. Heritage Watch therefore proposed to The PEPY Ride, the construction of a Day Care and Education Facility. The facility will provide care and a learning space for young children while their parents attend training sessions. Impressed by the scope of the overall project, PEPY was enthusiastic about the new partnership and contributed all funds needed to build the facility, as well as provide food and nutritional supplements for the caretakers.
Just this month, PEPY also agreed to fund an apiary project, one of Heritage Watch’s small business development initiatives. The bee-keeping project will provide training in raising indigenous honeybees and consequently improve the livelihood of those residing in the Koh Ker community. Honey is a highly valued product and could provide a supplemental source of income for the local population. In addition to the production of honey, the project could be extended to produce all-natural soaps and hand creams which could, like the honey, be marketed in the fast-growing city of Siem Reap. The apiary project will also have positive benefits for the environment, as bees play a crucial role in the cross-pollination of plants and are essential to the agricultural cycle. PEPY’s contribution to the apiary project will primarily pay the salaries of beekeeping specialists and a honey hunter, responsible for training interested community members. Additionally, PEPY will cover all other expenses associated with the training sessions, slated to begin in January 2008.
We at PEPY are enthusiastic about this new partnership with Heritage Watch. The various projects mesh well with PEPY’s goals, as they increase access to education for both adults and children. Furthermore, as a responsible tour operator, we hope to ensure that the increase in tourism in Cambodia positively impacts the local areas where we work and the benefits go directly to the community. We believe that the Heritage Watch endeavor will empower the local community of Koh Ker, allowing them to protect their community and improve their livelihood.
Stay tuned for updates about this program...
This past summer PEPY established a promising partnership with Heritage Watch, an organization that aims to protect the cultural and architectural heritage of Cambodia. Concerned about the unchecked looting of many ancient temple sites across Cambodia, Heritage Watch was created by a group of archeologists in 2003 to “preserve the past and enrich the future” of this developing nation. In addition to their conservation efforts, Heritage Watch recently initiated its first sustainable development project at the ancient Khmer capital of Koh Ker, more than 1000 years old.
While Koh Ker briefly served as the center of the Khmer civilization, it is now overshadowed by the nearby temples of Angkor, which receives the majority of the benefits of the current tourism boom in Cambodia. The people of the Koh Ker community are among the poorest in Cambodia, most of whom support themselves through subsistence farming. Due to the extreme poverty, local resources to help protect the temple complex, which has been looted heavily since the 1990s, are scarce. Heritage Watch’s initiative will not only promote the protection of this important site, but also aims to help locals prepare for the increase in tourism which will certainly reach Koh Ker in the coming years.
Heritage Watch will provide training in heritage protection and conservation for the local community, helping them to organize and equip community patrols to protect the temples from looting. Additionally, the Heritage Watch training center will provide education to community members in the hopes that they will directly benefit from tourism, offering training in Khmer literacy, English language, , tourism and cultural heritage. The program will also offer small business management training with the goal of sparking entrepreneurial efforts amongst the community members. Watch will educate locals about land rights as well. As the site attracts more foreigners, there is risk of not only increased looting, but the loss of land to wealthy outsiders. Thus, it is imperative that the community learns to protect and manage the temple complex, as well as benefit from increased tourism.
While the training center provides an excellent opportunity for community members, many felt they did not have time to attend training sessions. Women especially, due to domestic responsibilities, were unable to come to the center. Heritage Watch therefore proposed to The PEPY Ride, the construction of a Day Care and Education Facility. The facility will provide care and a learning space for young children while their parents attend training sessions. Impressed by the scope of the overall project, PEPY was enthusiastic about the new partnership and contributed all funds needed to build the facility, as well as provide food and nutritional supplements for the caretakers.
Just this month, PEPY also agreed to fund an apiary project, one of Heritage Watch’s small business development initiatives. The bee-keeping project will provide training in raising indigenous honeybees and consequently improve the livelihood of those residing in the Koh Ker community. Honey is a highly valued product and could provide a supplemental source of income for the local population. In addition to the production of honey, the project could be extended to produce all-natural soaps and hand creams which could, like the honey, be marketed in the fast-growing city of Siem Reap. The apiary project will also have positive benefits for the environment, as bees play a crucial role in the cross-pollination of plants and are essential to the agricultural cycle. PEPY’s contribution to the apiary project will primarily pay the salaries of beekeeping specialists and a honey hunter, responsible for training interested community members. Additionally, PEPY will cover all other expenses associated with the training sessions, slated to begin in January 2008.
We at PEPY are enthusiastic about this new partnership with Heritage Watch. The various projects mesh well with PEPY’s goals, as they increase access to education for both adults and children. Furthermore, as a responsible tour operator, we hope to ensure that the increase in tourism in Cambodia positively impacts the local areas where we work and the benefits go directly to the community. We believe that the Heritage Watch endeavor will empower the local community of Koh Ker, allowing them to protect their community and improve their livelihood.
Stay tuned for updates about this program...
Population, Education and the Environment
The following was published in PEPY's January 2008 newsletter.
“The growth in population is very much bound up with poverty, and in turn poverty plunders the earth. When human groups are dying of hunger, they eat everything: grass, insects, everything. They cut down the trees, they leave the land dry and bare. All other concerns vanish. That’s why in the next thirty years the problems we call ‘environmental’ will be the hardest that humanity has to face.”
This quote by the Dalai Lama may very well have been speaking about Cambodia’s past, or the grimmest prospect for its future. In 2000, Cambodia achieved rice self-sufficiency, but as the population grows, water, food, and land become critical issues. Water tables on every continent are falling, and water shortages mean food shortages and increased incidences of disease. Cambodians already suffer from the ill effects of unsuitable water that they must use for growing crops, drinking, cooking, and cleanliness. They must use water for these needs although the water contains arsenic, e. coli, viruses, and other bacteria. According to Resource Development International, one in five Cambodian children will die before the age of five, and the number one killer is diarrhea caused by bacteria in water and on food.
Cambodia also has one of the highest rates of deforestation in the world, with 75% of its forest being lost since the end of the 1990s. As a result, over-farmed and unsustainably managed lands become less fertile and productive, requiring more land that yields less food. Furthermore, without the development of alternative fuel sources, Cambodians will continue to deforest the land for firewood for cooking and timber for building.
One of the major causes of these environmental and social problems is the rapidly growing population. When Pol Pot seized control of Cambodia in 1975, the country’s population was estimated to be 7.3 million people. Over the next four years, between 25% and 30% of Cambodians died as the population was decimated by widespread hunger, forced labor, and political executions. Since the end of the Khmer Rouge period in 1979 the population has nearly doubled, reaching 14 million in 2006. According to the World Resources Institute, each couple typically has four or five children. 40% of Cambodians are under the age of 15, and the country’s median age is 21.3, according to the 2007 CIA Factbook.
A population boom such as this in a country without infrastructure to manage such growth can precipitate environmental and educational disasters. High fertility rates and little or no access to contraception can actually “outpace economic and development gains and stall poverty reduction efforts,” says the United Nations Population Fund (UNPF). However, this doesn’t mean doomsday prophecies for Cambodia. According to the UNPF, young populations offer great potential for development but only if countries invest wisely in the education, health, skills, and economic opportunities of the youth.
As the population grows, Cambodia faces the difficult task of expanding its already overtaxed education and health services to meet their needs. PEPY is proud to be part of the push to extend education and health to Cambodia’s rural youth. In a country where less than 30% of students proceed to secondary school according to UNDP, we offer rural children opportunities and incentives to continue their studies. Our work with the Bike-to-School Program ensures that students who otherwise couldn’t access secondary school have the means to do so, and serves, along with PEPY-sponsored visits to Angkor Wat, as incentives for students to stay in school. These students will comprise Cambodia’s future and will develop the tools to make environmental and health decisions that stabilize and improve Cambodia.
Cambodia is already looking ahead to curb its population and protect the educational, environmental, and social gains it has made in the past years. In 2004, the country’s first National Population Policy was launched. Education is playing a forefront role in this plan to allow individuals to manage their reproductive choices, along with the extension of reproductive services and access to contraception nation-wide. While services are not yet available to all, the educational framework being laid in rural areas are setting the stage and creating an informed audience for these massive community education programs.
Poverty, health, environmental protection, and population are inextricably intertwined in developing countries. Here at PEPY, we hope that you’ll get involved by coming on a trip and strengthening educational infrastructure in Cambodia. Together, we can support and help create Cambodia’s future: an educated, stable population who respects and protects the environment.
written by Mandy Gatewood
“The growth in population is very much bound up with poverty, and in turn poverty plunders the earth. When human groups are dying of hunger, they eat everything: grass, insects, everything. They cut down the trees, they leave the land dry and bare. All other concerns vanish. That’s why in the next thirty years the problems we call ‘environmental’ will be the hardest that humanity has to face.”
-14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso
This quote by the Dalai Lama may very well have been speaking about Cambodia’s past, or the grimmest prospect for its future. In 2000, Cambodia achieved rice self-sufficiency, but as the population grows, water, food, and land become critical issues. Water tables on every continent are falling, and water shortages mean food shortages and increased incidences of disease. Cambodians already suffer from the ill effects of unsuitable water that they must use for growing crops, drinking, cooking, and cleanliness. They must use water for these needs although the water contains arsenic, e. coli, viruses, and other bacteria. According to Resource Development International, one in five Cambodian children will die before the age of five, and the number one killer is diarrhea caused by bacteria in water and on food.
Cambodia also has one of the highest rates of deforestation in the world, with 75% of its forest being lost since the end of the 1990s. As a result, over-farmed and unsustainably managed lands become less fertile and productive, requiring more land that yields less food. Furthermore, without the development of alternative fuel sources, Cambodians will continue to deforest the land for firewood for cooking and timber for building.
One of the major causes of these environmental and social problems is the rapidly growing population. When Pol Pot seized control of Cambodia in 1975, the country’s population was estimated to be 7.3 million people. Over the next four years, between 25% and 30% of Cambodians died as the population was decimated by widespread hunger, forced labor, and political executions. Since the end of the Khmer Rouge period in 1979 the population has nearly doubled, reaching 14 million in 2006. According to the World Resources Institute, each couple typically has four or five children. 40% of Cambodians are under the age of 15, and the country’s median age is 21.3, according to the 2007 CIA Factbook.
A population boom such as this in a country without infrastructure to manage such growth can precipitate environmental and educational disasters. High fertility rates and little or no access to contraception can actually “outpace economic and development gains and stall poverty reduction efforts,” says the United Nations Population Fund (UNPF). However, this doesn’t mean doomsday prophecies for Cambodia. According to the UNPF, young populations offer great potential for development but only if countries invest wisely in the education, health, skills, and economic opportunities of the youth.
As the population grows, Cambodia faces the difficult task of expanding its already overtaxed education and health services to meet their needs. PEPY is proud to be part of the push to extend education and health to Cambodia’s rural youth. In a country where less than 30% of students proceed to secondary school according to UNDP, we offer rural children opportunities and incentives to continue their studies. Our work with the Bike-to-School Program ensures that students who otherwise couldn’t access secondary school have the means to do so, and serves, along with PEPY-sponsored visits to Angkor Wat, as incentives for students to stay in school. These students will comprise Cambodia’s future and will develop the tools to make environmental and health decisions that stabilize and improve Cambodia.
Cambodia is already looking ahead to curb its population and protect the educational, environmental, and social gains it has made in the past years. In 2004, the country’s first National Population Policy was launched. Education is playing a forefront role in this plan to allow individuals to manage their reproductive choices, along with the extension of reproductive services and access to contraception nation-wide. While services are not yet available to all, the educational framework being laid in rural areas are setting the stage and creating an informed audience for these massive community education programs.
Poverty, health, environmental protection, and population are inextricably intertwined in developing countries. Here at PEPY, we hope that you’ll get involved by coming on a trip and strengthening educational infrastructure in Cambodia. Together, we can support and help create Cambodia’s future: an educated, stable population who respects and protects the environment.
written by Mandy Gatewood
Pointing the Finger in the Mirror
The following was published in PEPY's January 2008 newsletter.
“We as people, even though it may seem insignificant, need to start taking small steps towards change. Everyday we should be doing something that means something, because if everybody does a little something then the whole begins to shift.”
It is simple truths like this from Mickey Sampson, the founder of Resource Development International, that make him so captivating. Sampson, a former university chemistry professor, moved his family to Cambodia 10 years ago and soon after founded RDI. A self-admitted science nerd with a short attention span, he overflows with ideas and captures the attention of all around, his speech jumping naturally from scientific to layman, from serious facts to self-deprecating humor. A tour of the RDI facility with Sampson is inspiring, and it is challenging to absorb the immense amount of information he is so eager to convey. Combining education, technology, and sincerity, Mickey and his team at RDI manage a wide range of projects that empower Cambodians to help themselves.
RDI’s primary focus has been increasing access to clean water for rural Cambodians. Each year, easily preventable water-born diseases kill thousands of Cambodians. To tackle this problem, RDI has implemented many projects, including water filtration, arsenic testing, rainwater harvesting, and water pumps for rural wells. Finding practical and sustainable solutions to these problems is challenging, and Sampson recognizes that it’s not feasible to just give things away because people must feel a sense of ownership, empowerment, and agency in the betterment of their lives and health. Says Sampson, “We’ve got to take good business principles with good development principles, and meld those two so that we can really impact people.”
One of the most extensive projects at RDI is the production and marketing of inexpensive ceramic filtration systems, which are manufactured by a team of Cambodians at the RDI facility outside Phnom Penh. The simple ceramic filters, which look like large clay flowerpots, can remove 99.99% of all germs and bacteria from rainwater and surface water. The filters, placed inside a large plastic water storage container, provide a dependable point-of-use solution for Cambodians who do not have access to clean water. At $8, the simple systems are affordable and, in areas where many families purchase charcoal to boil drinking water, they pay for themselves in less than three months. If maintained correctly, the filters can be used indefinitely.
RDIC has also designed water pumps for use at rural wells. These simple rope pumps, made of inexpensive and easily acquired materials, are extremely efficient. RDI currently sells the pumps on a rent-to-own basis. For $240, RDI will dig a well and install the pump and cement apron. A community or group of families can collectively purchase the pump by paying $10/month for two years. Additionally, monthly visits to the communities give RDI ample opportunities to monitor the pumps and teach lessons about health and environment. By the end of 2008, this project will be completely self-funding--the revenue from monthly payments will equal the cost of installing new pumps. Development is now reaching a level where RDI does not need to ask donors for money for these sustainable programs, because Cambodians are the integral part of the development process and are helping other Cambodians.
One of the most striking things about RDI is their continual effort to improve their projects and processes. For example, the water filter program presently uses the waste cuttings from rubber tree plantations to fire the ceramic filter kilns. However, RDI wants to stop using wood completely, and is currently designing machines to produce compressed rice husk logs to use as fuel instead. Rice husks, essentially a waste product in Cambodia, are transformed into a valuable resource.
Sampson notes that many development projects fail because organizations become donor-driven and lose sight of their goals. This unfortunately can lead to organizations focusing on what they have accomplished, rather than the impact of those efforts. For example, there are a number of organizations in Cambodia investing millions of dollars in wells across the country. However, by Sampson’s estimates, “30% of those wells will be unsafe for human consumption or are undesirable” because those same organizations do not test the wells to make sure they are safe.
To tackle this critical issue, RDI developed a program to test the safety of wells in Cambodia. Beginning in Kandal province, they extensively mapped the water quality by testing over 2500 wells. Yet some development organizations, who install wells at a cost of $2,000, are unwilling to pay for the $25 tests simply because they do not know what to do about the problems that may arise. Unfortunately, by ignoring the problem and charging ahead with their number-driven goals, these well-meaning organizations are actually making matters worse, and in some cases, killing Cambodians. RDI hopes to continue mapping other provinces as well and makes all of their data public by posting the information on the Internet. By doing so, other organizations become legally accountable for placing wells in unsafe areas.
Sampson says, “We want be the small little ant that bites, and really hurts so the big people have to do something about it. And that’s what we want. We’re about people, and I think that’s the thing that oftentimes gets lost in development. This is people we are talking about.”
Sampson is quick to point out that while RDI does not have the financial resources of some of the larger development organizations, he also knows those same organizations lack creativity and are slow to change. It is his hope that by implementing sustainable and resourceful projects that empower Cambodians, RDI will serve as a model for other development organizations to follow. With the help of his talented team, a wealth of ingenious ideas, and a commitment to the people of Cambodia, Sampson is truly making change.
For more information about RDI and their on-going projects, please visit www.rdic.org.
written by Michael Woodard
“We as people, even though it may seem insignificant, need to start taking small steps towards change. Everyday we should be doing something that means something, because if everybody does a little something then the whole begins to shift.”
It is simple truths like this from Mickey Sampson, the founder of Resource Development International, that make him so captivating. Sampson, a former university chemistry professor, moved his family to Cambodia 10 years ago and soon after founded RDI. A self-admitted science nerd with a short attention span, he overflows with ideas and captures the attention of all around, his speech jumping naturally from scientific to layman, from serious facts to self-deprecating humor. A tour of the RDI facility with Sampson is inspiring, and it is challenging to absorb the immense amount of information he is so eager to convey. Combining education, technology, and sincerity, Mickey and his team at RDI manage a wide range of projects that empower Cambodians to help themselves.
RDI’s primary focus has been increasing access to clean water for rural Cambodians. Each year, easily preventable water-born diseases kill thousands of Cambodians. To tackle this problem, RDI has implemented many projects, including water filtration, arsenic testing, rainwater harvesting, and water pumps for rural wells. Finding practical and sustainable solutions to these problems is challenging, and Sampson recognizes that it’s not feasible to just give things away because people must feel a sense of ownership, empowerment, and agency in the betterment of their lives and health. Says Sampson, “We’ve got to take good business principles with good development principles, and meld those two so that we can really impact people.”
One of the most extensive projects at RDI is the production and marketing of inexpensive ceramic filtration systems, which are manufactured by a team of Cambodians at the RDI facility outside Phnom Penh. The simple ceramic filters, which look like large clay flowerpots, can remove 99.99% of all germs and bacteria from rainwater and surface water. The filters, placed inside a large plastic water storage container, provide a dependable point-of-use solution for Cambodians who do not have access to clean water. At $8, the simple systems are affordable and, in areas where many families purchase charcoal to boil drinking water, they pay for themselves in less than three months. If maintained correctly, the filters can be used indefinitely.
RDIC has also designed water pumps for use at rural wells. These simple rope pumps, made of inexpensive and easily acquired materials, are extremely efficient. RDI currently sells the pumps on a rent-to-own basis. For $240, RDI will dig a well and install the pump and cement apron. A community or group of families can collectively purchase the pump by paying $10/month for two years. Additionally, monthly visits to the communities give RDI ample opportunities to monitor the pumps and teach lessons about health and environment. By the end of 2008, this project will be completely self-funding--the revenue from monthly payments will equal the cost of installing new pumps. Development is now reaching a level where RDI does not need to ask donors for money for these sustainable programs, because Cambodians are the integral part of the development process and are helping other Cambodians.
One of the most striking things about RDI is their continual effort to improve their projects and processes. For example, the water filter program presently uses the waste cuttings from rubber tree plantations to fire the ceramic filter kilns. However, RDI wants to stop using wood completely, and is currently designing machines to produce compressed rice husk logs to use as fuel instead. Rice husks, essentially a waste product in Cambodia, are transformed into a valuable resource.
Sampson notes that many development projects fail because organizations become donor-driven and lose sight of their goals. This unfortunately can lead to organizations focusing on what they have accomplished, rather than the impact of those efforts. For example, there are a number of organizations in Cambodia investing millions of dollars in wells across the country. However, by Sampson’s estimates, “30% of those wells will be unsafe for human consumption or are undesirable” because those same organizations do not test the wells to make sure they are safe.
To tackle this critical issue, RDI developed a program to test the safety of wells in Cambodia. Beginning in Kandal province, they extensively mapped the water quality by testing over 2500 wells. Yet some development organizations, who install wells at a cost of $2,000, are unwilling to pay for the $25 tests simply because they do not know what to do about the problems that may arise. Unfortunately, by ignoring the problem and charging ahead with their number-driven goals, these well-meaning organizations are actually making matters worse, and in some cases, killing Cambodians. RDI hopes to continue mapping other provinces as well and makes all of their data public by posting the information on the Internet. By doing so, other organizations become legally accountable for placing wells in unsafe areas.
Sampson says, “We want be the small little ant that bites, and really hurts so the big people have to do something about it. And that’s what we want. We’re about people, and I think that’s the thing that oftentimes gets lost in development. This is people we are talking about.”
Sampson is quick to point out that while RDI does not have the financial resources of some of the larger development organizations, he also knows those same organizations lack creativity and are slow to change. It is his hope that by implementing sustainable and resourceful projects that empower Cambodians, RDI will serve as a model for other development organizations to follow. With the help of his talented team, a wealth of ingenious ideas, and a commitment to the people of Cambodia, Sampson is truly making change.
For more information about RDI and their on-going projects, please visit www.rdic.org.
written by Michael Woodard
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