Impact of Our Work
The Impacts and Achievements Accomplished by HURREDO vary from project to project.
This month we are highlighting the impacts achieved from our
Food Security project
and our
Agriculture Initiative project
during the August 2015 cycle
Horticulture Events:
HURREDO’s horticulture and home gardening sector had many successes and the organization helped numerous swiss replica watches clients and communities in August 2015. Four horticulture technicians organized 194 training sessions with 1,082 participants. Horticulture technicians provided individual technical assistance to 118 clients. They also organized two horticulture field days with 72 attendants. The technicians do not only provide training to clients, but also educate them about good agriculture practices. These include: preparing local soil substrate for seedling production for crop development, land preparation, raising beds, covering plastic mulch, installing water irrigation systems, and controlling weed and pest management tactics. In addition, all target clients must practice chemical safety farming. The attendants cultivated several crops, including eggplant, morning glory, bitter gourd, corn, and long bean. 95% of the production was sold to middlemen for consumption in the village and 5% of the production was kept for their own consumption.
Cooking Demonstrations:
In August 2015, HURREDO organized four cooking demonstrations for women in Choup, Bos, Damrey Chhlong, and Samrong. They learned how to prepare nutritious soups with mixed vegetables, and chicken curry with bread. These demonstrations were organized by the Food Safety and Nutrition Group members and 77 participants attended the event. The demonstration also included a seminar on the five key measures that are to be taken to ensure food safety. The participant practiced using fresh and raw materials, to separate cooked and raw food, to keep the food and utensils clean before cutting, and to keep food in a safe and clean place. After the demonstration, all participants clearly understood how to prepare healthy, nutritious food. After these events most of the participants put the learned techniques into practice. As a result, the health of the community has improved in each target village.
The specialists also focused on nutritional food groups, the nutritional value of moringa, how to make moringa powder, the sources and value of key vitamins and minerals, and general hygiene. After the seminars and demonstrations, all the clients understood the significance of nutritious cooking and sanitary living.
Food Security and Agriculture Initiative:
During the first quarter of 2015, horticulture field technicians signed up 134 new clients for home gardening, and 345 clients harvested crops that were planted with the assistance of the HURREDO team. The technicians introduced two kinds of drip installations to their clients: drip irrigations or watering cans. This quarter, twenty clients started using drip installation and grew vegetables. Four technicians continue to provide technical support to clients through training and visits, which encourage them to grow vegetables. These vegetables include morning glory, amaranth, long bean, bitter gourd, cucumber and yard long bean. The technicians also organized field activities and new demonstrations, and they imparted seven drip installations.
By the end of the first quarter, there were 567 clients in commercial horticulture and home gardening (II). One of these clients is Mrs. Keab Sum from Ta Prok village. She grows three different kinds of vegetables: corn, morning glory and pumpkin. After only one and a half month, she harvested her vegetables. Her product was not only enough for her own consumption but she was also able to sell to other consumers within her village. This increased her total income with 500,000 Riels. Her production increased because the Cambodia-HARVEST’s horticulture technician provided new technical support and regularly mentored and encouraged her. Moreover, the neighboring villagers saw her success and asked her for new technical advice and vegetable seedling. The villagers replicated her techniques for their own farm land!
Nutrition and Rice Initiative:
HURREDO’s nutrition specialist organized eight community actions in the villages to increase knowledge about hygiene in the family, at home and during food preparations. The specialist also provided information about environmental protection, the first 1000 day’s of an infant’s life, basic sanitation, and the five keys to food safety. The nutrition specialist helped 111 clients received help related to daily family nutrition.
The nutrition groups focused on two groups, the first group consisted of women between 15 to 49 years old and the second group was of 6-23 month-old children. After participating in HURREDOs community actions and cooking demonstrations, several (non-)clients changed their mind about their habits. The participants started organizing their cooking space, focusing on hygiene, and making conscious decisions about their meals. Finally, the participants started considering how the environment of the village affect hygiene and their children's health.
HURREDOs followed up on the rice initiatives with 60 different training sessions, field days, and extension visits. These meetings were meant to inform the participant about farm chemical safety, water management, weed control, and disease identification and control. 46 of dry season rice clients successfully harvested crops. 49% of the harvest was kept for family consumption and 51% was sold to local businessmen, generating income that spread throughout the local community.
Savings Fund and Natural Resource Management:
HURREDO's forest technician coordinated and achieved with his clients the following: more than 3,300 seedlings (Cochinchinensis and Rattan) now grow in poly bags, more than 1,000 bamboo seedlings were distributed and planted in poly bags, and five open beds were freed from weeds and grasses.
HURREDO's wildlife technician stresses the importance of wildlife preservation and created plans on fire-prevention, handling the fire, and what to do after the fire. The wildlife technician encouraged the villagers to prepare improve their fence- and water management, to patrol, to raise awareness on fire, the protection of bamboo seedlings, and he taught them how to find water sources.