PROJECT OVERVIEW

The majority of Cambodian people live in rural areas with limited access to basic facilities, limited access to information and lack of the ability to exercise their rights when issues affect them. It is common that rural people in Cambodia are not regularly heard in public debates or policy-making processes, both at the local or national level. There are many reasons for this. In part, it is because community members may not know how to raise their voices due to lack of confidence in doing so, or they may believe that their voices will not make a difference. It is also because of deeply held cultural and religious beliefs suggesting that communities should not be allowed to be heard and that they should accept whatever happens to them. In addition, many power brokers in Cambodia simply do not consider it important to listen to others. Lack of independent media is another factor that keeps them from expressing their views. With all of these factors considered, the people who are often most affected by the substantial economic and social changes occurring across the country are prevented from taking part in their own future development. In many cases, communities have been subjected to decisions about their future that they have had no part in making, often with devastating consequences. Moreover, the government, through state owned media, spins the narrative to show that there are no problems facing the community and that the people are very happy with their situation as it is. They even go as far as taking photographs of happy citizens (many of whom are coerced) in order to support the government side of things. This has resulted in the need for our media interventions in order to tell the correct citizen version of the story. This proposal seeks to request 3‐year funding for project support (2020‐2022) This proposal seeks to request 3‐year funding for project support (2020‐2022) aimed at supporting the existing projects in three target areas, that is Pursat, Kampong Speu and Ratanakiri Provinces. This project will mainly focus on 19 villages in 4 communes. These are Amlaing with 6 villages (including two annex villages-Chrok Russey and O’prolove administered by O’ankum village chief), Ansachambak with six villages, Pokhnia with three villages, and Yaklom with five villages). The project will also cover three districts and one town/city (Thpong, Krokor, Oyadav and Banlung town/city). The total population targeted is 4652 families. This is equal to 19915 people including indigenous people (10651 of them are female) Majority of them are farmers.

PROJECT OBJECTIVE

Objective 1: Build and strengthen capacity of BCV staff to facilitate farmer led rice research, development and media program.

Objective 2: Farmers enhance their rice farming through adaptability rice trial farm and rice breeding and other avenues for income generation.

Objective 3: Promote community participation in decision making process to ensure that development responds to their need and build their network at different level at national and local level to help address issue affecting them.

Objective 4: Strengthen media program led by community people.

 

PROJECT ACTIVITIES

Building community Voices’ theory of change suggests that those capable communities who are able to voice their concerns, to participate in the decision-making process and to access to information with well networked and actively engage in community-led development. Ultimately, it will lead to improved living conditions and therefore a sustained advocacy for land ownership and land preservation.

BCV will contuinue to  focus on the following approaches of working :

 

1. Community intergration and understandig peoples initiatives:

BCV will undertake to try as much as possible to participate and let the people be the architects of their own activities. We shall try to rely on the voice of the people and their initiatives to dictate the way forward and not BCV directing the process

2. Community mobilizing

BCV will support and facilitate community members who live in close proximity to each other to come together, actively participate in process of making decisions on development issues, and take the lead in addressing those issues. Community organizing: BCV will participate in discussions with community to enable them identify, prioritize, hold discussion and provide tailor-made solutions to problems affecting community. This will create an environment of collective action, collective decision making, solidarity and collective benefits. It will empower people toward positive social change.

3. Community organizing

3. Community organizing is in line with the fishing theory of not only teaching how to fish as opposed to giving out fish but also teaching them alternative outside fishing. It will promote critical thinking beyond what every person is used to.

4. Farmer -based Approach

BCV will use this approach to farmer led- development by discussing and sharing their experiences in agriculture and make their own decision in farmer led development process. To make their duty bearers to hold accountabilities and responsibilities. In addition to that farmer can exercise their right when issue affected them. Such as farmer affected by Economic Land Concessions they lost their land to company they can claim their land right through exercise their basic right. Paddy rice land is an important to farmer’s livelihood.

5. Cooperation

BCV will work closely with communities and engage with other NGOs and relevant stakeholders (local authorities) to achieve our goal by sharing information, expertise, resources, and work in a complementary way. In doing so BCV wishes to bring about change in the way NGOs, operate.

6. Capacity Development

BCV will support communities in developing their own skills, knowledge and systems to achieve their own goals. BCV will also support the organizational capacity development of emerging people’s organizations and networks so they become the main implementers of development and mobilizing support in the future. Build up community led development approach: BCV works to support Community Mobilizing and Community Media. We add community organizing around their farming activities within the framework on food Sovereignty which is a theme that BCV wants to advance in all its target areas including in Kampong Speu, Pursat and Ratanakiri. BCV will collaborate with NGOs who work in the same areas and concept in complementing each other to push this approach move forward. BCV tries to empower community use their rights and community ownership on land, cropping, seeds and living with harmonization in their families in community. BCV will try to make the process of community make their own decision to development plan. People participate in community meeting to discuss issues and make decision on the issue raised especially community develop plan developed by themselves.

7. Media Approach

BCV will provide communities with capacity and necessary support so that they can use different types of media to formulate and articulate their views to a wider audience. Learning form the above method we have noticed that the community in Ansachambak commune have increase their confident and successfully advocate with company and local authority to respect labor rights when company absent to pay community worker’s wedge. The community journalist team have used social media to expose their concerns of human rights violation in their community to related stakeholders such as district governor for solutions. However, from doing this one of the community journalist has been threaten by the commune chief that make her feel insecure for her live. On the other hand, community radio station in Ratanakiri have increased popularity satisfied by audiences among Jarai, Tampuon and Kreung ethnic community. One of the two radio centers got the license from Ministry of Information to operate.

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