I work on about 2 hectares of rice field.Three of my children have moved after they got married and they live close door to my house. Bunthoeun is living with us and this is his wife, Khat Sovanary and their baby girl, Thyda. Bunthoeun is the only child who has just graduated from Svay Rieng University, major in Agronomy, but he has got a job with a Uniliver co.ltd. It’s funny, isn’t it? Well, yes I think it doesn’t matter because he needs a job to support the family but I hope one day he will be able to find the right job so that he can use and apply his knowledge in Agricultural field.
Here is a sewing machine my daughter –in-law uses for her daily work at home, where villagers aruond here come but not many so she has lot of free time for her baby and help me with the house work.
Around my house, I grow some kinds of tree fruits; banana, mango and sugar can and vegetables such as cucumber, leek , water green, waterlily and mint. To me mint is good and easy to grow than other because it is the rainy season now . I harvested very often from the start but now only one time a week maybe it is the tenth time of the harvest so I think I will have to start growing again and I don’t have to sell them to the market because my clients come to collect at my house.
Some insect and pests are damaging them but there aren’t many of them so I never use any chemical fertilizer I just spend some time walking around to get the pests and grass out and so does my mother. On the other hand after some training I realize that chemical fertilizer is not good for both users and consumers.
I feel more confident to grow vetegables and meet the clients around the village since I have started work as an FBAs because I have gained some technical knowledges from the training and from an Advisor who gives me ideas and help on demand. I have noted that my living standard has improved then; for example I have technical idea, make some income through FBAs job selling seeds and vegetables and my name is also better known than before. I do enjoy work as an FBAs!
Here, in front of me is one of my fish pond which consists of between 400 to 500 fish. We use them for household consumption and we can sell them to the market too. When we need them we can just spend some time fishing.
Last week Bunthoeun had his friends from university came around and caught some fish and grilled. It is really fresh and tasty, I can say.
I, in this pond and in the lake behind me, also grow kinds of water green vegetable and waterlily. Before I could sell them to the nearest market and other cliens who collect them to sell in Phnom Penh city, but now not any more collectors. Even I cannot sell them out more, I can still use them as feed for my pigs everyday.
Right! I am now feeding my pigs. I have four big pigs as the one you can see here. Three of them were sold because they are not breeding but for meat. Without technical I find it so long to have the pigs ready for sale, may be 6 to 8 months. This one is kept for breeding pigs and other two young pigs which I have just bought a month ago and they are let outside the cage but I will get them back in in the evening. It isn’t easy to look after them as they eat a lot at least two times a day and they must be neat and clean.
Beside fish and pigs, I have some chicken and ducks. My mother also helps me give them rice or feed. Well they are generally good for market place and price especially in Khmer New Year time in April and Chinese New Year around January or February, but because this season is rainy and we have to sell them in cheaper price when other farmers sell them too because they would eat and damage the rice seeds in the rice field if we let them eat out and we cannot take care of them because we have to go to the rice field, also.
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