Hello, my name is Tum Sambo. These are my children: my daughter, Pheak, is now in 11th grade and my son, Mao, is in 10th grade. I actually have five children, but three of them have moved. My husband, Sambath, is not with us because he is working on a shrimp farm in Thailand.
We live in the village of Chiphoch, Prey Veng province, Cambodia. I spend most of my time looking after the rice field, a small vegetable garden, some pigs, and four bulls/buffaloes. My children also help me when they come back from school. I enjoy doing it myself as I know that my daughter is keen on her academic year and she wants to go to university after high school, so she must spend her extra time reading and studying.
I get around ten wedding invitations during wedding season, of which I almost cannot afford. That's why my husband decided to go and work in Thailand in order to make more money. He sends me some money every few months. Although we live separately, we are happy to do so because we have children who are eager to get a higher-education, which we believe is very important.
Here is my very favorite kind of eggplant vegetable which I grow more often than any other kind. As a result, I can make some income which I can support my children to study as well as for household consumption. Next to it is a four-meter deep pond which I am going to use as fish pond for family use only and soon I hope to get help on training or technical ideas to improve it and sell the fish to other people.
I work hard with my lovely pigs because they need lots of feed at least two times per day to put on more weight since they are not breeding pigs but for they are for meat. Also, I have to water them and clean their cage to keep them clean and healthy. You know, after around five months I can sell them, but not at the market because the buyer will come to my house and give us a deal on how much per kilogram (7,000-8,500 riels which is about $2), so you can imagine how much I can make from them.
On my left is the rice field which I have just tried a new method and idea that I learned from an FBA, Vanna, and his advisor. A couple of weeks ago it had problems caused by drought, which turned it red. In fact, this rice field had some water pumped from the canal not far from here, so the drought is in the other rice field nearby that does not have enough water. Lots of insects in this other field flew into get water in my field and they damaged it. Actually I got advice from the FBA and his advisor to use some fertilizer to get rid of them, but the problem is that I am not healthy enough to spray that's why I let them stay in. Luckily, there was rainfall later on and now the other field has enough water too, so now it looks healthier.
August 24
Ehhh...! This is my spoiled cucumber garden. A little of them are sold to the market, but we eat some ourselves, especially my children do when they come to cut the grass. I also have two kinds of eggplants: water greens and wax gourds. Occasionally I sell them to the market that is about 4 km from here that I have to drive to on a motorbike by myself.
Honestly I don’t have much time for growing vegetables because housework, pigs and rice are more important and, as you know, this is the rainy season and we are farmers. I just left about 3,000 fish in the pond behind me, but when there is too much rain some of them may have gotten out.
I have just harvested the rice field, which is near my vegetable garden and used to have problems with water and pests, two days ago and dried the rice. I cannot leave it alone otherwise chicken or ducks would come and eat it.
I don’t sell the rice, but I send some of the white rice to my children in Phnom Penh.
Are you afraid? Haha! Sorry, I’m just kidding! Alright, this is my demo rice field that is about 2 km from my house. I am just trying, but Mr. Vanna, an FBA and his advisor from IDE, Mr Rith, help me. Now look! They are really green and healthy. I believe it will give me more yield, so I would need their help again, wouldn’t I?
Wow! Oh no! Don’t come closer to them or they would kick and harm you; I’m telling you!
I have two pigs, four buffaloes and few chickens. During this season, we cannot leave them roaming because they would eat and damage other farmers’ rice.
At home we have to cut grass and water green/morning glory from my vegetable garden and straw or hay from the rice filled for them. My daughter does this before and after school, and she does some other house work too.
September 17
I left my eggplant and cucumber gardens for a while during rainy season when I must take care of my rice field. Morning glory/water green is the only vegetable I am growing, and because they can handle being in the water which helps them grow well. Sometimes I walk in to get the weeds out then I go to the rice field nearby.
Water green is also popular for Cambodian people, especially in this season when we have small fish from the field with some carbs and Prahok (Khmer Cheese) to make soup. Delicious!!!
This is my new transplanted rice field that lies close to the vegetable garden which is now in the second growing time. My son plows and I transplant with my daughter when she’s free from school, but I never want her to do it because she needs to go to her class. She’s taking her high school exam next year, and then she will have to go to university in Phnom Penh with her brother and look for a job there.
I don’t mind staying home in the field because when I miss them I just give them a call. That’s fine!!
I believe farmers who grow around here will want to try FDP like me.
Hello! I am Tum Hum. My house is very near to Mrs. Sambo. I live with my daughter and her children. My husband and one of my three sons have jobs at a shrimp farm in Thailand and my two other sons are in Phnom Penh. They come home only on special occasion like New Year’s Day, but sometimes they send us money.
Of course, I am a farmer. I have small amount of land on which I grow rice and now I use FPD fertilizer. My cousin does too because we saw that Sambo’s demo field is nice and healthy. I have some livestock: chicken, ducks, pigs and five cows. This is water green that I bought from Mrs. Sambo for my pigs.
Back to Tum Sambo:
Mmm! It rained a lot this week and the rain almost flooded my fish pond, which I think washed out some of my fish into the other field.
I don’t have to pay for the fish feed because I can find kind of small aquatic plants from the field or pond around once a week.
He actually is tired because last night he went out to the field to catch fish and came back late, so I should let him take a nap. But, the bulls must be hungry, so I need to make him get up because I have to cook now.
