The northwest of Cambodia, therefore, not only remains one the most under developed and wholly agrarian based areas in Cambodia (45% of the population were living under the poverty line in 2004, 6% higher than the national average of 39% ), but it also has the special context of a large landless population, and bears many scars of the recent tumultuous history of the country. Many local men were caught up in the conflict, and the fighting has therefore also left many local widows and female-headed families, who face their own particular struggles to survive. Moung Russie can be characterized as rural district in Battambang province north-west of Cambodia. The people in the target district 85% is farmer relied on agriculture product by yearly one time planting. There many risk factors arise for their daily living including landmine on farm, lack health care, food shortage, lack of business skill etc, and also community leaders are low of capacity in development and they know how to cope with their villagers remaining issues. The recent result of community need assessment conducted by Cambodian Youth Development Center and team of volunteer from UK found that, the facts that female-headed households are reliant on just one parent means that their existence is immediately all the more precarious, as should anything happen to the female there is no one to take over her responsibilities.

Female-headed households are also more likely to be landless, often due to land being sold or pawned to pay for a sick of family member medical costs. Female-headed households are vulnerable to land grabs by richer (money lender) neighbors, as they are perceived as having less power to defend their rights and have no recourse to the judicial system.

Female-headed households have further difficulties if circumstances require that they seek employment in the border region.
5. Rationale for the Proposed Project:
CYDC’s proposed cow bank project for women household will be directly addressing community base objectives of increasing the availability of income, access to capital for business initiative, and the use of cow bank asset for poor and vulnerable households generate these gifts support each other in their communities.
Household availability of cow bank will be increased by maximizing production through improved animal production methods, better group management, improving post-harvesting techniques and value addition, supporting extension services, and promoting income diversification through small business, and organic farm development.
The project will facilitate availability of small business by promoting saving mobilization and loan for vegetable home-stead gardening, fruit trees within a household and fish raising. Moreover, the project will develop intervention strategies to help the families to market the animal product, vegetable, fruit and fish in the markets for additional income. In Moung Russie, most farmers raising animal and quality of this produce is very important for the farmer to get the right price. CYDC will coordinate the group to develop the business plan and marketing strategies. These facilities will help the farmers to bring a better quality product to the market and demand better price.
Food utilisation will be supported as well by promoting good nutrition, diet diversification, promoting better infant feeding practices, and proper health seeking behaviours. Nutrition education will be implemented by model mothers in the community using innovative behaviour change approaches.
. Project Strategy/ Listing of Project Activities
- Provide training to community leader, women household on self help group development, leadership, management skill
- Conduct group discussion with women group to organize self help group of women and equip with regulation and group bookkeeping system.
- Organize training on cow raising and treatment with 30 of women household.
- Provide cow seed support to 15 women house hold in two communes.
- Provide training and kit support to village livestock for cow treatment in their group.
- Facilitate women self help to promote saving mobilization and bookkeeping.
- Facilitate community self help group to link with commune bank federation for get more capital support on group activity
- Conduct reflect workshop for project review and future plan development
- Conduct project evaluation and report to donor and other NGO practice on self help group and livelihood improvement.
6. Expected Results.
- 15 families of women household have income from animal product and can pass the gift to other member in their community.
- The project will create women business opportunity through capital from cow bank
- The women self help group will lead and manage their group properly with strong support from local authority and commune council.
- The women group will be released from debt and available to send their children go to school without worry about food shortage.
7. Innovation: How different it is for other or earlier projects?
Women household will stop their migration from community to find labor employment in border their children can continue go to school.
Women group can start to produce the nature compost their home garden and rice field from animal manure
The target group will gain the awareness and technical on animal raising with quality produce and share these lesson learn to other community member for better benefit from project.
The self help group of women will increase capital from member saving and capable to generate the loan to their members for business initiative.
The strong management structure have developed and governed by women with capability can led to access commune recognizing and support other partners development in local and regional

Picture: