One evening I sat down with a group of five farmers in Preah Vihear province. We had a discussion of how to improve our livelihoods when the nature is no longer nice to us.
"If I own a pair of cows, I will plow my field and turn it into a vegetable garden. They also give dung for fertilizers, " a woman said. "But I will buy them after the next harvest season," she continued.
"There is no water for rice farming during dry seasons," a man talked to me. "Even you bring us a canal, we are not sure if we plant rice," he frowned. "Why?" I asked. "Because our habit is to farm once a year, if you do, you will be alone and people's animal will eat your rice. I cannot afford making fences around my field," he said.
Another man replied promptly, "Fencing is not a big deal, but water is." "I already do farming around a small pond, where water is almost empty during dry seasons," he said as if another source of water would surely make his life better.
Another old lady said water for household was more serious. She does not have enough water for cooking and drinking. She needed a water tank that could store as enough rain water to use for the whole year. However, she complained of the cost of installing rainspout if the tank she wanted is provided.
"No the rainspout is not expensive! I just made by it myself and bought some materials with the money I borrowed from my relatives," the other lady interrupted. "Now with the rain water, my grandson and family is happy," she smiled.
The conversation went on with several topics, and I noticed that there were two groups of thoughts, the pessimistic and optimistic. There were people who need supports but do not believe in themselves, and the other who are just the opposite.
When the meeting was over, I decided to visit the first and the last ladies' homes. Their positive thinking motivated me. Their thoughts are put into actions and they pay them back.
"If I own a pair of cows, I will plow my field and turn it into a vegetable garden. They also give dung for fertilizers, " a woman said. "But I will buy them after the next harvest season," she continued.
"There is no water for rice farming during dry seasons," a man talked to me. "Even you bring us a canal, we are not sure if we plant rice," he frowned. "Why?" I asked. "Because our habit is to farm once a year, if you do, you will be alone and people's animal will eat your rice. I cannot afford making fences around my field," he said.
Another man replied promptly, "Fencing is not a big deal, but water is." "I already do farming around a small pond, where water is almost empty during dry seasons," he said as if another source of water would surely make his life better.
Another old lady said water for household was more serious. She does not have enough water for cooking and drinking. She needed a water tank that could store as enough rain water to use for the whole year. However, she complained of the cost of installing rainspout if the tank she wanted is provided.
"No the rainspout is not expensive! I just made by it myself and bought some materials with the money I borrowed from my relatives," the other lady interrupted. "Now with the rain water, my grandson and family is happy," she smiled.
The conversation went on with several topics, and I noticed that there were two groups of thoughts, the pessimistic and optimistic. There were people who need supports but do not believe in themselves, and the other who are just the opposite.
When the meeting was over, I decided to visit the first and the last ladies' homes. Their positive thinking motivated me. Their thoughts are put into actions and they pay them back.
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| Her field is already green and she plans to utilize it more. |
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| She was given a tank and she built the rainspout. At least her grandson is happy. |
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