Cambodia

Meet Poung

Poung Bouch and her husband Pheng Rin scrimped and saved to buy a bit of farmland to help support their seven children – and at last they bought their one-acre dream. Filled with hope, they planted eggplants, cucumbers, string beans and radishes. But their first crops were a disappointment. What could be wrong?

Poung joined The Lutheran World Federation's Farmer Field School, made possible by your generosity to ELCA World Hunger, and paid close attention. The next spring, she spent $7 to buy radish seeds. She and Pheng prepared the soil as she had learned in the workshops and planted their crop. And their new learning paid off – they harvested 2.5 tons of radishes, earning $366!

"The new techniques really work," says Poung, showing off her second crop of radishes. "I can hardly believe it!" Her husband Pheng chimes in, "Thank you very much for teaching us how to grow crops."

Farmer Field School is a part of an integrated approach in Cambodia – including not only agricultural training, but also water and sanitation projects, primary education, health education, work for human rights and advocacy. With your help, ELCA World Hunger works to attack the issues of hunger and poverty from all angles – making a sustainable future possible.

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