Ground Breaking News
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November 2010 was ground breaking for Floating
Stone, literally. Through donations, we were able to provide “seed”
funding for a project which includes technical training for
sustainable farming in Kampot province, Cambodia. Small scale food
production is phase one of a Cambodian woman, San Vannary’s,
initiative that will have far reaching consequences.
The initial goal of her project is to provide a sustainable income
and food for Commune Council members, who represent villager’s
issues to Government. The next phase of this project will involve
training the Commune Council Members to do their community advocacy
work more effectively. The original small scale farm garden will
provide a simple, repeatable model as well as seed, chicks and fish
for other permaculture farms, which in turn will inspire more farms.
The project will begin in one Commune, Dambok Khpos, which consists
of eleven villages in Kampot province.
Two elected Commune Council members as well as
candidates for the upcoming election and two community activists
will participate in the initial project for a total of 10
participants. The two elected Commune Council members will benefit
from the food and income generated by the farm garden. Five of the
participants will go on to share the technical training as well as
labour, seeds, fish fingerlings, chicks and support for two more
farm gardens in 2011 for two Commune Council members in nearby
Communes.
The Commune Council members are the lowest rung of elected
government in Cambodia. They represent the villager’s concerns and
issues and advocate for the rights of villagers within the public
service and to higher levels of government. However, they are rarely
trained to do this, nor do they have an income that allows them
sufficient time to attend to their duties. The two Commune Council
members that are involved in this project are from the opposition
party, and not having the “ear of government” they have even less
capacity to be effective.
The Commune Council members will learn more about their duties and
responsibilities in Phase two of the project. They will also be
trained to; do community mapping, compile evidence for case
histories, conduct interviews, collect relevant data, as well as
learn advocacy skills. This will improve their capacity to
effectively represent the people of their commune by standing up
against rights abuses and land grabbing. They will also be able to
pass on this information to newly elected Commune Council members.
But what does this have to do with Floating Stone and the silk
business? Everything! When Floating Stone first got started, it was
never just about buying and selling beautiful fairly traded silk
accessories. It has always been about finding ways to be useful to
some of the poorest of the poor, in a country ravaged by war,
genocide, greed and corruption. The difficulty lay in waiting until
those ways were revealed after establishing trust and friendship. As
fate would have it, my first friend in Cambodia was this amazing
young woman, San Vannary.
Vannary is fueled by love for her country and committed to social
change for her people. She works full time with Action Aid,
constantly travelling to provide training and support
for the villagers in remote areas in a multitude of ways:
healthcare, education, anti violence work and much more.
She is the mother of three young children and the wife of the
chief of the opposition party for Kampot province. She is also an
amazing silk designer and has owned several shops at different
times. I met her at one of those shops on my first trip to Cambodia
in 2006. We have been close friends and business associates since
then, sharing that burning desire for social justice. We often dream
and scheme about ways of doing things differently, while “playing”
with silk colours and styles.
Vannary took me on the adventure of a lifetime
last year. We travelled for three hours by vehicle (with an armed
guard) and then for another two hours in a tiny boat with several
other Cambodians to visit floating villages. Vannary had found
funding through her work with Action Aid for a Maternal Health
 Centre,
floating vegetable gardens and some anti violence training. She
needed to go to visit the project and took me along for the ride. It
was very obvious how much the villagers respected her and were
grateful for her interest and commitment to their needs.
Eight months later, when I went back to work on my silk collection
with Vannary, she had another iron in the fire! She was so excited
to see if she could run this project on her own and ask her silk
buyers to help by providing resources and funding. We got started
right away with a trip to Kampot to meet the
participants and hear more about the project. They were ready to get
to work, with donated land and lots of enthusiasm. We all hoped onto
three motorcycles (there were at least nine of us) and travelled out
past the verdant rice fields onto parched fields growing nothing.
The big problem in Cambodia is a lack of irrigation. During the
rainy season, there is lots of water. But when dry season comes the
land becomes parched. So permaculture is essential. Permaculture
relies on renewable resources and creates a self-sustaining eco
system. For example, the palm fronds that fall to the ground are
often used for sheds and on house roofs. Once they are no longer
useful there, they can be recycled in the garden to retain moisture.
The fronds can be layered with chicken, pig and cow dung, straw etc
and other green waste, a la lasagna, to add nutrients to the soil as
well as hold the precious moisture.
There is probably nothing new in these methods.
They were likely used before the devastation of the Pol Pot regime.
Sadly, so much that was before, was lost. People were and still are,
30 years later, demoralized, paralyzed and debilitated. Many of the
Aid projects delivered by Non Governmental Organizations have helped
but have also hindered self sustainability. Too often people in
Cambodia have come to expect handouts. Projects fail, funds are
absconded with, or the funds and help are tied to faith based
agendas. And all of this can come with collateral damage.
What makes this project so great is it is all local grassroots
activism. The project has evolved directly from Cambodian people who
know what is needed and who can mobilize in their own communities.
The communities provide the land and labour. The beauty of this
project lies in its simplicity and repeatability. Once Cambodians
see how easy it is to grow food with simple compostable materials,
they will start to copy the method and grow their own food.
All that is needed is a small amount of cash to get the ball rolling
and nurture it along for a while. Trainings, travel costs, materials
costs for the seeds, chicks, fish and garden sheds as well as the
material costs for the advocacy capacity building phase amount to
about $2000 US. If you have a few extra dollars to help with this
project, you will be making a difference in the lives of many. Any
amount will be most gratefully accepted. If you are able to
contribute, we will send you a photo story and progress reports.
In January 2011 Floating Stone will return to Cambodia with Thierry
Vrain who is a former soil scientist, a current organic farmer and
one of the founding members of Garden’s Without Boarders. We are
going to look into the possibility of using the permaculture methods
to start growing mulberry trees, which provide the leaves for the
silk worms to feast on.
Recent steep rises in silk prices are causing many Cambodian weavers
to lose their livelihood. Middlemen are trying to drive prices down
in the sluggish world economy while the price of silk climbs. Most
of Cambodia’s silk is being imported from Vietnam, China and
Thailand. Cambodian silk is highly prized yet lack of water and
irrigation systems and an indifferent government mean the industry
is dying. Mulberry was once abundant but was destroyed by the Pol
Pot regime, along with most of the weaving knowledge. Some
restoration efforts have been successful so we know it can be done.
We are just starting the research for this project and hope to learn
much from Vannary’s project that will be applicable to the Mulberry
growing.
By now you can see the relationship between beautiful silks and
basic needs. Our producers are super excited about growing their own
mulberry and becoming sustainable silk producers. It will help them
to weather the world economic fluctuations. It will also help them
to be self sufficient and not at the mercy of governments who do not
provide basic infrastructure for their own people.
We hope to hear from you so we can get those seeds sprouting! Please
consider giving to Vannary’s permaculture project, as one of those
gifts that just keeps on giving. If we exceed the amount for
Vannary’s project, donations will go directly towards the Mulberry
growing project.
And you will be written in Cambodia’s heart forever…
Contact Information
Lynda Drury
Floating Stone Silks
floatingstone@shaw.ca
Phone 250 338-4747
Cell 250 792-1198
www.FloatingStoneSilks.com
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