Testimony of Vicheka, farmer within the project implemented by CARE in Cambodia

Vicheka, 27, lives in Norn Hai Village in Ratanak Kiri, a remote province that shares borders with Laos and Vietnam in the far northeast of Cambodia. She is Tampoun, an ethnic minority whose culture and language differs from Khmer, the majority population in Cambodia.

Remoteness, cultural and linguistic barriers faced by ethnic minorities hinder their access to accurate forecasts or modern technology to assist them to respond to changing weather conditions from climate change which have become more frequent in Cambodia in recent years. Traditional knowledge is less effective in the current context for Vicheka and the money from the sale of the crops is the only source of income for her family.

Vicheka joined the ACIS (Agro-Climate Information Services) project to gain knowledge on how she can adapt her farming practices to overcome these new challenges. She is also a Champion Farmer, a role assigned to members of the ACIS project who are responsible for gathering other farmers in their community together and passing on what they have learnt from the project.

Click here to find out more about the Care project in Cambodia.