The aim is to preserve indigenous culture
CIFA (Cambodia Indigenous Friendship Association) works with the Bunong indigenous community in north-east Cambodia. The project supports the Bunong with various strategies for managing the remaining land for food security, securing land titles and preserving their culture.
Photo report from the project in Cambodia
CIFA trains and advises the families in organic farming techniques and in the production and marketing of cash crops such as pepper, coffee and rubber, which are grown by the indigenous farmers themselves on small plots of land.
Thanks to new techniques, such as the grafting of rubber trees, the Bunong are able to improve their production. CIFA connects the farmers with buyers for their products and negotiates fair prices.
CIFA aims to familiarise farmers with a sustainable form of agriculture, as many are only familiar with the intensive form of plantations run by transnational rubber companies. This includes producing their own compost.
While the Bunong used to practise shifting cultivation in the past, the land is now permanently farmed and is dependent on the supply of nutrients.
The approximately 400 farmers participating in CIFA engage in a wide range of agricultural activities. This also includes animal husbandry, such as fish and snail farming. Snails are part of many dishes in Cambodia and sell well.
Since the beginning of 2024, CIFA has been operating a demonstration farm on an area of approx. 1 ha. Among other things, new coffee cultivation techniques are being tested here. As warmer temperatures are hard on the Robusta coffee plant, mixed crops are being trialled. CIFA keeps pigs, chickens, ducks, fish and snails on the demonstration farm for training purposes and operates a demonstration area for compost production.
CIFA’s agricultural experts regularly visit the farmers’ fields to check that the new techniques are being implemented as taught.
Weaving plays an important role in preserving traditions, as the traditional costume is still worn at major festivals. CIFA has purchased two sewing machines so that the weavers can process the woven products.
Another traditional skill of the Bunong is basket weaving.
CIFA supports the community in purchasing materials so that the traditional craft is not lost and local production is promoted at the same time.
Another group of Bunong have formed a cultural group: CIFA set up a small recording studio to record and broadcast traditional music and produce other programmes about Bunong identity and daily life.
CIFA runs a small restaurant in Bousra that serves traditional Bunong dishes. Farmers can sell their produce here, which is processed in the restaurant or sold on directly. In addition to the familiar vegetables, the inhabitants of the small town can also find so-called forest vegetables here: various roots, plants and wild fruits that are collected by the Bunong in the forest and enrich the menu.
Farmer Kert Nat has been working with CIFA for a year. She grows pepper, coffee, rubber and various vegetables in her field. She is very eager to learn and is grateful for the training opportunities offered by CIFA. Next, she would like to expand her knowledge of tree grafting.
By cultivating the fields, the family can secure a modest but stable income.
Kert Nat is optimistic about the future. Thanks to the collaboration with CIFA, she is hoping for a better harvest. She dreams of building her own house.