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Rural communes |
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O
BAK ROTES,
Koh Kong
Province |
In Koh Kong Province, near National Road # 4, the
devastating deforestation program held by the government has revealed a fertile
flat land-area, bordered by mountains and irrigated with several water sources.
This 96 km2-land was rapidly adopted by migrant
farmers from different provinces, who gathered into 3 villages, creating the
commune of O Bak
Rotes. Located halfway between Phnom Penh and Sianoukville (120 Km),
the commune numbers 2, 656 inhabitants.
The population lives under extreme poverty, mostly
upon forest resources, going to the mountains to cut wood and collect
wild fruits or medicinal plants. People also grow vegetable and rice,
fruit and cashew nut trees, and farm silk worms.
Being recently created, O
Bake Rotes does not hold any infrastructure capable of regulating the water that
could prevent it from suffering the floods and droughts caused by the same
deforestation that gave birth to it.
The commune needs an impulse to start taking advantage of its good
location (90 mn from Phnom Penh by car, on NR4), and fair environment (water
falls).
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Projects in
need of fund raising |
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- Irrigation works :
Building of a water reservoir and digging of 12 wells that
should prevent the commune from undergoing the consequences of droughts and
floods and provide it with clean water. |
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MP Tioulong Saumura and SRP members, studying the
map of O Bak Rotes |
| Bridge repairing
: With its very nice waterfalls , O Bak
Rotes seems naturally designed to host
a tourist resort. the access to the waterfalls is made
difficult by the bad conditions of the road and bridges. The
repairing of the bridges would make the site accessible to visitors and local
people. Its rehabilitation would serve the local population as well as
tourists. |
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make a donation |
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- Rest
area along NR#4,
consisting of a
market place, a parking area, and toilets,
this rest area is to be built on a piece of land
spreading on 50 metres along the road, opposite the commune office. This project will
give an impulse to local production and create jobs. |
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September 2002- The only market of O Bak
Rotes Commune |
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Implemented
projects |
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Relocation of 50 families (1st semester, 2002):
Because of the enlargement of
National Road # 4, the people who used to live along the road got displaced.
The SRP managed the building of 50 proper houses, for the poorest families, on a
piece of land allocated by the commune.
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Septembre 2002: children in front of their temporary housing |
- Diversification of natural
resources: Cow Bank (20
cows) & vegetable farming
Cow bank to diversify the agricultural
resources and help the farmers saving money on product-transportation to the
market place: the bank provides one
cow to one of the poorest family. The calf first born is given to the borrower,
who gives back the cow. The bank lends it to a second family, who keeps it until
the second calf is born… |
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| The
cow bank implementation, November 2002 |
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Recently grown
vegetable garden, sept. 2002 |
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Rehabilitation of the commune office:
The commune compound, located along NR#4, currently hosts
the recently renovated commune office and the
temporary housings
mentioned above. it should
soon host the health centre. In the
background are the mountains where the inhabitants get fruits
and medicinal plants. |
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Soam
Thom - Poipet -
Sre Samrong -
Prek Dambok -
Svay Chocheb
- Pnov |
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Commune
Development Main Page |
