PROJECTS OVERVIEW
Our mission is to empower poor people and communities in rural and urban areas with knowledge, skill, resources and system (tools) which enable them to improve their livelihood and economy in a sustainable way.
We focus on building a Civil democratic community based organization (CBO’s) such as SHG, VSLA, Farmer Cooperative and other women based or led grassroot groups to promote their social and economical rights and building their self-development capacities, so that thsese CBO’s can work as representatives of the members and as defenders of the most vulnerqble pepole (women, ethnic minorities).
CTO brings together teams with varied skills, allowing it to help promoting rights for vulnereable people in 5 different Fields of expertise:
Natural ressource management
Conservation of forests, Construction of the water reservoir of Trav Kod, conservation of spring waterfalls in Kulen ....
Agriculture
Foundation and support of Agricultural Cooperatives, Construction of irrigation canals, water reservoir infrastructure, water sanitation and hygiene. Establishement of fish sanctuary, Facilitating & providing training on natural composting...
Education
Support of basic education: ensuring children attend school until grade 9 and supporting families of the poorest children, Construction of libraries, child club and computing labs,..
Women empowerment and Gender equity
Training women entrepreneurs to business skills (incubator,accelerator) Encouraging women to take leadership positions in all CBOs
Climate Change
Mitigation and adaptation : Educating and sensitizing communities to climate change, Promoting new varieties of seeds more resilient to temperature increasing, Supporting eco-tourism, Protecting forests ...
A project always rises from the needs of local communities. Through our experience, we have understood and learned a lot. We know that a community does not have one but multiple needs linked to each other in different areas. Helping a community to develop itself in a sustainable way implies investing in these different areas at the same time.
With the exception of the Trav Kod project, which is the biggest project and initiator of the CTO adventure, a project at CTO would be define as :
- 1 province
- 1 or + local communities
- 1 objective
- 1 or + areas of expertise
- 1 or + years
- 1 official donor
From 2006 to 2022 we have worked on 13 projects, helping more than 12 000 families and collaborating with 10 official donors.
2015-2025, LOCAL RIGHTS PROGRAM 2
60 000$
Per year
Oddarmeanchey
Province
1250
Beneficiary families
After the success of the previous project LRP 1 (Local Rights Program) in 2014-2016, in partnership with Action Aid Cambodia (AAC), we backed up another project from a former partner of AAC : the program from the Children development association in Oddarmeanchey
This 2nd edition of LRP project focuses on 34 villages, 25 primary school, 10 Communities Forest and 1 Community Forest provincial network
We built with AAC a local partner NGO during which the organization extensively provided and support our institutional and technical capacities. Therefore, AAC has financially assisted CTO in developing a strategic LRP project plan.
2023 would be the last year of the program, and CTO-AAC will prepare for a phase–out strategy.
Under the AAC-CTO partnership, the project component consisted of the following:
- Supporting children’s right to good education and infrastructure: in collaboration with 25 schools, we build libraries and garbage incinerators next to schools, we support informal classes to improve child education, we promote life skills in school, we implement solar lights, and plant trees in schoolyards to provide shadow and new varieties of flora. In villages, we build playgrounds and child’s clubs for children to use in their free time
- Building & supporting rice banks to allow the ones in need access to food
- Building & supporting cow banks
- Supporting and helping people to develop infrastructure and business around attractive natural places related to eco-tourism
- Supporting 1 provincial Community Forest network with 10 Community Forest members
- Human Rights-Based Approach and land protection
2020-2022, Empower Women Entrepreneurship for an Active and Collective Trading
85 493$
Total of donation
Siem Reap
Province
54
Beneficiary women
Under Pact/USAID-CTO partnership, CTO received a grant for the project named E-WE ACT that stands for Empower Women Entrepreneurs for Active and Collective Trading. The project was funded by USAID and managed by PACT. Pact/USAID has been committed to extensively supporting CTO institutional and technical capacity.
The program supported 54 potential young women entrepreneurs equipped with improved knowledge and skills to become advanced entrepreneurs in investment. It comprises Building Business Skills for Young Women Entrepreneurs (YWEs) and youth, empowering YWEs and youth on Socio-Economic Leadership, and Building self-reliance for the Siem Reap YWE Hub (SYWE Hub).
We have helped them build a production-process-packaging-branding to meet the demand of competitive markets.
As a result of our work, at least 5 urban young women entrepreneurs were selected as champion young women entrepreneurs and they will become role models for leading businesses. Moreover, one woman entrepreneur hub was established as a platform for life skills in business and entrepreneurship learning among youth, rural and urban women in Siem Reap.
PACT : Empowerment Women Entrepreneurship for Active and collective trading
2018-2020, Enhancing Social & Economic Capacity of Farmer’s CBOs with Meaningful Women Participation
195 000$
Total of donation
Preah Vihear
Province
1250
Beneficiary families
- Promoting sustainable and climate-resilient agriculture production,
- Improving access to gender-sensitive and Inclusive financial services
- Promoting Women Entrepreneurship
- Strengthening farmer organizations in market linkage and representative member rights
- Protecting farmer rights by enabling policy environment
- Strengthening local partner organizations to be active HRB actors & agents of change
2018, Women Empowerment in Economic through Climate Resilient Agriculture Techniques
34 000$
Total of donation
Siem Reap
Province
150
Beneficiary families
Financed and supported by the Australian Embassy (DAP), CTO has installed 20 stations of Solar panels for vegetable farming irrigation managed by women in Siem Reap Province. The project has impacted 150 families.
2017-2018, Protection and rehabilitation community landscape of Kulen national park
50 000$
Total of donation
Siem Reap
Province
500
Beneficiary families
- Improving livelihood through smart agriculture and agro-forestry practice
- Delimitating and creating 6 protection zones for spring water catchment
- Promoting Climate Smart Agriculture and Climate Adaptation techniques to families living in Kulen national park
- Improving forest cover
2015-2017, Enhancing farmer cooperatives movement and services in Siem Reap Province
192 000$
Total of donation
Siem Reap
Province
900
Beneficiary families
- Establishing the Siem Reap’s Provincial Agricultural Cooperative Union
- Converting and applying (VSLA) model to existing Self Help Groups (we gather individual farmers in groups to address common issues, we call those groups SHG)
- Supporting the establishment of new cooperatives in new target districts and Capacity building
- Providing Capacity Building to Existed Cooperatives (Cooperatives Operation + Business Operation)
- Promoting young farmers for basic agriculture knowledge (including secondary/high school students)
- Developing Organizational competencies
2014-2016, LOCAL RIGHTS PROGRAM 1
109 600$
Total of donation
Siem Reap
Province
+ 1500
Beneficiary families
CTO worked with Action Aid Cambodia (AAC) which funded a community development program in Otdar Meanchey province called LRP (Local rights program) project.
For the project, our concrete actions are :
- Supporting 5 Cow banks
- Supporting existing 6 Self-help groups (we gather individual farmers in groups to address common issues, we call those groups SHG)
- Supporting 8 existing rice banks
- Supporting 8 existing producer group
- Supporting 8 informal classes to improve child education
- Supporting 6 child clubs
- Promoting child reading with two libraries built by project
- Organazing exchange visits between school to school, farmer to farmer.
2013-2014, Strengthening Farmer’s Economy in Rural Community
120 000$
Total of donation
Siem Reap
Province
1250
Beneficiary families
- Improving the knowledge and skills of farmers. This targets three major fields of their agricultural activities identified at the stage of the project design, namely rice and vegetable production and animal husbandry. We call it “Agricultural technology transfer”
- Supporting the transformation of farmers’ activities from subsistent to commercial-oriented farming. We call this phase « Commercialization of farming activities and marketing”
- Organizing structures which will make the transformation from subsistent to commercial farming possible. This final step is “Support to establishment of cooperatives and Self Help Groups (SHGs)”
2011-2014, Strengthening Farmer Economy through Rice Yield & Husbandry Productivity Improvement
200 000$
Total of donation
Siem Reap
Province
1170
Beneficiary families
- Facilitating & providing training on natural composting to 1176 farmers
- Facilitating and providing training on SRI to 24 key trainers
- Supporting key farmers to conduct training on SRI to 1152 farmers
- Constructing 18 km of secondary irrigation canal & its support structure
- 1176 families will be able to access water resources for farming.
- Supporting Technical skills & resources for 300 farmers to 1176 farmers to practice SRI to improve their rice yield
- Supporting Technical skills & resources to 300 farmers to practice successful & safe husbandry
2014 , Promoting and Strengthening Water and Sanitation Hygiene communities
37 897$
Total of donation
Preah Vihear
Province
500
Beneficiary families
The Water SAnitation Hygiene (WASH) project lasted one year and concerned the Rumdos Srae commune, Chaom Ksan district, in Preah Vihea Province which represent more then 500 families beneficiaries.
The main actions consisted in :
- Strengthening the capacity of the government, local NGOs, community-based organizations (CBOs), and private sectors for effective WASH governance, coordination, and project implementation at the sub-national, provincial district, and commune levels
- Increasing women’s participation and decision-making in the WASH sector and equitable access to WASH services”
- Promoting hygiene behavior at schools and communities focusing on the prevention of infectious diseases, and malnutrition and also improving girls/women’s menstrual hygiene
- Providing equitable access to improved water and sanitation facilities
2013, Sustainable forest management through Community forest and rural livelihood enhancement
25 000$
Total of donation
Preah Vihear
Province
500
Beneficiary families
- Facilitatate quaterly Community Forest network at commune : 20 network members, 8 CTO, 4 recoft, 4FA
- Preparation of internal by-laws of Community Forest management committee of Community Forest boundary mapping
2011-2012, Feasibility study for Polyom and Prey Sangha irrigation
3500$ & 4500$
Total of donation
Battambang & Pursat
Province
50 & 50
Beneficiary families
For Both Polyom and Prey Sangha communities we carried out the following actions :
- Conducting a survey of land used under the irrigation system
- Irrigation impact assessment
2006-2013, TRAV KOD
Siem Reap Province
Prasat Bakong District, Ballangk commune
4180
Beneficiary families
Trav Kod’s project is at the origin of CTO.
It represents our biggest budget (almost 1 million $), longest duration ( 8 years), and biggest impact on the local communities (almost 4000 families beneficiaries). It is on this project that we have built our basic knowledge of social welfare.
Originally, the project was the construction of a dam to rehabilitate the Travkod reservoir. While working on the site, we understood that we had to act in other areas if we wanted to see the communities develop in a sustainable way, namely: to have a healthy population by cleaning up the water, to help the farmers to improve their crops by providing them with tools (canals and pond fishing) and knowledge (training), etc…
We are very proud of this project
2006 : Ballangk community development program
- Bio-sand water filter distribution to poor families in Ballangk commune
- Scabby treatment in Ballangk commune
2007 : Trav Kod feasibility study
- Trav Kod reservoir feasibility study
- Bio-sand water filter distribution
- Scabby treatment in Ballangk commune-site land mine clearance
2008-2011 : Trav Kod’s rehabilitation
- Trav Kod water gate construction
- Bio-sand water filter distribution
- Scabby treatment in Ballangk commune-site land mine clearance
- Khmer & English literacy program
- Farmer water user group formulation
2011 : Promote community participation in SangSa Island project
- Promote families’ organic farming
- Community waste management
2010-2012 : Food for Work project
- 2500m canal digging
- 50 families of fish ponds implementing
2012 : Mainstreaming Climate Change into Community Livelihood and Development Activities
- Awareness and Knowledge of climate change and its impact
- Community-based institutions such as CCDM and Commune councils with strengthened capacity for climate change and adaptation
- Adaptive Agriculture (diversification) and Natural Resources Management and access to sustainable financial resources and physical infrastructure
- Access to knowledge and experience on VRA and CCA
2010-2013 : Environmental and Livelihood improvement through sustainable management of natural resources in Ballangk
- Establish a community fish sanctuary in Trav Kod
- Strengthening capacity and improving management on Chkae Lou CF
- Promoting aquaculture capacity and family fish pond
- Establish CBET of Trav Kod
2013 : Construction 2 Libraries in Trapeang Por and Sna Songkream primary school
- Construction library at Trapeang Por primary school
- Setting up latrines including two box culverts
- Backup program from HRND in Ballangk commune
2011 – 2014 : Strengthening Farmer Economy through Rice Yield & Husbandry Productivity Improvement
- Facilitate & provide training on natural composting to 1176 farmers
- Facilitate and provide training on SRI to 24 key trainers
- Support key farmers to conduct training on SRI for 1152 farmers
- Construct 18 km of secondary irrigation canal & its support structure
- 1176 families will be able to access water resources for farming.
- Technical & resource support to 1176 farmers to practice SRI to improve their rice yield
- Technical & resources support 300 farmers to practice successful & safe husbandry
