Cambodia's Rural Communities and Social Capital Formation: Lessons Learned from Villages in Tram Kak District, Takeo Province

This study aims to explore lessons learned of CEDAC’s community-based development strategies through formation of Farmer Association (FA) and its implications on Social Capital build-up for self-promoting development in Cambodia’s rural communities. Carried out as a case study is an Improving Livelihood of Small Farmers project in Tram Kak district, Takeo province, Cambodia implemented by CEDAC and supported by JICA (2003-2009). Six years after the commencement of the Project in 2003, it was observed that the project has successfully developed a complex farmer’s network weaved by different types of units, at each local administrative level and by thematic sectors (agriculture production, savings and credit, women, youth etc.).

Through studying six cases of CEDAC’s FA model, the study revealed that external intervention through community-based organizations can bring positive changes to social relations and organizational capacity. The case study has shown that the formation of FAs is not only increasing the agricultural productivity, providing low-cost alternative of loans and savings, and transferring new skills to others, but also giving a collective voice, a group identity and mutual support to the poor and disadvantaged. The network has gradually changed perceptions among farmers and established more social networks and relationship in and outside the village. It is also important to notice that not all of these changes can be attributed to the project intervention. A large share of these was the existing functions and familiarity about each other in the village and the homogenous socio-economic status of villagers which contribute to the successful performance of the groups.

This study concludes that external intervention can become more effective means to create self-propelling and sustainable rural communities when values and functions made by existing social capital are recognized and integrated into development activities to achieve the common... [continues]

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