Establishing relationships in the Community

While the Kamchai Mear Pilot Project made a strong start implementing the first steps, Krong Kep Pilot Project had a delayed start in implementing activities due to some unavoidable circumstances.

Now that these circumstances had been resolved, and the formalities had been done, with Project Manager CSH endorsing me to the Deputy Governor of Damnak Chang'eur, it will be a solo work for me from here and onwards. I will have to rely on my limited Khmer vocabulary, and the kindness, patience and trust of the people whom I will be talking to in the coming days when I attempt to establish relationships and contacts in their community.

As a methodology, iREACH will be utilizing various Participatory Development Communication (PDC) tools in approaching and involving these two pilot project sites and together identify strategies, and for us the project staff to improve communication with them and other stakeholders.

According to Guy Bessette, in his book, Involving the Community: A Guide to Participatory Development Communication, has this definition of PDC:

Participatory Development Communication (PDC) is a planned activity based on the one hand on participatory processes, and on the other hand on media and interpersonal communication, which facilitates a dialogue among different stakeholders, around a common development problem or goal, with the objective of developing and implementing a set of activities to contribute to its solution, or its realization, and which supports and accompanies this initiative.


PDC follows a number of steps, the first of which is establishing a relationship with local community and understanding the local setting.

And so the question, how did we initiate contact with the two pilot sites?
A lot of work that has been done in both pilot areas were building relationships with local authorities and this, we believe, was important in laying down the foundations for our community work:

In the Cambodian setting, visiting the authorities is like an unspoken requirement in order to enter the community. Visits or meetings such as what the project staff did is important as it shows recognition and respect to the authorities, apart from informing them of the project, asking for their endorsement and cooperation, as well as getting their opinion on the project being introduced.

The attitude that the staff showed to these authorities at this initial phase will spell out whatever relationships we establish with them and with the community in the future. It also helped us enter the community easily and talk to the villagers when the villagers knew that we had already communicated with their leaders, so this is why we didn't go directly to the villagers. Even my counterpart in Kamchai Mear could attest to this.

Initially, I thought that my being a foreigner would pose a difficulty in carrying out my tasks. However, the more I immersed myself in the community, the more comfortable the villagers were with me. My Khmer language proficiency was just enough (a level above struggling) for me to carry on conversations, but most of all, the very fact that I look like them (dark skin, small eyes, black hair), I was easily trusted. It also made it easier for me to interact with them, allowing me to enter their homes, and collect information unobtrusively. However, in some instances, my moto-dop driver helps in interpreting/translating some parts of conversations.

We also met with the different government line agencies in the district level. We did this to gather secondary information to support/verify the information we collected from the community.

The staff in both pilot sites spend more time in the community, talking to the villagers - farmers, students, fisherfolks, women, to name a few, and more often, participating in community social activities.

For example, during the Water Festival, I and the volunteer-enumerators from MVU were invited by a local monk to participate in their Bok Ambok festival celebrated in their pagoda. It was such a huge event in Kep where almost all people from different districts come and celebrate the event in the pagoda. Bok Ambok festival is something like a harvest festival coinciding with the full moon. The highlight of the event is the pounding of newly harvested rice into ambok (pinipig in the Philippines) and at the turn of midnight, offer a prayer with the local monk leading the crowd.

So far, the initial work, i.e., understanding the community and the situation in the community had been done, and still is being done. It's going to be a continuing process. I would like to end this post with this:

The idea behind PDC is the use of participatory communication as one of the tools for development. The way the communication is established and nurtured will affect how involved people will feel about the issues raised and how they will participate - or not - in a research or dvelopment initiative or project.
- Guy Bessette, Involving the Community, A Guide to Participatory Development Communication)

Kep Updates (September-October period)

After the first project meeting in Phnom Penh, staff from both Pilot sites went back to their respective areas to continue what had been started. In Kep Pilot, the following activities were done:

1. Commune meetings
Three commune meetings were conducted in Damnak Chang’eur district as a follow up to the district assembly held last October 3. Permission to conduct the commune meetings was granted by district Governor Tep Yuthy. The commune meeting dates were originally scheduled for the first week of October, but were postponed twice due to the national electoral registration and its subsequent extension. The commune meetings were later held on the last week of October, on successive dates.

One of the things emphasized during the workshop was the creation of an interim committee that will work closely with the iREACH project staff for most of the project activities. The villagers however need more meetings to explain further the role of the committee as well as its tasks and responsibilities, both to the community and the project. The villagers agree to hold meetings again to discuss these matters. The report on the commune workshop will be completed soon.

2. Computer Orientation
One offshoot of the commune meeting was a computer orientation meeting requested by the villagers of Angkaol commune. Villagers attended the two hour meeting and showed interest in using the computers. The vice commune chief urged the project staff to take it slowly when explaining technology to his village-mates because of the apparent low-level of understanding. Also, he stressed that most villagers will be more enticed/interested to participate when they are able to see the equipment right in their villages.

3. Baseline survey
After the first project meeting, the research team sat down with the advisors to revise the existing PRA guidelines and baseline questionnaire. Further discussion and revisions of the questionnaire were made through an e-meeting. After the baseline questionnaire was finalized and approved by the advisors, the baseline survey was conducted in Kep on November 2-8. Eight student volunteers from the Maharishi Vedic University in Prey Veng province were sent to Kep as volunteer survey-enumerators. Prior to this, the students received training from Kamchai Mear Pilot Coordinator and Research Coordinator. A total of 45 respondents from the communes of Pong Tuek, Angkaol and Ou Krasar were interviewed using a 10-page questionnaire over the span of three days. Encoding was done in a computer shop in Kampot province. Currently, the data gathered is being analysed with the help of Kamchai Mear Pilot Coordinator and Researcher as the data collected is in Khmer language. Mr. Pin Vannaro, the Team Leader in Kamchai Mear, suggested having training on SPSS for the staff. SPSS is a computer software program used for analysing data. Mr. Vannaro will write a letter-proposal to the Project Manager about the SPSS training.

4. CSD Field visit in Damnak Chang’eur
Two weeks after the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Commerce and the Center for Social Development (CSD), CSD staff paid a visit to Damnak Chang’eur district. Ms. Seng Theary, the Executive Director of CSD, was joined by her IT staff member Hay Chanthan. They were briefed on the situation in Damnak Chang’eur and after that had an ocular inspection of the target area. During this time, CSD identified potential locations for the internet/computer hubs. The field visit included a meeting with the district Governor. Coincidentally, the group met Brian Unger, iREACH advisor, who was in Kep at that time. Brian decided to join the meeting with the district Governor as well

5. PRA Activity
The PRA guidelines were approved in the last week of November. A PRA testing was done in Kamchai Mear. We reported the result of the PRA testing to Cel and Pam through another e-meeting and together we revised some aspects of the guidelines. The gender component was added only at the last minute as we did not receive the document on time. The PRA activity in Kep was originally scheduled to be done right after the PRA in Kamchai Mear pilot area. However, CSD decided to temporarily halt the activities in Kep. CSD opted to recruit the entire project staff first before proceeding with the activities.

6. Staff recruitment (CSD)
The radio manager, Mr. Hak Sokleap, has been hired and is set to report to work in January 2007. The pilot project coordinator was interviewed late in December and hired in the same period. Mr. Kim Dara, the newly-hired pilot coordinator, will, however, report to work in February, 2007. Other positions, such as Kep Research Coordinator, Local Content Developers and Technician will be filled in later. The Research Manager, on the other hand, decided to go back to Phnom Penh as there are no local activities to be done in Kep at the moment.

7. Site survey with Gateway and Network Solutions
Mr. Huor invited the engineers/technicians from both companies for a site visit to Damnak Chang’eur. Ms. Seng Theary and Mr. Im Sophea of CSD were there too, along with the new iREACH project staff – Mr. Hak Sokleap and Mr. Kim Dara. The group visited the potential sites identified by CSD in its earlier visit. The site visit was aimed for them to study the physical surroundings of the potential sites, assess possible difficulties, etc., and come up with a proposal tailored to our needs.

8. Others – DDD Research
Partial results from the Digital Data Divide’s research were sent to iREACH one month ago. However, we had difficulty in understanding the results, so we requested the research team leader Mr. Men Savornd for clarification. I read through the research report, which is written in English, and its meaning is very unclear. In the previous report that we sent to IDRC, what I wrote there was my interpretation of the original paragraph’s meaning and may or may not represent the intentions of the original author.

This report was cross-posted at the Basecamp so that advisors and other project staff would be able to give feedback on it.

Looking back, I couldn't believe it myself that I was able to accomplish all of these with only myself and Rob as my moto-dop driver in the target area. I realized that my limited stock of Khmer language was enough to tide me over while I am in the community! I noticed that my physical appearance, being similar to the Khmers, made it easier for me to enter the community, talk to the villagers and eventually earn their trust. Although at times I get frustrated at some point, and the frustration is largely due to my inability to understand words that are new to me. Now if only there is a better way to improve my vocabulary...

Computer Orientation in Angkaol Commune

The orientation meeting was scheduled to start at 8am, but only 4 people were present at that time. The vice commune chief suggested that we wait longer for more villagers to arrive. At past 9am, around 11 villagers (composed of the vice commune chief, commune clerk and villagers from Tuol Srangam and Ampeang villages), with only one woman present, gathered in the commune center for the much-anticipated computer orientation session. The participants were notably all old people.

Being told that no other villagers would arrive, the Research Manager (RM) decided to start through a short introduction. Aside from the RM, also introduced were Hay Him, a student volunteer who agreed to do translation as needed by RM, Rob, who volunteers to work with the project and the moto-dop driver, who also joined the orientation session. RM noted that the villager from Tuol Srangam (Mak Khorn) who requested for this orientation session in the previous week’s commune (introductory) meeting was not present.

Before starting the orientation, RM asked the villagers if they knew what a computer was and if they had seen one. RM also asked if they knew what a computer was used for. The villagers were shy to answer to RM’s question, but one villager said that they knew the word but they didn’t know what a computer was like. Just a note, this orientation meeting was done out of a request from one of the villagers as a follow up to the commune introductory meeting. The villagers agreed on this because they wanted to see what a computer looked like. All in all, the villagers seemed to understand the concept and meaning of the word “computer” but, until the meeting, they hadn’t seen, touched or used one.

RM gave a short presentation on the kinds of computer (desktop and laptop), basic features of computers and how they function, and some features such as photo, video and audio storage/playback. Using two laptops, one from the RM and another from the MVU student, the different parts of computers were shown – from turning the computer on, to the function of the mouse, to computer programs and special features. RM occasionally consulted the MVU student-volunteer for some translation.

First demonstrated was preparing a document in a Microsoft word program. The villagers were pleasantly surprised to see that they could use the Word program because it had a Khmer font installed.

The vice commune chief was especially interested in the Microsoft Word program, he said it would be useful to him in his work. He said he prepares documents for submission to the commune chief, district and municipal authorities, as well as other organizations. RM didn’t notice any typewriters at the office, and when asked how they prepared their documents, the vice commune chief said that they wrote them on paper, then took the paper to Kampot to be typed and printed. He said that it takes time to produce commune documents because they have to prepare all the documents needed and then go to Kampot at a designated time. Urgent documents are a different matter though. Travel time is between 45mins to 1hr by motorcycle from Angkaol commune.

Other programs demonstrated were Microsoft Excel, the DVD/CD player, and a photo album. The villagers were encouraged to use the computers. They were hesitant at first, but later on, one by one, they started to loosen up a bit. After some explanation, the villagers familiarized themselves with the computers and took turns in moving the mouse, flicking through a file of photos (zooming in and out), watching a short video and trying out other programs.

The first question asked was how much does a computer cost. RM explained that some are expensive (like laptops and branded computers) while some can be bought cheaply. One old villager asked RM if the computer would turn off or break down whenever a wrong key was struck. Another villager was also curious about how long it would take to learn how to use a computer, and whether they needed to learn English to do so. RM explained that computer only breaks down if it’s used improperly or gets infected with a virus. RM added that a computer suddenly goes blank (turns off) when there is no electricity (in case of the desktop) and when there are electrical problems inside the CPU. The enumerator then explained what a virus is and how it affects the computer and talked a bit about CPUs. At this point, I am unsure if the villagers understood the concept of “virus” and “CPU”.

The villagers were delighted to see how a computer works and had fun having hands-on practice. One villager (the commune chief of Tuol Srangam) commented that there were lots of new things to memorize/remember and to do to be able to use a computer, which would possibly make old people more inhibited to use them.

The vice commune chief also said that if the villagers don’t know computers yet, they won’t be interested, and suggested that iREACH put computers in place so that it will attract more people. To which the vice commune chief added that we should be patient in teaching them, as most of the villagers in the commune have low levels of education, some none at all. He added that technology was difficult for them to understand and he urged that we should go slowly and not rush the villagers. He also added that it would take more meetings or training sessions before the villagers would be able to understand computers in particular, and the project in general. RM said that these comments would be noted.

Before the group wound up, RM asked the villagers whether their perceptions or ideas of computers had changed. An old man said that “now that I have seen a computer, I want to know more how to use it”. The village chief of Tuol Srangam said that after the presentation, he still didn’t understand computers, but he would still like to learn how to use a computer (very interested to learn how to use).

The vice commune chief asked if the computers would be placed in the commune center and if there were problems, who would help. RM said that it wasn’t decided yet where to put the computers but iREACH would employ local staff to man the computer centers and take care of their maintenance. The vice commune chief also asked where would the computers be located. RM then took this chance to explain about community ownership and the creation of a committee which would decide, among other things, where computers would be located.

One old man said that he wanted the younger people to be involved in this kind of activity because it would give them new skills which they could use when they looked for a job when they left school. The vice commune chief thanked us for starting a project like this in their commune and suggested we have more sessions next time and they would invite students and other villagers to participate. He reiterated that in their commune, technological skills are rare and the capacities of the villagers, both old and young, should be built.

RM then asked them to discuss among themselves a date which would be convenient for all to conduct another meeting. Before the group separated, the vice commune chief said they would set the date and give a call to RM.

***

The computer orientation session ended, but RM stayed a little longer for pleasantries and had a chance to talk to the vice commune chief about the problems his village-mates are facing.

There is an existing community fishery in Angkaol commune, which was established in 2004-2005 (he can’t remember which year) through the facilitation of DANIDA (the staff’s name, according to him, was Lav Bunrithy). During that time, DANIDA assisted them in creating the community fishery group and in drafting their by-laws.

The problem in Angkaol was that there were big boats, owned by private companies/businessmen from Kampot and other areas and invading their fishing space, thus, leaving the fishermen in the village less fish catch. Sometimes confrontations ended up in violence.

So when the community fishery group was established and recognized by the fishery department, the fishermen cooperated in protecting their fishing area. They created an underwater fence made of coconut timber nailed together to prevent the big fishing boats from coming to their fishing area. However, as these boats are bigger and apparently have connections from the powers that be, Angkaol fishermen easily got defeated. But not only that, also some CF members themselves, perhaps due to frustration and hopelessness, turn to their old ways of using illegal fishing methods and ignore the very law that they have agreed on. So now, the members have lost their interest at all because their problem is still unsolved. Now the group remains inactive.

First Post

I began work as Research Manager of the i-REACH Project on August 7, 2006. That was a year after I first met the team during their pre-project workshop in Phnom Penh and after a series of panel interview and written test that followed.

As the title suggests, my work is to make sure that all research activities are implemented according to schedule and documented for project evaluation purposes. To me it sounded vague, there was no further information to fill me with details but, at the same time, I thought it covers a huge scope.

So tomorrow, I will be moving to Kep to commence the research and community work there while negotiations are still on-going between the i-REACH Management Team and a prospect NGO. I will leave friends and the comforts of Phnom Penh behind to live in the community.

The district authorities in Damnak Chang'eur, through its Governor Tep Yuthy, generously provided us with two rooms (in the district office where he is holding office) for our use. These rooms will be renovated soon to accommodate an office, a community hub for computer, internet and VoIP use, and a community radio.

I will be staying temporarily in a guesthouse in Kep town. The project doesn't support my accommodation, but will provide for transportation expenses. That should be okay. But between the guesthouse and the office in Damnak Chang'eur is about 25kms of well-paved roads and hectares upon hectares of rice fields, so I'll have about 50kms of traveling distance to and from work. Add to that several kilometers more of travel from the office to the other project areas. It sounds tiring, but we will see how I will cope with the work and the traveling.

I am preparing to meet with the district officials, and fortunately for me, my Project Manager had given me a name to talk to when I reach Damnak Chang'eur. It is important that I meet with authorities as they are important actors in our project. Sometimes, it's good to be on the side of these authorities, especially when the project is just in its early stages.

Staff Introduction - Kamchai Mear Pilot Coordinator

Mr Long Dimanche gained a degree in agriculture for Rural Development in 2002 from Maharishi Vedic University in Cambodia and a Masters degree in Rural Development from the International University. He lectured in MVU on rural and community development, moving to head of the Department of Rural Development in January 2004, and later worked for Centre for Study and Development Agriculture of Cambodia (CEDAC). He joined iREACH in August 2006, where he heads the Pilot Team in Kamchai Mear.

Staff Introduction - Research Manager

Ms Zarah Jane Almeida has a primary degree in Mass Communications from the University of the Philippines Cebu College in 1994, and spent several years working in media organisations as producer and feature writer and in NGOs before moving to Cambodia. There she has worked for NGOs including Swiss Interchurch Aid, the Association of Buddhists for the Environment, and Mlup Baitong, where she was Grants and Radio Advisor since January 2004. She was recruited by iREACH in August 2006, where she is Research Manager, working very closely with the e-community pilots in all aspects of their work.

Som Savakum.

Welcome to the iREACH Project Blog. This blog, along with our other web-based communication system, will serve to document and record project communications and processes and methodologies employed in the project.

What is the iREACH Project all about?
The Ministry of Commerce (MoC) has been awarded a three year grant of US$1.2 million by the IDRC to conduct a pilot project called the Informatics for Rural Empowerment and Community Health (i-REACH) in the field of information and communications technology (ICT).

The project runs from May 1st 2006 to April 30th 2009.Three sangkat (communes) of Kamchai Mear district in Prey Veng and another three in Damnak Chang’eur district in the municipality of Kep were selected as pilot areas.

The MoC has contracted the Maharishi Vedic University (MVU) and the Center for Social Development (CSD), to run the pilots in Kamchai Mear and Kep, respectively.

The overall objective of iREACH is to build evidence and capacities to help inform Cambodia’s ICT and telecommunications policies and to mainstream the ICT project to all provinces throughout Cambodia. The specific objectives are:
(i) to establish and nurture the pilot e-communities in the rural locality of Kep and Kamchai Mear,

(ii) to pilot-test a community-driven system of blended technologies as contributing to social, economic and cultural development by deploying wireless technology, solar energy, wind power and community radio,

(iii) to facilitate community capacity-building by training in ICT use, developing service content and enterprise, and

(iv) to document in details the activities and process for research purposes.