Future Goals
The Abundant Forest Life Skills Training Center
A sustainability plan for The Grady Grossman School in Chrauk Tiek Village, Cambodia
Our Goal: To make the Chrauk Tiek Primary School income-generating and self-supporting in 3 years.
- Teacher Support: Currently, we provide a food stipend every month and housing to our government provided teachers. Our goal is to create income-generating activities at the school to make it self-supporting.
- Increase attendance and stop student drop out: We want every child to complete a primary education.
- Sustainable Living: We want families to earn enough income to allow every child to go to school without destroying their environment.
The Abundant Forest Life Skills Training Center
On the land behind the school, the Friends of the Grady Grossman School will offer free job skills training to the children and families of Chrauk Tiek and Pos Meas villages to diversify and grow their income while protecting their environment by using natural resources wisely.
1) Cooking Fuel Briquettes: This training will teach how to make a high quality cooking fuel out of dead material from the ground. Trees are not cut down. The product will work better and cost less than woodsticks. The product repels mosquitoes. We will promote the briquettes in the marketplace using demonstration shows by the music and dance class. We will set up customer accounts with hotels and restaurants in Phnom Penh. Income from sales of briquettes will be used to pay teachers, to teach families briquette making, and lend money for individual briquette presses. Technological expertise and training supplied via The Legacy Foundation. Begin December 2007
2) Forest Garden: This training will teach the agricultural technique called perma-culture for individual farmers to grow a variety of market products without cutting down trees. We will conserve water and re-grow the forest. We will market some products locally and set up fair trade customers in the U.S. for others. Income will be used to fund teachers and for loans to farmers. Begin December 2007
Products:
- Bamboo – building material, flooring, thread: markets local / International
- Rattan – for weaving into furniture: markets local / regional
- Mulberry – for silk worm production: markets local / regional
- Coffee – market International Fair Trade
- Vanilla – market International Fair Trade
- Pepper – market International Fair Trade
- Fruits – markets Local / Regional
View more images of forest destruction from Kari’s most recent trip.
3) The “Green Lion” Eco-Lodge: Eco-tourism has great income potential for the entire village – IF and only IF – the forest is not destroyed. This guest house will teach hospitality and hygiene skills, bird guiding, English practice and other tourism related activities. We will generate income for the school by offering tours to foreigners who want to volunteer at our school. Opening for guests in early 2009
4) Music, Dance and Art: Students will learn music skills for wedding entertainment, for tourists, and for demonstration shows for products we are selling in the marketplace. Began May 2007
5) Communication: We will install a computer lab with internet and create a “Sister School Program.” Students in the U.S. will help teach English over the computer using Skype. More students can learn English with better skill. Computers, Infrastructure and Teacher Training supplied via American Assistance for Cambodia Begin in early 2008
6) Credit: We will learn how to make loans available to families to start small business with fair and reasonable policies. TBD
7) We will conserve and protect the forest environment for future generations.
