 The Kep Project is an integrated community development initiative that aims to bring about a measurable and sustainable improvement in the quality of life of villagers in the Phnom Voar area of Kep province, with an initial primary focus on the largest village in the area, Chamcar Bei. BABC has undertaken this project in collaboration with the Kep-based Knai Bang Chatt resort and the Belgian foundation Friends of the Rainbow Schools.
Project implementation, which began in 2007, involves integrated community development initiatives aimed at realizing specific objectives related to improving family income and food security, health, education, and sustainability. The project has a strong focus on community organizing and has facilitated the establishment of issue-based taskforces, self-help groups and community associations. Together these groups form a community network and take the lead in planning and implementation of all development initiatives. A central aim of the project is that these community-based groups will be able to carry on their functions after external support phases out.
Kep municipality is located on the south coast of Cambodia, roughly three hours by car from Phnom Penh. Despite Kep’s charm and natural beauty, which has made it an increasingly popular tourist destination, it still lacks basic infrastructure and remains one of the poorest and least developed regions of Cambodia. It is clear that there is great potential for sustainable development in Kep, particularly as the tourism industry develops; however, Kep’s potential will only be realized if the impoverished residents of its rural villages are trained, empowered and invested in to achieve their development aspirations.
Phnom Voar is a notorious place in Cambodia, known for being one of the fiercest battlegrounds between the Khmer Rouge and the Cambodian government during the civil war of the 1980s and 1990s. This area was one the final stands for the Khmer Rouge resistance, with the fighting lasting until 1994. The area is still largely populated by former Khmer Rouge families, who have spent the past fifteen years or so years focused on peaceful development. By working with this particular Kep community, the project hopes to contribute to their ongoing reintegration process. This will be accomplished by conducting development activities that promote cooperation and reconciliation between the still relatively isolated former Khmer Rouge families and their non-former Khmer Rouge neighbors.
Chamcar Bei, the second largest village in the Phnom Voar area, was chosen as the first village in which the project would initiate community development activities. After assessing the other villages in the area, Chamcar Bei was selected because of a range of factors, including its size, accessibility, need, unrealized potential, and warm reception of the community to our offer of assistance.
 The unused community center donated by the Social Fund of the Kingdom of Cambodia and formerly used by UNESCO as a “Community Learning Center” offered the project an initial building for office space, a place to conduct training activities, and a focal point for community organizing. The centrality of Chamcar Bei in the Phnom Voar area also made it possible for the project to reach out to the more remote nearby villages that have had less access to development assistance, using the center in Chamcar Bei as a base for developing the wider Phnom Voar area.
 We believe that it is essential that development initiatives are planned and implemented with the full participation of the affected population, the local government and all other stakeholders. Before initiating development activities in any community, our approach is to spend time living in the community, learning from the people and gaining their trust, and developing an informed understanding of their living conditions, past and present difficulties and important issues. In keeping with our development ethos, BABC conducted a Participatory Learning Assessment in September 2006, during which time we got to know the people of Chamcar Bei and their situation.
Following the assessment, the project conducted two planning workshops to help the community to synthesize the results and transform their problems into solutions. The Kep Community Development Project, also known as Hand in Hand Cambodia by our partners, was thus envisioned and planned by the community themselves during these workshops held in the center of their community.
Community Vision
That Chamcar Bei be a peaceful village where all residents have a better standard of living.
Project Goal
To achieve a measurable and sustainable improvement in the health, education and livelihoods of Chamcar Bei village residents.
Project Objectives
The four primary objectives of the Kep project, which were determined by community participants during the planning workshops, are to:
- Improve Community Livelihoods: by creating opportunities for village families to improve their living conditions through the establishment of co-operative and family micro-enterprises, community food security and natural resource conservation initiatives.
- Improve Education: by increasing school attendance, particularly for girls; improving the quality of public school services; and establishing a Community Learning Center and Demonstration Farm to provide adult vocational, agricultural and literacy training, and supplementary ‘after school’ youth education.
- Improve Health Services: by providing resources to the local public health centers and supporting community-managed primary and preventative health interventions that will bring about a general improvement in the health of village residents.
- Ensure Sustainability: by establishing a strong, democratic community-based organization (CBO) with the capacity to plan, implement and monitor the development activities that are supported by the project. The CBO should continue to operate long after the project phases out, and it will serve as a community organizing model for neighboring communities.
In addition to the four main objectives, the Kep Project is:
- Time-bound: thus reducing dependency and empowering the community to take charge of their own future and become more self-reliant
- Integrated: with activities aimed at realizing specific objectives related to improving family income and food security, health, education, and sustainability. This is based on the understanding that the problems caused by poverty are integrated and cyclical, so the interventions aimed at breaking the cycle should be integrated as well
- Community-based: with a strong focus on community organizing. Several community taskforces, associations and Self Help Groups have been established to tackle different issues, from livelihoods to health and education. Together these community groups form a community network, which is taking the lead in the planning and implementation of development initiatives, with support provided by the project.
Click on the links below to learn more about each of the project objectives and activities:
Kep Education Initiatives
Health
Livelihoods
Community Organizing
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