photo by Ari Vitikainen
What is ICC – PARCE Project?
The ICC – PARCE Project works towards alleviation of poverty in Preah Sdach District, Prey Veng Province through interventions in agriculture, community development, and health. Prey Veng is located in the southeast of Cambodia, bordering with Vietnam.
PARCE = Poverty Alleviation through Rural Community Empowerment
What need is ICC - PARCE Project meeting?
ICC - PARCE aims to empower poor families in 16 villages in Banteay Checkrei and Preah Sdach Communes to produce sufficient food and income to meet their own needs and thereby experience improved health and social status.
The current timeframe of the project is July 2008 to June 2012, targeting 4 villages in the first year and gradually expanding in the succeeding years.
photo by Ari Vitikainen
In what ways does ICC - PARCE Project work?
The villagers in Banteay Checkrei and Preah Sdach Communes face many challenges in sustaining and improving their livelihoods. These challenges include limited infrastructure, poor sanitation, food shortages for part of the year, limited access to services, a need for improved farming practices, and a need for enhanced cooperation and trust from within.
ICC - PARCE aims to be part of a process of building trust within these communities and building internal capacity to analyze and solve problems and taking opportunities together.
The project will organize and support savings and credit schemes through the formation of self-help groups, help organize Village Development Committees in target villages where there are no such committees, and help organize Farmer Water User Committees. Once these committees are in place ICC - PARCE will conduct trainings and other support activities to help enhance the local capacity to deal with community issues.
photo by Ari Vitikainen
Villagers are invited to join participatory learning activities that build their confidence, trust, and analytical skills. It is envisaged that the skills and knowledge acquired will help not only the families themselves and their communities directly, but also feed into and help strengthen the formal village development planning processes over time.
What are the hopes of ICC - PARCE Project?
ICC - PARCE long term vision is for people of Banteay Checkrei and Preah Sdach Communes to be empowered and enabled to plan for their future and secure their holistic needs for the future.
