2009 Return to Cambodia

Only 5 more days until I'm back in Cambodia. I spent the past year and a half gathering more T-shirts, school supplies and hygiene products. There is way more than I can take by myself.

There are at least 5 Avon-size boxes filled with clothes and 5 or 6 large Flat Rate boxes filled with T-shirts, school supplies and soaps/shampoos.

A large Flat Rate box costs $53.95 to send. One person has generously offered to pay for 2 of those. I am still waiting to hear back from another friend who works for FedEx to see if I can use his employee discount to send a few more boxes.

But, I need more help to send these boxes!

Would you consider paying to send one to Cambodia?

Contact Nikki at: onlyincambodia [dot] gmail [dot] com to see how you can help out.

$1 Flip Flops at Old Navy

Today only!
Saturday, May 23

Flip Flops are only $1 per pair
with a limit of 5 pairs per person.

at Old Navy

Get your family down to your nearest Old Navy,

hand them each a $5 bill (plus 44 cents),

pick out some pretty colors,

and donate them to the Siem Reap Pig Project.

Nikki's heading to Cambodia this summer

and will be more than happy to take some flip flops with her

to give out to some families who need foot protection.

Snow Daze Promotion

On Wednesday, December 10, 2008, The Siem Reap Pig Project participated in the Kennedy Club Fitness Snow Daze Business Fair in San Luis Obispo, California.

Below are some of the items offered for purchase to support the current project in Siem Reap, Cambodia, building the first toilets for Tepaday Village.

Whole Black & White Peppercorns from Kampot Province, Cambodia in a handmade palm leaf basket woven by the villagers who benefit from the proceeds. (approx. size: 3" x 3" x 3") Because the baskets are handwoven, no two baskets are alike. Cambodian pepper is some of the most aromatic pepper in the world, once used exclusively by French Michelin chefs.

$5.00 per basket

Pig-in-a-Basket in a handmade palm leaf basket woven by the villagers who benefit from the proceeds. (approx. size: 1.5" x 1.5" x 3") Because the baskets are handwoven, no two baskets are alike. Inside each basket is a small pig to represent the piglet that you can help purchase for a family to raise for additional income opportunities.

$10.00 per basket

Handmade Palm Leaf Ornaments in 4 fun styles to choose from! (approx. size = 1.5") Colors and size vary because the ornaments are handwoven, therefore no 2 are alike.

$3.00 per ornament

Contact Nikki at onlyincambodia [at] gmail [dot] com to order one-of-a-kind Cambodian products today!

Here's a preview of products that will be available in 2009!

Handwoven Cambodian Silk Drawstring Satchel

Handwoven Market Basket in Kratie Province, Cambodia (home of the Irawaddy dolphins!)

Handwoven Sandals from locally-grown Water Hyancinth in Kratie Province, Cambodia (home of the Irawaddy dolphins!)

Giving back to rural villages

giveaways originally uploaded by Nikkster

In February and March of this year I had the privilege of returning to Cambodia for a visit. I wanted to do more than just be there and so I had organized some small donations to give to selected needy families of two villages outside of Siem Reap.

The first village, Tepadey, is Da's father's home village. We had previously donated large bags of clothing to about 50 families last year and had been working to get a community well dug. This village doesn't have much in the way of income-generating opportunities as their main occupation is rice farming. The dry season is a pretty hard time of year as there is little to go around and very limited water supply.


Even monks needs instruction some times, originally uploaded by Nikkster

I was able to find some wind-up, solar-powered radios and some wind-up flashlights that need no batteries. It was fun giving them out and showing the people what to do with them. The monk was particularly fascinated by the new-fangled contraptions.


Receiving their gifts, originally uploaded by Nikkster

We selected 2o mothers with children of school age to receive a school bag filled with hygiene products and school supplies. In addition to that, I brought out some bubbles to entertain the small children. It was so fun to be able to hand off the bubbles to the children so they could make their own.


Chasing Bubbles, originally uploaded by Nikkster

Success!

My visit to the US was very successful. I enjoyed the opportunities that I had to share about what's happening with the Siem Reap Pig Project. I only wish there was more time and that I could be there when it wasn't a holiday so that more people could hear about the great things happening in Cambodia.

Please stay tuned for updates on Stage 2 of our second year with the Pig Project. We're evaluating how to best allocate the resources that so many people generously gave in order to move the Pig Project into a more successful and far-reaching project.

Some things we're considering:

• buying single piglets for numerous village families and then providing training for inexensive and more effective food so they can raise the pigs for meat to feed their families rather than for sale.
• assisting the uncle who was one of the original participants with the first two pig groups with helping him to raise his two sows.
• building a second pig shelter for an additional pig project.

I look forward to another successful year!

The arrival

I made it through customs with absolutely no problems! Yippee! So, the baskets, boxes, and all the goodies that come inside are totally in good shape and ready to be purchased.

Fundraiser

Pre-order now! Handmade palm leaf boxes, baskets and other items. Items are perpared by the pig project beneficiaries, or hand-crafted in a nearby village.







ALL proceeds go directly towards purchasing piglets, feeding them and immunizing them properly.

Advise me of your request by writing a comment to this blog to request items.

1 year anniversary of the Pig Project!

Coming up this month will be the anniversary of the time the Pig Project was initiated. We have had 2 successful batches of pigs that have been fattened and sold.

For the most recent pictures see us at our Flickr photo site on the links toolbar to the right