At last week’s Southeast Asia Development Symposium (#SEADS), the #ADB painted a stark picture of the pandemic impact: 4.7 million people pushed into extreme poverty, mostly women. The Omicron wave continues to pose challenges for communities most at risk, including unskilled workers and those in retail and the informal economy.

In response, Cufa has mobilized to support economic recovery for rural communities in Cambodia. We adapted our livelihoods project in rural Kampong Cham, supporting five locally-led Community Social Enterprises (CSEs) to produce, package and generate profit from making affordable all-in-one washing soap. With increased technical capability and confidence, the CSEs have increased their product range to include laundry washing soap. Between May 2020 and April 2021, these groups have achieved a profit of $3,163 and have enabled 35 women to actively participate in specialist roles, including two community social enterprise leaders, four accountants and 24 marketing specialists.

A significant challenge that began to appear was the scalability of the project, limited by the communities distance to others. Thanks to the support of the International Alliance for Women (TIAW), the Kampong Cham CSE’s have been able to purchase a purpose-fit cart to transport their products safely and efficiently. With the cart, they will be able to expand their customer base and provide necessary sanitation products to their neighbouring communities.

If you want to make a difference today, donate to Cufa so we can together invest in a motorized vehicle for the Tbong Khmum CSEs! Corporate sponsors will be acknowledged with their logo displayed too.