Programmes
1. Women Empowerment in Economic and Climate Change Adaptation
Women in rural Cambodia can find it especially challenging to participate in leadership roles in their communities due to competing priorities and slow-changing cultural norms.
For over 20 years, Banteay Srei has been working with communities to challenge these norms and to develop women leaders capable of participating in decision-making processes. By strengthening the capacity of these women leaders, we challenge dominant cultural norms and highlight the ways in which men and women can come together to fight for gender equality.
Rights-based approach
Understanding of rights is central to the empowerment of vulnerable people, giving them the knowledge and tools to find long-term solutions to the issues they face. Through training and coaching, we enable communities to participate and take more responsibility for the development process as they analyse their own situation and act to increase the way in which they and others fulfil their obligations to the community.
Our focus is on beneficiaries as the owners of rights and the directors of development, with an emphasis on the human person as the centre of the development process and of civil society. Particular attention is given to discrimination, equality, equity and vulnerable groups to guard against simply reinforcing existing power imbalances between, for example, women and men, landowners and peasants, and workers and employers.
Capacity building
Alongside knowledge of their rights, Banteay Srei seeks to build the communities capacity and confidence to act in support of those rights. There is a continual learning cycle, where the community is encouraged to analyse where it needs support and training that Banteay Srei can facilitate. The training programmes delivered in communities are consciously not just knowledge-based, but seek to transform attitudes and relationships by encouraging self-understanding, empathy and reflection.
Working with women and men
Banteay Srei has a particular focus on building women’s capacity and solidarity, but in line with current thinking on gender it recognises the importance of also working directly with men to increase their understanding and capacity to advocate. The end result of the process is women and men who can find and analyse their most crucial community issues, and advocate with the appropriate figures for significant and lasting change.
2. Women Empowerment in Economic and Climate Change Adaptation
Banteay Srei works with vulnerable families to improve livelihoods through developing women’s skills in sustainable agriculture, micro-entrepreneurship, disaster preparedness and natural resource management. We provide technical and financial support to communities, especially women from poor families, on small business management, technical production and marketing skills.
Income generating activities currently supported include mushroom farming, handicrafts and fish paste production. We support small business groups to identify and access appropriate micro finance as well as support community women leaders to mobilise and organise saving groups.
In addition, we strengthen capacity of communities on disaster risk reduction, government land use plans and safe migration.
Climate Change
Banteay Srei recognises that climate change and environmental disasters can have serious effects on food security. We work across many different areas to help communities adopt sustainable livelihoods that ensure their long-term wellbeing.
In Kralanch district, Siem Reap province we have been working with the community in a collective learning-through-practice experience which introduces new farming techniques with fruitful results.
Families are encouraged to employ a variety of drought-resistant crops that increase the functional diversity of limited farming land and broaden food security outcomes.
Combined with the use of organic fertilisers, this project is providing a learning experience that these families can use in their own farming practices and share with their local communities.
3. Community Action Against Gender Based Violence
Banteay Srei actively works to promote an end to gender-based violence across communities in Cambodia.
Village Level Action
In each of our target villages, we support volunteer Gender Peace Network (GPN) Co-ordinators, strengthening their capacity in working with community women and men to make positive changes towards addressing gender-based violence.
We provide village level GPN Co-ordinators with training and capacity building on legal rights and issues surrounding gender-based violence, as well as counselling skills, which they use to reduce domestic violence in their community.
Emergency and Legal Support
In addition, we provide emergency support to gender-based violence survivors and co-operate with violence against women stakeholders to provide better legal assistance so that women who choose to take legal action are supported and have access to all available Governmental and non-governmental services including legal action in the courts.
Safe House Project
Since 2005, we have been implementing the Safe House project in Battambang province for violence against women and girls survivors, particularly those who are in the process of legal redress.
Peace Shelter Project
Since April 2012, we have been running a Peace Shelter in Siem Reap province, providing psychosocial and law counselling to survivors and perpetrators of domestic violence.