Floating vegetable garden made of water hyacinth

The village of Prek Toal is located on Tonle Sap Lake, recognized as a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1997. With few sources of income and an increasingly high cost of living Due in particular to the degradation of the Tonlé Sap ecosystem (climate change, dam construction on the Mekong, overfishing, etc.), the poorest families can no longer meet their basic needs. With fruits and vegetables transported from the mainland being too expensive, many families subsist mainly on rice and fish, thus creating severe nutritional deficiencies.

In response to these challenges, the associations OSMOSE France and OSMOSE Cambodia are implementing a project aimed at to design a demonstration vegetable garden that allows for the replication and experimentation of permaculture and aquaculture techniques, These structures have already proven their worth in similar environments, particularly in the flood-prone areas of Bangladesh. This structure is integrated into OSMOSE's overall project to support a local cooperative.

This project allows to promote traditional Cambodian fruit and vegetable varieties, while strengthening the food self-sufficiency of the villagers. From an environmental perspective, this project allows for to promote the water hyacinthu, an invasive exotic plant that is causing considerable damage to the Tonle Sap ecosystem, while promoting local and sustainable agriculture, free from chemical inputs.