Profile

Partnership for Development of Kampuchea (Padek) is a Cambodian non-government organisation working to assist disadvantaged rural communities to improve their livelihoods and quality of life. Our goal is to improve the living conditions of the most vulnerable and extreme poor households by supporting community savings, livelihood enhancement, disaster resilience and people’s participation in governance and gender equity.

At Padek we focus on working with poor people to develop and implement projects that respond to the needs of their community and directly benefits the most vulnerable households. We recognise that ‘Capacity building’ is no longer a sufficient response on its own to community development our approach is based on a combination of capacity building, problem analysis and understanding the underlying issues to ensure appropriate support is provided to communities. By providing opportunities for the rural poor to develop their knowledge, skills and resources, Padek’s work is helping to bring about positive change in the lives of poor people in rural areas. Padek currently works in 3 main project areas: community savings; livelihood enhancement; and disaster resilience.

Drawing on years of insights gained while fostering savings at the community level, Padek has launched a new phase in its support to the rural poor. “Saving Communities”, Padek’s new approach,will establish roughly 1000 new community savings groups that will provide a critical social safe tynet for approximately 14000 members and their families. These savings groups will mean that when families are buffeted with challenges like illness or failed crops, drawing on their savings can cushion the blow. Families can also take out short-term loans as a way to improve their livelihoods and to take advantage of new opportunities.

Our livelihood program aims to improve household food security and incomes of the rural poor through supporting various livelihood options. Since rice is the mainstay of the Cambodian agricultural sector, training smallholder farmers on techniques that enable them to bring in greater harvests from the same piece of land can have dramatic effect. These techniques include the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) method, promoting organic farming and tree planting. Padek also supports farmers to develop their on-farm and off-farm livelihoods through building knowledge and technical skills in horticulture, livestock production and aquaculture, and supporting farmers to branch into small businesses.

Padek is helping communities to strengthen their resilience and capacity to cope with natural disasters and the effects of climate change. Events such as flooding and drought can have devastating effects on the rural poor In Cambodia. But by providing communities with the tools and knowledge to respond to and withstand natural disasters, it becomes easier for families to reduce
the impact on their lives and livelihoods and to recover when disaster strikes. Our activities are focused on Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation programs, and Padek works in close collaboration with government agencies and other local organisations to ensure timely and appropriate responses in the event of disaster.

Working with the rural poor in Cambodia since 1986, Padek has gained significant experience, knowledge and expertise that we bring to our programming work. Our past work has focused on building and strengthening civil society organisations, implementing an integrated community development, and close collaboration with local authorities (Commune Councils and Village Development Councils) and government agencies to achieve our objectives. Through all our activities, we remain strongly committed to gender equity and diversity, advocacy, good governance, and disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation.
With offices in Phnom Penh and several provinces, our current activities work with the most vulnerable and extreme poor households in Prey Veng, Kratie, Oral, Kompong Speu, Oddar Meanchey and Siem Reap. Previous projects have also worked with communities in Svay Rieng and Phnom Penh.

Vision
A Cambodian society where people live in harmony, self-reliance, gender equity and no poverty.

Mission
To support the formation of poor and very poor groups within communities, meeting regularly to save and make decisions collectively, building trust, confidence, and a social safety net. To improve livelihood of poor and very poor communities through promoting and supporting on- and off-farm initiatives. To support and actively encourage environment conservation and natural resources management. To foster the ability of the community to mitigate the impact of natural disaster and climate change through creative disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation initiatives. To promote gender equity and diversity through the inclusion of outcome targets across all programs and pro-active networking. To support the engagement of citizens with government authorities at sub-national and national levels; this includes close collaboration with relevant government institutions.

Goal
To improve living conditions of the most vulnerable and extreme poor households by supporting community savings, livelihood enhancement, disaster resilience and people’s participation in government and gender equity.

Values
Underpinning all of Padek’s work, we believe that: Involving local communities in the design and implementation of program activities encourages ownership and responsibility, leading to sustainable development Strengthening trust and solidarity within the community leads to greater efficiency and effectiveness of programs and initiatives Building the capacity of individuals to identify problems within their community and to find solutions enables the organisation and communities to respond appropriately to local needs Prioritising gender equity and diversity, good governance, participation, and advocacy as cross-cutting program issues ensures an holistic approach to sustainable development Providing best-practice transparent program support ensures the organisation remains accountable to our beneficiaries, donors and partners.

Established in 1986, Partnership for Development of Kampuchea (Padek) was one of the first non-government organisations (NGOs) to begin working in community development in Cambodia. Given the fragile state of civil society and the immense poverty in the country, Padek aimed to improve the livelihoods and quality of life of the rural poor.

Padek was established from a consortium of five international donors, with Oxfam Novib acting as the leading donor. In 2002 Padek registered in Cambodia as an International NGO with the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. Subsequently, Padek became a Cambodian NGO with the Ministry of Interior in 2008 and Cambodian staff took over the management and leadership of the organisation.

Community development work in the mid-1980s focused on relief and rehabilitation projects. As the Cambodian government allowed NGOs to carry out longer term development work at the local level, Padek began working with government departments at the district and provincial levels to improve their capacity to educate people on agricultural techniques. In the 1990s Padek began working directly with communities with a focus on rural development in specific target areas and beneficiary
groups.

Drawing on Padek’s experience in rural development, a new model of integrated community development was adopted in 1999 and formed the core of Padek’s work for the next decade. The ‘Padek’s Integrated Community Development Model’ or PICDM developed the basic needs of communities (such as food security, health and education) and improved livelihoods. This approach strengthened and enhanced community based organisations (CBOs) at the grassroots level so that they acquired the skills and expertise to become sustainable and to meet the needs of their local community. The PICDM approach put in place community structures that effectively addressed poverty and encouraged community participation and empowerment in sustainable community development. Padek’s program approach also incorporated disaster management, gender mainstreaming, HIV/AIDS, networking and policy advocacy.

Between 2005 and 2008 Padek expanded its project areas to include Oddar Meanchey and Kompong Speu. By 2010 Padek was working with communities in Prey Veng, Svay Rieng, Kratie, Oral, Kompong Speu, Oddar Meanchey, Siem Reap, and Phnom Penh.

In 2011 Padek began developing a new approach to ensure the organisation remained relevant in the face of changing community needs, new international priorities, and the changing socioeconomic and political environment within Cambodia. Our new Strategic Plan 2013-2016 was adopted in January 2013 and its core focus is community savings groups, livelihood enhancement and disaster resilience.