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Cyclo survey report January 2008 The Rural Livelihood Initiative
It has been possible to upload the 2006 -2007 Annual Report on to the website. Please click here to go the the relevant page.
At the end of March the Centre said goodbye to Rob, who is returning to New Zealand. Rob had a long association with the Centre and contributed in many ways. His photographs, which were published on a number of occasions in the Phnom Penh Post, helped raise the profile of the Centre. They also formed the basis of 'Kings of the Road', a book featuring cyclo drivers and their lifestyles, which is widely sold in Phnom Penh and beyond. He was Chair of the Board until he resigned, in September 2006, to take over from Joy Grant as the VSA (NZ) advisor. We would like to thank Rob for all his hard work and wish him and his family all the very best for the future.
The Cyclo Rally, which was in support of the upcoming 2008 World No Tobacco Day on May 31st, was a great success. Altogether 20 cyclo drivers, sharing 10 machines, departed at 6.30 am from Phnom Penh on Friday, May 2nd. As they headed south along National Route 1, riding along with them, on two wheelers, were 10 expat and 3 Cambodian pedalistas. After crossing the Mekong at Neak Loung (by ferry – still no bridge there yet) the caravan headed for Prey Veng, where everyone rested for the night, the cyclo drivers finding accommodation at a pagoda. Saturday morning saw the big wheels turning towards Kampong Cham, passing through the dam cher kazoo (rubber tree) plantations before joining National Route 7, turning west and crossing the Kizuna Bridge. A good nights’ sleep in Kampong Cham set everybody up for the last leg, the Sunday haul back to Phnom Penh. The participants, tired but triumphant arrived at the Wat Phnom at 5 in the afternoon. Congratulations to everybody and special thanks to the following organisations and individuals for their support; WHO, TIMA, NCHP, Handicap International Belgium, PSI, Cambodian Movement for Health, Intrepid Travel, Travel IndoChina, Kozue Friend, Mr and Mrs Brian Ponter and Kate.
Cyclo survey report January 2008 In 2007 local NGO Sahmakum Teang Tnaut was given funding by the German organisation Deutscher Entwicklungsdienst (DED) to look at the situation of informal housing in Phnom Penh. The study, called 'Living on the edge', focussed on 3 different groups - garment factory workers, cyclo drivers and street dwellers. This coincided with the Cyclo Centre's own survey of drivers, which is carried out every four years, and it was decided to combine the research. As a result of the survey a document was produced in January 2008. The text of the introductory page is reproduced below the thumbnail of the cover. To see the rest of the document click here.
The survey this time included interviews with 300 drivers (252 in 2004, 179 in 2000) which were carried out during August 2007 by a team of 16 including Cyclo Centre staff, STT staff, Cyclo riders and various International volunteers who interviewed Cyclos in each of the 4 central Khans. In addition interviews were carried out for the first time with the Cyclo 'houses' (which rent cycles and sometimes provide accommodation). Overall numbers of Cyclos were gauged by asking Cyclo 'houses' how many Cyclos they had on average and by carrying out a night time survey of street venues where other Cyclos gather to sleep at night. The survey also looked at issues such as smoking, alcohol and drug usage, general health and use of the Cyclo Centre itself. Acknowledgements Those involved in the survey included the following; Nouv Sarany, Pal Holy, Im Sambath and Rob Joiner at the Cyclo centre. Voen Sovan, Lao Soven, Va Thoeun and all the Cyclo drivers who assisted. Hallam Goad and the student volunteers from Sahmakum Teang Tnaut and finally for the editing help from Brett and Rebekah (working with Jesuit Service Cambodia). Cyclo Centre Coordinator's Summary Numbers are substantially down; Tourism is the key to the future livelihoods Cyclo drivers, one of the icons of Phnom Penh, are becoming a rarer site. This survey has clearly shown that the past 4 years has seen a steady drop in numbers. Reasons for this include increased car and moto use but in particular the rise of the Tuk Tuk (3 wheeler taxi). In addition the Cyclo life is hard and therefore unattractive to the young Cambodians coming to the city to find a living. There are many more alternatives, not least being a motodop or Tuk Tuk driver (for those who can afford it). It is also telling that although the cost of living in Phnom Penh has risen substantially over the past four years, the reported earnings for the cycles have dropped. Instead of being a main component of city transport the Cyclo drivers now mainly make their living in the core area of the city providing short journey trips to the market for local customers and city tours for tourists. This is one promising sign for the Cyclos - that tourism has increased providing a new lucrative market. The Centre has played a key role in capturing this market by forging links with various local Tour companies which provide a 'Cyclo Tour' as part of their package to customers in the city. The Tourist Booking Service' is now one of the Centre's main focuses and will be a mainstay of their work in 2008 and beyond.
We are pleased to report that the Maryknoll Sisters, as well as supporting the recent rally, have also started to help with monthly cyclo driver training.
The Rural Livelihood Initiative Currently the Centre is seeking funding support and training sponsorship to pilot a new approach to improving the livelihood of selected cyclo drivers. Through this initiative it is proposed that a small number of cyclo-drivers (a total of 15 in 2 provinces, Prey Veng and Svay Rieng) will learn ways of diversifying their families' income through developing new income-generating activities on family or commune land. This would have the double benefit of building an individual cyclo driver's work skills and giving them the opportunity to stay in the provinces, while assisting their families to be more self-supportive, even if the cyclo driver chose to continue to work seasonally in Phnom Penh. In addition, this programme would enable trained cyclo drivers to pass on new skills and ideas to both other village or commune families and other rural cyclo drivers. Click here to read about the initiative in more detail.
The Centre has T and Polo shirts on sale at the Centre. T shirts are red with black printing and cost $4, Polo shirts are black with white printing and cost $7. The pictures show Katrin and Marc, two visitors from Germany, modelling the T shirts by the side of Mr Jumith's cyclo, when it was parked on the Riverside.
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