1.1 Background The eradication of illiteracy of women has been of international concern of critical

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1 Effects of UNICEF s CASD Literacy Program on Learners Income Generating Activities A Case Study of Bamboo Ware-Making in A Rural Village in Takeo Province, Cambodia IDO Ayako Doctoral Student (D1) Graduate School of International Development, Nagoya University 1 Introduction 1.1 Background The eradication of illiteracy of women has been of international concern of critical importance for quite some time. One of the six major worldwide goals set by the 1990 World Conference on Education for All (WCEFA) in Jomtien, Thailand was the reduction of the adult illiteracy rate, especially for women. However, in 1998 there were still 880 million illiterate adults (aged 15 years and over) in the world, two-thirds of which were women (International Consultative Forum on Education for All, 2000). Based on the Education for All Year 2000 Assessment, in the Dakar World Education Forum in April 2000, a more concrete commitment achieving a 50 % improvement in levels of adult literacy by 2015, especially for women, and equitable access to basic and continuing education for all adults was reaffirmed by participants from 164 countries (World Education Forum, 2000). The Millennium Development Goals adopted in September 2000 at the United Nations Millennium Summit reinforced these two previous international agreements by emphasizing achievement of universal primary education and elimination of gender disparity in primary and secondary education (United Nations, 2000). International trends that put more emphasis on poverty alleviation since late 1990s prompted the eradication of illiteracy, particularly of women in developing countries.

2 In Cambodia, gender disparities on literacy rates and educational attainment are great and the situation is particularly acute among women in rural areas where 85% of the population lives at present. In order to improve the situation, the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) formulated a policy on literacy to increase literacy rate by 20% within 15 years from 2001 to This aims to ensure that non-formal education (NFE) programs will contribute to poverty alleviation through the increase of functional literacy and life skills among the disadvantaged group that forms 36% of the total population (ACCU, 2003). This manifested that RGC intended to tackle problems of illiteracy in order to respond to pressure from international community on poverty reduction and EFA efforts. In Cambodia, except for Phnom Penh, Capital City, major source of income is agriculture in which women assume a major role. However, in recent years, growing numbers of people go to Phnom Penh to earn more stable and higher income. Young women with literacy skills have higher chances to be employed at garment factories in Phnom Penh where higher and more stable salaries can be expected. Women living in rural areas support their living by engaging in craft making or sales activities of agricultural products or food at markets nearby to supplement their income from agriculture, whose amount is easily influenced by the weather. How does literacy education lead to improvements in the lives of rural women? Literacy education, which was initiated by the United Nations Children s Fund (UNICEF) under its five-year ( ) community-based development program called the Community Action for Social Development (CASD), was implemented in Takeo province from 1998 till 2000 (Ky, Dorina, Sovannarith & McAndrew, 1999).

3 The CASD, which was composed of six inter-related components 1, was operated in eight provinces in Cambodia in cooperation with the Cambodian government (ibid.). After the withdrawal of the UNICEF from Takeo, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (MoEYS) and Provincial Office of Education (POE) requested the Graduate School of International Development (GSID) of Nagoya University to carry out baseline surveys as well as literacy tests in 50 out of 103 CASD villages in Takeo. Apart from group work of conducting baseline surveys and literacy tests, participants (graduate students) of the survey were given individual assignment to do individual fieldwork and write a report on one particular activity of interest that women of villages engage in after they complete the CASD literacy program. As part of an individual assignment, this paper attempts to explore effects of the UNICEF s CASD literacy program on a learners income generating activity with a special focus on the case of bamboo ware-making, which is one of the most popular income generating activities among rural Cambodian women in Seimar village in Takeo province, Cambodia. The remainder of this section provides a definition of literacy and methodology of this research. Section 2 discusses the present conditions of Cambodian women regarding education and income sources as a background for my field research. In Section 3, the case study of bamboo ware-making as an income generating activity of rural Cambodian women will be analysed, to examine the effects of CASD literacy program on a learners income generating activity. Section 4 summarizes findings from this research 1 The six components of CASD were: 1)capacity building focused on women and youth, 2)community education and child care, 3)food, water and environment, 4)health, hygiene and caring practices, 5)protection and care of vulnerable children and women, and 6)credit, employment and income (Ky, Dorina, Sovannarith & McAndrew, 1999).

4 and includes some recommendations for future literacy programs which are linked with income generating activities. 1.2 Definitions of Words Illiterate and literate are used in this paper following the definitions provided by the UNESCO/United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) (2000). Illiterate: An illiterate is a person who cannot, with understanding, both read and write a short, simple statement on his everyday life. A functional illiterate is a person who cannot engage in all those activities in which literacy is required for effective functioning of his group and community; and also for enabling him to continue to use reading, writing and calculation for his own and the community s development. Literate: A literate person can, with understanding both read and write, a short, simple statement about everyday life. Functional literacy is a matter of growing concern in a world where technological progress demands ever higher levels of skills. Special measures are required to deal with this problem which also depends on skills learned outside the schoolinformal education. (UNESCO/UNDP, 2000: PP ) 1.3 Methodology Both quantitative and qualitative data are utilized in this paper. Primary and secondary data were collected from various sources. The quantitative data were collected by our survey team from questionnaire surveys and literacy tests conducted under the Nagoya Takeo Rural Education Program (NT-REP). In addition, group interviews carried out with female literacy learners in Seimar village in Takeo Province in Cambodia and personal observations of the village were also used as primary sources for this paper. Details of the field research in Seimar village for a case study are summarized in Section 3.1. Official papers published by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), UNDP, UNICEF, and Ministry of

5 Planning (MoP) of Cambodia were used to supplement the information on education and income sources of Cambodian people. Based on the results of questionnaire surveys and literacy tests, group interviews and observations, the effects of the UNICEF s CASD program on a learners income generating activity, particularly bamboo ware-making in Seimar village were identified and presented. 2 Background Facts: Education and Income Sources of Cambodian Women This section provides brief background facts regarding education and income sources of Cambodians with a particular focus on gender disparities for the analyses of effects of UNICEF s CASD literacy program on a learners income generating activity. 2.1 Education Adult Literacy Rate There are wide gender disparities in literacy rate in Cambodia. According to 1998 Census conducted by Cambodian government, the national adult literacy rate for those aged 15 and over resulted low of 67.3% as shown in Table 1, being the second lowest among seven neighbouring countries 2. At the national level, female adult literacy rate was extremely low of 57.0% while that of males was 79.5%. The situation became worse in rural areas where adult literacy rate dropped to 54.3% for females and 77.6% for males. The gender gap is smaller in urban areas with a difference of 17.5% compared with that in rural areas with 23.3%, while the average difference between men and women existing at 22.5%. These figures clearly show that the low female adult literacy rate in rural areas is a critical problem in Cambodia. 2 The seven countries include Indonesia, Lao People s Democratic Republic (PDR), Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Viet Nam and Cambodia. Lao PDR had the lowest adult literacy rate among these seven countries in 1995 (MoP, 2000a).

6 Table 1: Adult Literacy Rate for Population Aged 15 and over by Sex and Residence (1998) (%) Residence Both sexes Male Female Difference Cambodia Urban Rural Source: Final Census Results, National Institute of Statistics, 1999 cited in General Population Census of Cambodia 1998-Analysis of Census Results Report 7-Literacy and Education, Ministry of Planning, 2000a, P Educational Attainment Educational attainment is also low in Cambodia. According to the Cambodia Socio- Economic Survey 1999, nationally, million persons (34.6%) aged 25 years and over had not attended school as shown in Table 2 (MoP, 2000b) million persons, which amounts to 73% of the population that had no schooling, were females. While in Phnom Penh, the proportion of persons with no schooling was lower at 16.5%, rising to 36.9% in rural areas. At a national level, the proportion that had only a primary education accounted for 40.9%. Though in Phnom Penh 50.6% of the population had a secondary education, this figure remains less than 20% in the rural areas. Girls are under-represented at all levels of formal education in Cambodia as shown in Table 3. School attendance for girls is lower than that of boys across every age group regardless of urban or rural areas.

7 Table 2: Population Aged 25 Years and Over by Education Level and Stratum, Educational Attainment Cambodia 1999 Cambodia Phnom Penh Other Urban Rural Both Sexes No Schooling (%) Primary Education/Grades 1-6 (%) Secondary Education and higher (%) Others (%) Total (%) Population 25 years & above 4,470, , ,160 3,567,898 (persons) Male No Schooling (%) Primary Education/Grades 1-6 (%) Secondary Education and higher (%) Others (%) Total (%) Population 25 years & above 2,024, , ,945 1,611,517 (persons) Female No Schooling (%) Primary Education/Grades 1-6 (%) Secondary Education and higher (%) Others (%) Total (%) Population 25 years & above 2,446, , ,216 1,956,381 (persons) Source: Report on the Cambodia Socio-Economic Survey 1999, Ministry of Planning, 2000b, P.16. Table 3: Percentage of Population Aged 7 and over Attending School/Educational Institution by Sex, Age, and Residence Age Group Percentage of Population Attending School/Educational Institution Cambodia Urban Rural Both Male Female Both Male Female Both Male Female Ages Sources: Final Census Results, National Institute of Statistics, 1999 cited in General Population Census of Cambodia 1998-Analysis of Census Results Report 7-Literacy and Education, Ministry of Planning, 2000a, P29.

8 Such low rates of adult literacy and educational attainment can be attributed to unique features of Cambodian history. Cambodia has experienced tragic violent conflict for more than the past twenty-five years. During the years of the Khmer Rouge from Cambodia experienced not only genocide but state-sponsored destruction of its economic, social, and human capital. People with higher levels of education were targeted for execution and school systems were abolished during this time. Armed conflicts and the aftermath also disrupted the education of many Cambodians, particularly in the rural areas, so that a large number of Cambodians are illiterate and have not received sufficient formal schooling. 2.2 Income Sources Main Income Sources According to the occupational distribution of the Cambodian labor force (for primary occupation) by the Cambodia Socio-Economic Survey in 1999, it became evident that at the national level, 74.0% of employed Cambodians were engaged in agriculture or fishing, and the share of people in these occupations increased further in rural areas where 82.0% of employed population worked in the fields (80.6% for males and 83.3% for females). Income sources and their importance in the CASD and World Food Programme (WFP) villages were well documented in the report of the 1998 Joint UNICEF-WFP Baseline Survey of CASD projects and WFP target areas which covered 124 villages in 13 provinces interviewing more than 1,200 households. The survey confirmed that rice farming was the most important primary source of income (74%) followed by small business (7%) and short time work (5%) in CASD villages as shown in Table 4. Craft making, which will be examined in the case study in this paper, is also an important

9 primary source of income in CASD villages with same importance as animal raising, fishing, and skilled labor. In summarizing, income sources of rural Cambodians are diverse and complex having both secondary and tertiary sources, but rice farming is the most important income source in the surveyed CASD villages. Table 4: Income Sources by Importance Primary source Secondary source Tertiary source CASD WFP CASD WFP CASD WFP Farming 74% 71% 6% 12% 3% 4% Small business 7% 6% 20% 16% 13% 14% Short time work 5% 6% 13% 13% 9% 9% Salaried work 3% 3% 7% 3% 4% 3% Animal raising 2% 2% 12% 13% 31% 34% Fishing 2% 2% 8% 9% 9% 11% Crafts 2% 2% 5% 5% 3% 5% Skilled labor 2% 3% 4% 3% 2% 2% Log cutting 1% 3% 10% 14% 3% 6% Chamkar 1% 1% 6% 3% 10% 5% Sugar palm 1% 2% 4% 7% 2% 3% Charcoal 1% 0 1% 0 1% 0 Hunting 0 0 1% 1% 1% 0 Borrowing 0 1% 3% 0 11% 4% Note: The order of importance of income sources by activities are ranked by primary income source prevalence. Source: Report on the Cambodian 1998 Joint UNICEF-WFP Baseline Survey of CASD Project and WFP Target Areas, UNICEF, WFP & MoP, 1998, P Income Generating Activities and Gender The results of the 1998 Joint UNICEF-WFP Baseline Survey show that the division of labor between male and female regarding income generating activities in the CASD villages as summarized in Table 5. The survey results revealed gender specific activities; for example, hunting is done by men only. Activities such as fishing, log cutting, skilled labor, salaried work, sugar palm tend to be assumed by men, whereas women are likely to engage in small business, animal raising and craft making. The results suggest that women tend to be involved in the activities which can be done

10 without travelling far from home as they have other responsibilities at home such as doing housework and taking care of their children. Table 5: Income Generating Activities and Division of Labor (CASD Villages) Activity % only conducted by both Both sexes Men Women % only % total % only % total conducted both conducted male by activity by men activity women % total female activity Hunting Fishing Log cutting <1 Skilled labor 5 < Salaried work Sugar palm <1 Short time work Charcoal <1 Small business Chamkar Crafts Animal raising Borrowing < Farming Source: Report on the Cambodian 1998 Joint UNICEF-WFP Baseline Survey of CASD Project and WFP Target Areas, UNICEF, WFP & MoP, 1998, P A Case Study: Effects of UNICEF s CASD Literacy Program on Learners Bamboo Ware-Making in Seimar Village, Takeo Province, Cambodia 3.1 Methodology of Field Research Village Selection Out of 103 villages covered by UNICEF s CASD program in Takeo Province, 50 villages in seven communes in two districts (Tramkak and Daunkeo) were covered by the questionnaire surveys and literacy tests carried out by GSID, Nagoya University together with its academic partners at the Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP) for NT-REP from July 21 to August 10, The survey team was composed of professors, graduate students of GSID and RUPP, and representatives from Takeo s POE. They were divided into five groups with each group (3-4 persons) visiting ten

11 villages in total. Apart from conducting the questionnaire surveys and literacy tests as a group work, participants (graduate student) were given an individual assignment to write a report on one particular activity of interest in the CASD villages visited that women engage in after they complete the literacy program. Among the ten villages surveyed, one village called, Seimar, attracted personal attention for a case study because there were many women to be found making bamboo goods everywhere. While walking around in the village, I learned that this was a self-organized incomegenerating activity of the village women in which all learners of CASD program were involved. Thus, I became interested to understand the effects of the UNICEF s literacy program on learners involved in bamboo ware-making Data Collection Questionnaire surveys and literacy tests in 50 UNICEF s CASD villages, as well as group interviews with literacy learners and personal observations in the Seimar village were primary sources for the information presented in this paper. Three different types of questionnaire surveys were conducted with literacy learners, literacy teacher and village head/village Development Committee (VDC) in these 50 villages. In addition, a 20-question literacy tests developed by UNESCO/UNDP was utilized in the present survey. For my individual assignment, in the Seimar village group interviews were carried out twice for about one hour each on different days during the survey period. Due to time constraints, Seimar village was visited only twice. However, personal experiences with field research in rural villages in southern Cambodia, including the Takeo province amounting to six months in total from 2000 to 2002 as a development consultant and a graduate student, provided precious knowledge in understanding Cambodians as well as the villagers lives in the rural areas, supplemented this

12 limitation to some extent. Data from 49 villages (including Seimar village) that included 662 respondents (582 females and 80 males) for the learners questionnaire surveys and literacy tests and 49 respondents each for teachers and village head/vdcs questionnaire surveys were available for final analysis. 3.2 The Profile of the Research Site 3 Seimar village of Tram Kak District is situated in the eastern part of Takeo Province. The total population of the village was 668 with 316 males and 352 females when the survey was conducted. The total number of households in the village was 128. Although the number of illiterates was 35 persons (30 females) when the CASD literacy program started in the village in 1998, it was reduced to 15 persons (14 females) within three years. The main source of income for the villagers was rice farming. Women were engaged in rice farming and for earning additional income in making bamboo ware. There were 20 seasonal migrants to work in Phnom Penh, which is 75 km from the village. Except for VDC, there were no other village organizations in the village. 3.3 General Characteristics of the Respondents Literacy classes under UNICEF s CASD program have been offered three terms so far in Seimar village. Each term with ten registered learners, lasted seven months, six months, and one month by the time our survey team visited the village. A questionnaire survey and literacy tests for learners were carried out with ten learners of the third term. All learners but one were female. The average age of learners was 3 A personal interview with village head and other villagers in Seimar village in July, 2001.

13 27.3 years old ranging from 19 to 44 years old. Four of the learners were married and the rest were single. Except for two housewives, the rest were all farmers. All literacy learners, except one male learner, were engaged in bamboo ware-making. Regarding group interviews, I interviewed approximately ten previous learners from the first two terms and the nine learners from the third term. The literacy teacher in the Seimar village was a 52 year-old male deputy village chief. According to the literacy teacher, he was assigned as a literacy teacher as he had more education than the others. He had received a 30-days pre-service training which was provided by the CASD program, but he did not have any additional teaching experiences elsewhere. 3.4 Results of Literacy Tests and Questionnaire Survey for Learners in Seimar Village Results of Literacy Tests As shown in Table 6, the mean score of literacy test in the Seimar village was not so high, ranking 29th among 49 surveyed villages, though the mean scores in each four skill areas (reading, writing, numeracy, and life skills) of the learners in Seimar village all exceeded those of 49 villages. Furthermore, if the mean scores for each four skill areas of the Seimar village are examined in detail, it became clear that they ranked quite high among the 49 villages: ranking 8th in reading, 7th in writing, 12th in numeracy, and 15th in life skills.

14 Table 6: Literacy Test Results of Learners in 49 CASD Villages in Takeo Province (2001) No. Village Code Village Name Total Literacy Test Scores in Four Skill Areas Reading skill Writing skill Numeracy Life skills Angk Neareay Ang Korkir Prey Ta Lei Kngok Pong Trapaing Kur Samraong Trapaing Ta Saum Prey Rumdoul Trapaing Leak Thnung Roling Champul Toul Tbeng Boeng Moeung Char Sre Kruo Prey Chuo Thun Mun Tboung Prohut Ampil Ta Toem Totueng Thngai Typat Tom Svay Chrum Sla Chroy Brorkhor Prey Kdai Ang Ta Nu Seimar Sochan Thmey Svay Rusei Ang Korkir Prech Pour Dos Toul Rokar Trapaing Kok Chroy Samroang Ang Kralanh Trapaing Koh Prey Theat Khan Khav Trapaing Ping Trapaing Pring Trapaing Thnaut Kach Trak Prey Sbart Peak Bang Aung Ben Mao Mean Score Note: N=662 Source: Literacy tests carried out by Nagoya University and Royal University of Phnom Penh in July-August, 2001.

15 3.4.2 Results of Questionnaire Survey: Effects of Literacy Education and Useful Vocational Skills (1) Skills/knowledge Learned from CASD Literacy Class According to the questionnaire survey carried out with the ten most recent literacy learners in Seimar village, the skills/knowledge most learned included topics as: how to prevent diseases (9/10 persons), reading, writing and numeracy (8/10 persons), and animal raising (8/10 persons) as shown in Figure 1. Reading,writing and numeracy Importance of working in the group Nutrition How to prevent diseases Hygienic living Animal raising Fishing Fertilizer using Parenting Household management Source: A questionnaire survey carried out by Nagoya University and Royal University of Phnom Penh in July-August, Figure 1: Skills/knowledge Learned from CASD Literacy Class (2) Changes Brought About for Learners by Participating in a CASD Literacy Class Positive effects of literacy classes were observed among learners who participated in them. Village head mentioned in his interview that after acquiring literacy skills, more women started to find jobs as garment factory workers, or to be engaged in bamboo ware-making or other small business such as water jar making. Furthermore, the literacy teacher pointed out changes in the learners attitude. They started to listen to what other people say more carefully and their abilities to express their opinions improved so that conflicts with other family members or neighbours lessened. In

16 addition, the village head felt that more active participation was expected from literacy learners than before in communal meetings and activities. (3) Useful Vocational Skills The questionnaire survey revealed useful vocational skills that learners in Seimar village wanted to acquire. Starting a business was mentioned by nine out of ten learners, though detailed skills necessary for starting a business were not mentioned. Villagers appeared to believe they could make more money by starting their own business followed by: Raising animals (8/10 persons), handcrafting (7/10 persons), weaving skills (7/10 persons), cooking (7/10 persons), and foreign language (7/10 persons). The results suggest that to meet the demands of literacy learners, knowledge and skills related to such income generating activities as animal raising, handcrafting and weaving should be incorporated in the curriculum of literacy classes. Source: A questionnaire survey carried out by Nagoya University and Royal University of Phnom Penh in July-August, Figure 2: Vocational skills learners want to learn

17 3.5 Bamboo Ware-Making as an Income Generating Activity by Women A main income generating activity of women in Seimar village is bamboo ware-making. According to the group interviews with female literacy learners, almost all women in the village (including the nine present and all former learners of CASD literacy classes), who are old enough to make bamboo ware and have extra time are engaged in bamboo ware-making. The details of bamboo ware-making of women in Seimar village are summarized below Procurement of Raw Materials Women in Seimar village purchase bamboo rods from a seller who comes to sell them in the village. Each woman purchases 20 to 30 bamboo rods every month. The rods are approximately four meters long with a diameter of three centimeters on average. Each rod costs 300 to 800 Riels 4 depending on the length and the thickness Bamboo Ware-Making (1) Product Development Every year, five to six new products such as vases, fruit baskets, ornaments are designed in the Seimar village. They vary in size, shape, and purpose of usage. There are no systematic product development methods in this village. For designing new products, televisions often play an important role in giving the women hints for new ideas. When women find good designs of crafts or anything useful in their daily lives on television, they make new products imitating the ones they saw on television. Since they are living far away from Phnom Penh, televisions are a vital source of information to develop ideas for new product development. 4 1 US$=3,835 Riels (July, 2001)

18 In total, there were about 30 different designs of bamboo products being made in the entire village during the visit of the survey team. Each woman makes about five designed products. It normally takes about two hours to make one big vase (8cm x 20cm), and about 30 minutes for a small vase (5cm x 10cm). Normally, each person produces about six to seven products per day, with approximately 20 bamboo goods being produced out of one bamboo rod. Prices of the products vary. They range from 500 to 1,000 Riels depending on the size and the intricate nature of the work. (2) Number of Bamboo Ware Producers All women who are old enough to make bamboo goods, and who have extra time, are engaged in bamboo ware-making in Seimar village. This represented at least one woman from every household, for total of more than 100 women, who were involved in bamboo ware-making in this village. The 15 previous learners of CASD literacy classes and the 9 learners in the class at the time of this research were found to be producers of bamboo ware. (3) Average Hours of Working According to the group interviews with female literacy learners, the average hours worked depend on the season and are as follows: Rainy season: 5 hours/day Dry season: 7 to 8 hours/day Female producers try to find time to make bamboo products between 7:00 A.M. and 12 A.M. Although they appeared very busy doing housework, taking care of their children, and making bamboo ware, it was very impressive to see women manage their time efficiently to generate additional income.

19 (4) Skill Transfer Bamboo ware-making skills were handed down from generation to generation (e.g. from mothers to their daughters) and were transferred among village women, and those skills were not brought into the village by aid projects of external agencies. There were no villages that were producing bamboo products nearby. When someone develops a new design, it will be introduced to other women. Thus, a new design and skills are disseminated among the village women by themselves. In this regard, CASD literacy classes are conducive to strengthening such social capital as networks, personal relationships, and polite attitudes. As the village head and the literacy teacher of Seimar village commented, friendships between learners had developed and learners attitude towards others became more polite through CASD literacy classes, which are the bases for expanding networks not only among learners but also with other village women who are engaged in bamboo ware-making Selling the Finished Products There is a simple distribution system of the finished products in Seimar village. When a certain volume of bamboo ware is completed by each female producer, she will bring them to one of ten sales persons in the village. The people handling sales are also all women, but producers and sales persons are different persons. Some literacy learners are sales persons. These ten sales persons go to Phnom Penh three to four times a month by bus to sell bamboo ware they received from female producers in Seimar village. They visit every market and shop in Phnom Penh to sell those products, normally staying in Phnom Penh for two to three days.

20 The transportation cost for going to Phnom Penh amounts to 10,000 Riel (about US$2.6) per person for a round trip. In addition, sales persons need to pay accommodation fees in Phnom Penh. Although sales persons did not want to reveal the exact profit they received from sales as it was a secret among themselves, some women implied that it would be about 10% of the total sales amount. Literacy learners commented that numeracy they acquired from a literacy class was extremely useful when sales persons sold the finished products in markets and shops in Phnom Penh and when profits were shared among producers and sales persons. Besides, some sales persons mentioned that after they acquired numeracy, they felt more confident in negotiating with customers on price of their products. Not only numeracy, but other effects were brought about by literacy classes as well. One woman pointed out that her decisiveness had been enhanced as she obtained more knowledge and information about her society and everyday life by attending literacy classes, which formed the bases for her judgement Income Generation Average monthly income from bamboo ware-making was 30,000 to 40,000 Riels (US$7.82-US$10.43) per producer, which is relatively a good additional income for female producers. In comparison, a monthly salary of a public school teacher is approximately US$20.00 in Cambodia.

21 4 Conclusions 4.1 Summary of Findings The present survey revealed that literacy skills learners acquired through CASD literacy program were bringing about positive effects to learners. Two issues can be highlighted as having significant effects from the UNICEF s CASD literacy program on a learners income generating activity through a case study of bamboo ware-making in the Seimar village. First, as the Seimar village case demonstrated, literacy, and numeracy in particular, was conducive to women s bamboo ware-making. Numeracy is indispensable not only when selling finished products in the markets and shops in Phnom Penh and buying raw materials from bamboo rods sellers, but also in sharing profits gained from selling the finished products among women involved with bamboo ware-making within the village. In addition, decisiveness can be enhanced by attending literacy classes since learners can obtain more knowledge and information about their society and daily lives, which formed the bases for judgement. Second, acquiring literacy leads to women s empowerment. Women who acquired literacy and were engaged in bamboo ware making and selling felt that their positions in their families had been enhanced by getting additional income to their families. Furthermore, while sales persons commented that they thought they were more capable to negotiate the price of products with customers, the producers said they were happy to learn about their capabilities to earn money in exchange with their labor they enjoy, which helped them build their self-confidence. Almost all women interviewed replied that they enjoyed making bamboo products in collaboration with other female friends. Close collaboration among women must be one of the reasons for the success of their

22 income generating activity. It can be said that CASD literacy classes are conducive to strengthening such social capital as networks, personal relationships, and polite attitudes. The Seimar village case illustrated that through CASD literacy classes, learners not only acquired literacy, but also improved their communication skills by acquiring polite attitudes towards other people and developed friendships between learners, which are the bases for expanding networks among literacy learners as well as with other village women. Bamboo ware-making in Seimar village has been a self-sustainable activity, which has succeeded from generation to generation without intervention by external aid agencies. The CASD literacy program assumes a role to provide illiterates with a chance to acquire literacy and to be empowered building self-confidence and forming social capital in order to fully participate in their income generating activity. 4.2 Recommendations 1) Results of the present survey identified vocational skills learners in Seimar village wished to acquire. The most popular skills learners listed were: starting business, animal raising, handcraft making, and weaving, while the top three skills/knowledge learners actually learned from literacy classes were: how to prevent diseases, reading, writing and numeracy, and animal raising. It is recommended that more vocationrelated knowledge and skills are incorporated in the course curriculum of literacy classes to meet the specific needs of the learners. In addition, in-service training of literacy teachers needs to be provided in order to further strengthen the capabilities of those teaching literacy to meet demands of learners. Such in-service training will provide good opportunities for literacy teachers to exchange information regarding teaching methods and best practices in other villages.

23 2) In order to promote income generating activities, product development ability and marketing need to be strengthened. More systematic mechanism for developing new products is indispensable since producers develop new products if they come across attractive product designs by chance on television at present. It is suggested that not only sales person, but also several producers go to Phnom Penh regularly to check what kind of products are in demand as references for developing new products. Since women in Seimar village can allocate five to eight hours per day for bamboo waremaking, if they find some products that they can make and that can be sold with higher price, they can earn more additional income. Furthermore, distribution channels of products need to be established. Sales persons of the Seimar village visit every market and shop in Phnom Penh to sell their products now. Working more closely with the shops which buy their products either on a regular basis or with contracts, and also provisions of market information by those shops to producers, will stabilize their sales amount and expand their income generating activity. References International Consultative Forum on Education for All Education for All Year 2000 Assessment: Statistical Document. Paris: UNESCO. Ky, T., Dorina, P, Sovannarith, S., & McAndrew, J The UNICEF/Community Action for Social Development Experience-Learning from Rural Development Programme in Cambodia. Working Paper 9. Cambodia: Cambodia Development Resource Institute (CDRI) and Ministry of Rural Development (MRD). Ministry of Planning (MoP). 2000a. General Population Census of Cambodia Analysis of Census Results Report 7-Literacy and Education. Cambodia: Ministry of Planning. Ministry of Planning (MoP). 2000b. Report on the Cambodia Socio-Economic Survey Cambodia: Ministry of Planning.

24 The Asia/Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO (ACCU) National Literacy Policies-Cambodia. The Asia/Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO. Retrieved on December 5, 2003 from UNESCO/UNDP Report on the Assessment of the Functional Literacy Levels of the Adult Population in Cambodia. Cambodia: UNESCO/UNDP. UNICEF, WFP & Ministry of Planning (MoP) Report on the Cambodian 1998 Joint UNICEF-WFP Baseline Survey of CASD Project and WFP Target Areas. Cambodia: UNICEF, WFP & MoP. United Nations UN Millennium Development Goals (MDG). United Nations. Retrieved on November 20, 2003 from World Education Forum The Dakar Framework for Action-Education for All: Meeting our Collective Commitments. April 28, Dakar, Senegal.