By Buth Reaksmey Kongkea
Khmer Village Restaurant (KVR), a local restaurant that sells 100 percent Khmer food and natural agri-products in Phnom Penh, is the first choice for those who appreciate organically grown vegetables and ethically reared meat.
The average day sees at least 80 customers from all walks of Phnom Penh society sitting at table and enjoying the range on offer KVR, according to Soth Visal, the restaurant’s General Manager.
25-year-old Visal, said, “I am happy because I can make a reasonable income from the business on a daily basis; and the income is made supplying the tastes of friendly and appreciative customers who think about food the same way I do.”
The Manager continued, “In supplying nothing but organically grown produce, KVR is the only restaurant of its kind in Cambodia. In enjoying my food my customers can also be sure that they are taking care of their health and supporting the welfare of our nation’s hard-working farmers.”
KVR was established only as recently as July 7, 2008. Visal said that the main objective of the restaurant was to use organic products such rice and chicken supplied by the Cambodia Center for Study and Development in Agriculture (CEDAC), a local NGO with a reputation for supplying excellent organic produce.
He pointed out that since the opening of the restaurant in July, the number of customers has increased rapidly, as has his income.
He said, “When I started operating my restaurant, in the first month I was making between 600,000 to 700,000 riel [about US $150 to 175] per day. Now, I can earn between 1,000,000 riel and 1,200,000 riel per day.”
The hungry but health-conscious diner will find the whole range of Cambodian favorites on offer, morning, noon and night at KVR with drinks to prolong the pleasure, according to Visal. He added that prices range from 4,000 to 8,000 riel—the same as all other local restaurants in Phnom Penh.
Mok Sam Oun, 46, an official working with the Ministry of Environment, said that he had been enjoying his lunch there since the second week of the restaurant’s opening. He continued, “I’m probably one of KVR’s most regular customers. I come here pretty much everyday because it’s convenient, delicious, healthy and I support our country’s hard working farmers. I have always had an interest in the organic food movement and now I know this foodstuff is produced locally, I’ll continue to be seen here at breakfast and lunch.”
Doung Sopheak, 35, a program officer working for an NGO in Phnom Penh is also an enthusiastic and regular patron of the restaurant.
Sopheak said, “We enjoyed the food at KVR because we know that this restaurant promotes nothing but the very best in Khmer foods and uses only organic products. As proud Cambodians we are also delighted to support the farmers toiling away, day after day, under the hot sun. This is the most delicious way to support the back-breaking labor of others.”
Chhay Songleang, the stock-out management officer for CEDAC, said that all products such as vegetables, meats, eggs and so on, served at KVR, were supplied exclusively by CEDAC.
Songleang said, “CEDAC does not own shares in the Khmer Village Restaurant, nor do we have any hand in the restaurant’s activities. However, we do forward meats, eggs and natural products that we buy from local farmers in CEDAC’s project areas to the restaurant for sale; we are their sole supplier.”
“I think” he said, “that KVR’s activities have really helped the promotion of Khmer cuisine and natural products in Cambodia.”
Dr. Yang Saing Kumar, president of CEDAC, said that currently, his organization is supplying three restaurants with organically produced foodstuffs and local produce in Cambodia. Those three restaurants include Baksei Srok Restaurant and the Khmer Village Restaurants located in Phnom Penh city. The other restaurant is located in Neak Leoung district, Prey Veng province.
Saing Kumar said the main purpose of CEDAC was to promote the widespread acceptance of Khmer organic and local products as the quality was just as good and in many cases superior to anything that could be imported from elsewhere.
He said that another CEDAC objective was the promotion of natural fertilizers for use on Cambodia's paddy and vegetable fields. This material is kinder to the environment, is much cheaper than imported chemical fertilizer and leads to a truly sustainable prospect for farmers.
Chan Sarun, minister for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MoAFF), added his backing to the activities of the local restaurants and CEDAC in publicizing the benefits of Cambodian natural produce.
The Minister said, “I think that these restaurants and local NGOs have really helped the ministry in many of the areas that have been of concern to us. We too have been preaching the benefits of natural fertilizers to our farmers and we are very happy to see our countrymen enjoying the taste of domestic products.”
Speaking to Cambodia Weekly reporter by telephone on September 5, he said that to encourage local farmers to increase their capacity and make a little extra cash for their families, the MoAFF, in collaboration with partners such as CARE, UNDP, FAO, PRASAC, AusAID, SEILA have been working very hard to introduce the concept and benefits to be gained from natural fertilizers. These activities have been on going since 1994 and now they are starting to produce results.
He said, “With these activities, I think that our farmers will be able to see the difference, perhaps not in terms of one-off, unfeasibly large yields of tasteless ballast for an empty stomach but rather in smaller quantities of the tastiest, best quality nutrition. I see a healthy future for natural fertilizers and a healthy diet for our people in future.”
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