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Goducate Children’s Home in Cambodia starts self-sustainability projects with tilapia raising

The Goducate Children’s Home has long wanted to be self-sustainable. It has also wanted to teach the children at the home not only to stand on their own feet, but also to go and impart what they have learnt to the community. Over the years we have been gathering information and trying out various projects. Recently, our administrator, Noe Pulmones, went to the Philippines for intensive training in livelihood programs. We are now starting to introduce these programs, starting with short-range goals but with the aim of reaching long-term goals.

Feasibility studies have shown that raising tilapia for sale has more advantages than any other livelihood project. Thus during the Khmer New Year vacation, the boys at the home dug out two new fish ponds.

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Goducate Training Center’s fish pond

On our recent trip to Goducate Training Center in Iloilo, Philippines we had the opportunity to catch the tilapia in our impounding lake.

The primary purpose of the impounding lake is to provide a source ofwater for our rice fields. Though there are 5 fresh-water springs on site, high-yielding rice requires lots of water to produce optimal yields.

Since the impounding lake is large (about half an acre) and deep (about 5 meters). we decided to stock it with fast-breeding fish. A local fish research institute gave us an hundred tilapia fingerlings a few months ago. Today, there are over 10,000 tilapia of various sizes.

Food to feed the tilapia is obtained from a local meat producer and bakery. Their “spoiled” meat and bakery items are fed to the tilapias.

We were handed bamboo fishing rods and we began pulling tilapia out of the lake every minute. The little tilapias were thrown back into the lake and the large breeders were also thrown back.

A visitor to GTC fishing for tilapia
A visitor with his tilapia (this size of this fish is made much larger because it is held near the camera!)

These fish will be the main source of animal protein for the Goducate trainees when they begin their training at the end of April.

 

The Goducate trainees will also learn to breed tilapias so that they can help poor communities find another source of protein and income.