Five new customers - feather in our cap

Imagine trying to find buyers for a batch of 800 chickens in one 'fowl' swoop - that was the problem local field manager, Phirun Oum, was tasked with at the end of every chicken cycle. It's fair to say a few feathers were getting ruffled in the process.

Now, in a quantum leap forward we've just nailed daily supply! We've managed to switch from sporadic large-batch sales, to selling up to 30 chickens each day, all made possible by the new production coops at the microfarm.

We're egg-static that Phirun's hard work's paid off and we've now got five happy customers regularly buying from us. Three of these customers sell fried chicken on one of the busy highways from the capital city to the flourishing southern coast.   

As Phirun explains, "daily supply cuts out unscrupulous middle-men and we get better prices for the franchisees as we keep our customers". Regular customers also know that by choosing Catalyst chickens they're helping the poor in their community (franchisees receive 100% of the profits for the chickens they've raised). ​

Profit payments

In Cambodia to explore market opportunities in the NGO restaurant sector, Gerard accompanied Phirun on a recent profit payment trip to group seven franchisees. Happy to receive their profits, they expressed new-found hope for their future, and had only one question for Gerard: "When can we raise more chickens at a time so we make more profit?". 

Over time, they'll raise increasing numbers of chickens, but to decrease their business risk they start small. 

Without the programme, Muth Sinath and Chrun Vannak (pictured above receiving their profit payments) wouldn't have access to fast growing commercial-breed chickens, as the chicks are normally only sold to large-scale producers in Cambodia.

Franchisee profile - Chrun Vannak

Chrun Vannak used to be a builder until a cow charged into his back a year and a half ago in a rice paddy, tragically leaving him paralysed and unable to work. The family borrowed money to pay his USD$6,000 medical costs while he was in hospital, vulnerable to unethical doctors who repeatedly told him if he stayed just "one more week" he would be able to walk again. He has two steel rods in his back and the same doctors are now advising him that he will walk again if the steel rods are removed, for which he would be charged another $600.

Back home after the accident with four children to support and only $7.00 in savings things seemed bleak. His younger children weren't able to attend school regularly as the only household income was from growing rice on three hectares of land.

But last year he became a franchisee, once again able to contribute to household income. So far he's raised 157 chickens and earned a valuable profit of NZ$83.00, giving him renewed hope for the future.

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Five things you didn't know about Cambodia

1. The young & the restless: Cambodia is one of the few countries in the world with a predominantly young population, in part a legacy of the Khmer Rouge genocide and a low life expectancy rate after the war. Today, half of its15 million population is below the age of 15.
2. Water wonder: Ever heard of a river that flows in two different directions? The Tonle Sap River does. Twice a year, the river changes its flow direction, with the monsoon and dry season onset. It's also the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia.
3. Oriental Paris - Phnom Penh was once dubbed the Paris of the East - many beautiful colonial buildings grace its streets, a legacy of its French colonial past.
4. Rare freshwater dolphin - an estimated 85 critically endangered Irrawaddy dolphins cling to survival in a stretch of the mighty Mekong River between Cambodia and Laos. Around 30,000 tourists a year flock to see these soon to be extinct animals which get entangled in vertical gillnets. In 2009, we were lucky enough to see a small number of these elusive creatures in a beautiful Mekong river pool marking the Laos/Cambodia boundary. 
5. No Macca's - it's one of the few countries in the world without the golden arches. For the adventurous there's plenty of exotic street food to try instead - grilled frog, stir-fried crickets with chilli and onion (pictured above), chive cakes, or tarantulas fried in garlic & caramel sauce anyone?