GERES

This is Bunthoeun

GERES stands for “Groupe Energies Renouvelables, Environnement et Solidarity”. Founded in France in 1976 after the world food crisis, they have been working in Southeast Asia since 1994. Their main focus is biomass energy opportunity worldwide, working with over 200 employees that are both locals and expats. GERES manages about 70 projects globally and has 10 prominent offices. In Southeast Asia, they have an office in both Cambodia and Myanmar. 

As a French organization, GERES is particularly interested in assuring their projects are culturally appropriate. Therefore they not only hire local staff but also implement a “buddy” program, where all foreign employees are accompanied by a local employee. They are very cognisant of the challenges they face as foreigners, which has pushed they to work harder at monitoring their work. They want to ensure that their projects are locally adapted and they continue to compile data to indicate the needs of various areas. 

GERES also work with local governments, providing recommendations and focusing on capacity building. They explained that NGOs in Cambodia have taken on what the government should be doing. GERES has brought the problems and the solutions to the government in order to serve as guides and work toward a sustainable development model. Bunthoeun is GERES Executive Director. He explained that some of their challenges include working with other NGOs because of the competitive nature of NGOs in Cambodia. He also expressed the issues with identifying the correct people in local government to talk to. Many times they felt it was convoluted on who has what power and how they can get things done efficiently. On the ground, he also felt that some of the implementation processes are difficult. This is due to lack of ownership on projects which will prevent them from being sustainable. 

In the future, GERES is looking to working more with industries, doing feasibility studies on food waste as biomass, and the using bamboo to create charcoal. They are also are spending a lot of time and resources with a local stove building company, to create efficient, low-smoke stoves for local communities. This work helps support a local company which is a great example of how GERES is focused on working with local companies and local staff, through their “buddy” program. However, it seems that most of their projects are thought of and outlined by their European staff. 

Trailblazer Foundation

This is Ratanak, pictured with school children in Siem Reap

After multiple trips to Cambodia, founders Chris and Scott Coats decided to move to Siem Reap, Cambodia to dedicate their lives to improving the water quality for local Cambodians. They began Trailblazer Foundation (TF) after seeing that some basic needs were not being met, such as clean water. Their first project was the building of a school but quickly shifted their focus to well digging and water filter installations once they saw they could serve more this way. Now they do branch out to things such as appropriate agriculture projects and micro financing, but it all started with water.  Weekly, they are still installing up to 14 filters in one of the 3 provinces in they work in Cambodia. 

The onsite staff for TF is made up of 12 Cambodians and 1 American. Although the foundations members of TF are all American, they have been intentional of hiring local staff to run their Angkor location. This way they can continue to reach rural communities through local Cambodians who know the culture and NGO landscape. 

Ratanak has been working for Trailblazer for 5 years as the field manager. Here is oversees the many projects that TF Angkor take on. He is responsible for the over 200 volunteers that come to TF to help assemble the water filters for as short as just a day or as long as multiple months. They rely on this volunteer support to ensure enough water filters can go out to the many villages they serve. Ratanak says that he not only enjoyed the work but the compensation allows him to provide for his family. Ratanak along with the other employees at TF Angkor have dedicated individuals that are trying to answer the needs of their community and continually giving back. 

Started by an American couple, TF’s on the ground crew is solely made of Cambodians. They are a passionate group of young people that feel empowered to work with local communities on the group to make their daily lives better. With guidance from their founders, Ratanak, and his crew have autonomy to manage their projects in ways that are fit for the community. With the high intake of volunteers and interns, they also create a space for voluntourism to thrive. The volunteers work for both the benefit of themselves as they experience a new country and also the communities that receive TF’s services.