HAND MADE RICE STRAW BALES: The locals do not have mechanical balers, so they must make the bales by hand using a homemade wooden baler. The straw bale garden will allow the farmer to grow crops even during the flood period, especially since the straw bales provide excellent drainage capacity and easily drain away excess moisture, so daily rainfall isn’t a problem. Once rain subsides, within a short time air is able to once again enter the draining bales and keep the roots of vegetable plants viable, unlike the soggy soil at this time of year, which rots the roots of most things planted in the muck.
Crops thrive, including dietary necessities that until now they have not been able to grow, and instead they have relied upon outside government and other charitable organizations for food. Starches such as potatoes, squash, pumpkins, cucumbers, and other legumes like green beans and peas, and many other crops are now grown year around in the tropical climate of Cambodia.