Roundhouse Revamp
The countdown on my computer screen tells me it is exactly 343 days since the Agritech Centre Launch, on 20 December 2018. A hot, sunny day in Samrong when 90 guests descended on to the recently completed site, experiencing a monk blessing, taking a site tour and enjoying a three course lunch.
The days that followed have been challenging and exciting. Our operations manager has spent nearly 4 months in Cambodia, working with our staff and a whole host of volunteers to get the AgriTech Centre running. To date we have four thriving green spaces, a regular traffic of approximately 80 secondary school students per week and around 10 farmer entrepreneurs accessing our services. Besides green spaces we also run mini projects such as frog raising, composting and eco building to demonstrate rural enterprises. Last but not least, in 2019 we received immense publicity for the project and the venerated award from AJ 100 for “Collaboration of the Year”. The image below shows the transformation we have achieved.
Our long-term vision is to create a close-loop on site. Which means utilising waste as much as possible and relying seldom on outside inputs. A key investment for this is the ATEC Biogas digester that we installed in 2018. It is connected to the WC to process waste into compost and give off biogas. Having clean cooking gas is a necessity on a farm project. In the last 12 months we have hosted multiple impromptu community lunches and volunteer parties. Many converging at the back of the site in what is called the “WC block”.
After discussion with the architects, we realised it is the nature of design and construction to give new meaning to structures. So in August 2019 we decided to commence a revamp of the WC block to now be The Roundhouse.
A swift retrofit will allow us to add features on the existing structure such as sturdy counter tops, blinds and screens for privacy and keeping the wind out. A detailed CGI link from Squire demonstrates it better. The kitchen conversion opens us up to conducting nutrition workshops and curbing foodwaste by processing what we grow.
On 21 November 2019 we had our annual fundraiser at Squire & Partners Upstairs space to announce the Roundhouse Revamp and collect pledges. We welcomed our guests with a signature cocktail made using flowers grown at the AgriTech Centre.
The martini was such a hit that it will go on the bar menu Upstairs, with a small contribution per purchase for Green Shoots!
The event was also an excellent opportunity to update supporters and friends on our progress on site, succinctly done by this video. Volunteers from UCL Volunteering Service enabled the evening to run smoothly.
Pledges were collected on beautiful hand-sketched cards and the evening ended with some Khmer music and dancing.
In one evening we reached a total of nearly GBP 1,465. We have a generous anonymous donor that has pledged to match the amount up to GBP 3,500.
We are now running an active online crowdfunding campaign to close the gap. Donations are accepted on this link: https://www.wonderful.org/appeal/agritechcentrecambodia-fc2a5ab0
