Overseas Fieldwork Report 2013: Siem Reap Province, Cambodia Graduate School of International Development Nagoya University Introduction The twenty-first Overseas Fieldwork (OFW 2013) of the Graduate School of International Development (GSID), Nagoya University, was carried out in Siem Reap Province, Cambodia, from September 15 to September 30, 2013. The OFW is an important part of GSID’s curriculum, designed to provide students with exposure to the “real world” development issues in rural areas of a developing country and an opportunity to develop field-based research skills in a group setting. Each year, GSID carries out the OFW in an Asian developing country in cooperation with GSID’s local partner university. This year, the Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP) kindly accepted to host the OFW, adding to the successful collaboration extended for the past OFWs in 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2012. Building on many years of cherished relationships between the two universities, the OFW 2013 was managed smoothly and it contributed to further strengthening GSID’s ties for academic exchange and collaboration with this prestigious university in Cambodia. Considering the relevance of topics to Siem Reap’s local developmental context, we divided 33 graduate students into four thematic working groups: Community Development (WG1), Education (WG2), Migration (WG3), and Tourism (WG4), to study and observe various dimensions of rural development in that area in a holistic manner. Students conducted their research in villages of Ta Yaek Commune and Nokor Thom Commune, Siem Reap Province. On September 27, before the departure from Phnom Penh, they presented their preliminary research findings at RUPP, to share them with, and receive feedback from, the RUPP faculty and students. Reflecting comments and advice received at the presentation and in the course of their fieldwork, participants tried to elaborate their analysis in the final report. This volume is a collection of the working groups’ reports. Acknowledgements The committee of OFW 2013 is indebted to many people and institutions both in Cambodia and Japan for the successful completion of this year’s program. Our appreciation must be directed first to the people of Ta Yaek Commune and Nokor Thom in Siem Reap Province. We are especially grateful to local authorities including the provincial governor, Mr. Khim Bun Song, village chiefs, staff members of government offices and other relevant organizations for their generous assistance and cordial hospitality. We also would like to express our sincere gratitude to all those who kindly provided us with precious information during interviews. We could not have accomplished the OFW successfully without their kind support. i Next, our appreciation goes to faculty and students of the Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP). We would like to express our sincere appreciation to the RUPP faculty, Prof. Ngin Chanrith, Prof. Men Prach Vuthy, Prof. Heng Naret, Prof. Kim Veara, and Prof. Yin Sorya. Participants of the OFW 2013 received tremendous support from them and their students during the field research. This year’s OFW was sponsored by the program on “Training a New Generation of Leaders in International Cooperation for the Development of the ASEAN Region,” which GSID has been implementing under ”the Re-Inventing Japan Project (Support for the Formation of Collaborative Programs with ASEAN Universities: “Campus ASEAN Program”) of Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). As part of this “Campus ASEAN” program, we also held an international seminar on “Cambodia’s Contemporary Socio-economic Challenges: National and Regional Perspectives,” jointly with the RUPP and the Royal University of Law and Economics (RULE), at RULE on Sep. 28, 2013. This joint international seminar was very successful, bringing many experts and eminent speakers from Cambodia to discuss current challenges that Cambodia faces to promote its sustainable development. Our special thanks goes to the Royal University of Law and Economics, especially Prof. Phalthy Hap, for his superb arrangement and commitment to make it a success. Last but not least, we are very grateful to those who provided valuable lectures to our participants in the preparatory seminars for the OFW 2013: Dr. Koung Teilee, Associate Professor, the Graduate School of Law, Nagoya University, Dr. Satoru Kobayashi, Associate Professor, Kyoto University, and Dr. Yukiko Yonekura, Associate Professor, Showa Women’s University. We also would like to thank Ms. Erin Sakakibara for the English editing of this volume. Committee on OFW 2013 Aya Okada, Professor and Chair Wataru Kusaka, Associate Professor Itsuko Fujimura, Professor Collaborating faculty member Tetsuo Umemura, Professor Office of OFW Ngov Penghuy, Assistant Professor ii Table of Contents Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... i Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................................ i Table of Contents ......................................................................................................................... iii List of Participants .......................................................................................................................... 1 Preparatory Seminar ............................................................................................................................................ 3 Interim Presentation of Research Findings in Cambodia .................................................................................... 3 Presentation of Research Findings in GSID ........................................................................................................ 3 Overall Schedule for Fieldwork in Cambodia ..................................................................................................... 4 Background Information of Siem Reap Province, Cambodia ......................................................... 5 Working Group 1 The Role of Community Finance in Cambodia Focusing on the Relationship between Community Finance and Investment ………………………………………...………………... 9 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................................... 10 2. Methodology ................................................................................................................................................. 15 3. Findings ......................................................................................................................................................... 17 4. Analysis ......................................................................................................................................................... 22 5. Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................................... 24 6. Acknowledgment .......................................................................................................................................... 25 7. References ..................................................................................................................................................... 26 Working Group 2 Lower Secondary School Education in Cambodia Focusing on Factors that Influence Students’ Attendance: The Case of Siem Reap Province ………...……………………….… 27 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................................... 28 2. Research Methodology .................................................................................................................................. 30 3. Literature Review .......................................................................................................................................... 32 4. Findings and Analysis ................................................................................................................................... 35 5. Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................................... 45 iii 6. Acknowledgement ......................................................................................................................................... 45 7. Reference ..................................................................................................................................................... 46 Working Group 3 The Paradox of the “Thailand Dream”: Understanding Migration from the Perspective of Rural Women in Cambodia …………………………………………………………....………47 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................................... 48 2. Problem Statement ........................................................................................................................................ 49 3. Significance of the Study .............................................................................................................................. 49 4. Research Objective and Research Question .................................................................................................. 49 5.