Battambang and Pailin Provinces
Cambodia is roughly one-third the size of France and has about 17 million people across 25 provinces. Battambang Province, in the northwest near Thailand, includes Battambang, the second-largest city, which is 300 km from the capital, Phnom Penh. The province has 12 districts and many communes. The western districts rely on farming and have the highest poverty rates in the country. Pailin Province, at the foothills of the Cardamom Mountains, borders Battambang and Thailand. Its landscape is more varied, but rural poverty is still severe outside Pailin City. CFS started working in the province in early 2017.
In Battambang and Pailin, poor rural families often live in one-room thatch houses with little or no electricity and running water. Many struggle to access healthcare, and jobs are scarce, seasonal, and low-paying. CFS focuses on the poorest communities in northwest Cambodia, many of whom have migrated for land or due to the nearby Thai border. These border areas are mostly infertile, leaving residents with few resources and limited survival options.
