It was to Kraing Leav, a small village some 90 kilometres from Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia, that six students from the École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS) travelled with the firm intention of changing forever the everyday lives of some 400 villagers. From September to December, with the help of the villagers, the Quebec students themselves managed to build – quite a feat – a rice bank which is now able to store all the village crops and provide food for the inhabitants throughout the year. Formerly, at harvest time, the villagers had to sell the rice that they could not store. As the staple was abundant at that time of year, the prices went down and subsequently, when the reserves had run out, the villagers were obliged to purchase their rice at a high price in order to survive. The rice bank, covering an area of 200 square metres, can store the village crops and the population can now eat throughout the year.
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