Nine months after receiving social concession land through the Land Allocation for Social and Economic Development Project III (LASED III), Ms. Sun Keo’s life has begun to change in ways she once only dreamed about. For the first time in her life, she stands on land that truly belongs to her—land where she can build, plant, and hope.

Keo, a divorced mother of five, moved to her new plot in Prasnoeb commune of Kampong Chhnang province in January 2025. Like the other 249 selected landless and land-poor families, she received a residential plot measuring 30m by 40m and one hectare of agricultural land. For a woman who had endured years of hardship—domestic violence, extreme poverty, unstable shelter, and overwhelming debt—this land has become the foundation of a new beginning.

Before receiving support from LASED III, Keo and her children shared a deteriorating house with her elderly mother. With no farmland and only firewood collecting to rely on, she earned barely $10 every 15 days to support a family of seven. When her daughters fell seriously ill, she was forced to borrow $1,000 from a local bank, adding financial pressure to her already fragile life. At night, she often cried herself to sleep, worrying about her children’s future. “No land makes me miserable,” she said. “Land is very important—equal to our life.”

Today, her voice carries a very different tone.

Standing in her rice field, Keo proudly harvested her first crop—an experience she described as “the happiest moment of my life.” She had planted the rice herself and now reaped the rewards with her own hands.

“This is the very first time I have land to grow rice,” she said with joy. “I feel very excited, very happy beyond compare. I finally have a rice field of my own, just like others.”

 Although rain prevented her from harvesting the full field, she managed to reap one-third of the rice planted on half a hectare. After threshing, she collected 150 kilograms of rice. She planned to continue the harvest the following day. Each sack of rice symbolizes security—food she no longer needs to borrow or depend on donations to obtain.

For Keo, this harvest is more than a yield; it is proof that her future can be better.

Land has given her the confidence to dream again. With space to grow rice, vegetables, and fruit trees and raise chickens. She now sees a path to self-reliance. Her children, once surrounded by uncertainty, now wake up in a place they can call home.

Keo expresses her deep gratitude to the Royal Government and the LASED III project for giving poor families like hers a chance to rebuild their lives with dignity. “When I receive good yields like this, I feel very happy,” she shared. “I thank the government for helping the poor like me.”

Her journey is far from over, but the transformation is undeniable. From a life defined by scarcity and fear, Keo is stepping into a new life shaped by stability, hope, and opportunity—rooted firmly in the soil she now calls her own.
 

(Story and photos by Leak Ratna, Communications Specialist, LASED III)