Despite the general agreement about the benefits that electrification brings to well-being, few studies have concentrated on the actual effects of electrification on the diverse non-economic dimensions of quality of life (QoL). In a multi-disciplinary and cross-institutional effort, a group of natural and social scientists have studied three electrification schemes (grid extension, centralised hybrid, and solar home systems) in four rural villages in Malaysia, Cambodia, and Myanmar. Using a novel approach with scales on several QoL measures (self-reported QoL and five QoL sub-domains; psychological, physical, social, and economic well-being; occupations; and total active time), this article presents an analysis of the effects of rural electrification on human well-being. With original data surveyed in the villages through a baseline prior to electrification and an endpoint several months after, the effects were examined through suitable statistical methods. Overall, we confirmed a positive effect of electrification in self-reported QoL levels as well as psychological, physical, and social well-being. There was, however, a certain reduction recorded in economic well-being. In the sub-domains of QoL, there were no changes after electrification in satisfaction levels concerning time use, time spent alone, housing, and personal safety, but a positive effect on satisfaction levels was observed in cooking. Finally, in terms of occupation, we observed no changes in the total hours dedicated to work and no prolonged active time on usual activities in the household. The findings provide support to the hypothesis of a positive effect on general QoL from electrification, but also suggest more precisely that, for specific QoL sub-domains, the effect might not necessarily exist, or in fact, may be negative. The article concludes by discussing differences determined by cultural aspects and technological limitations in each of the systems under study.

Rice is not merely a staple food but an important source of income in Cambodia. Rapid socioeconomic development in the country affects farmers’ management practices, and rice production has increased almost three-fold over two decades. However, detailed information about the recent changes in rice production is quite limited and mainly obtained from interviews and statistical data. Here, we analyzed MODIS LAI data (MCD152H) from 2003 to 2019 to quantify rice production changes in Pursat Province, one of the great rice-producing areas in Cambodia. Although the LAI showed large variations, the data clearly indicate that a major shift occurred in approximately 2010 after applying smoothing methods (i.e., hierarchical clustering and the moving average). This finding is consistent with the results of the interviews with the farmers, which indicate that earlier-maturing cultivars had been adopted. Geographical variations in the LAI pattern were illustrated at points analyzed along a transverse line from the mountainside to the lakeside. Furthermore, areas of dry season cropping were detected by the difference in monthly averaged MODIS LAI data between January and April, which was defined as the dry season rice index (DSRI) in this study. Consequently, three different types of dry season cropping areas were recognized by nonhierarchical clustering of the annual LAI transition. One of the cropping types involved an irrigation-water-receiving area supported by canal construction. The analysis of the peak LAI in the wet and dry seasons suggested that the increase in rice production was different among cropping types and that the stagnation of the improvements and the limitation of water resources are anticipated. This study provides valuable information about differences and changes in rice cropping to construct sustainable and further-improved rice production strategies.

Based on anthropological fieldwork in Pursat province, Cambodia, this article explores the socio-cultural background to the recent expansion of a unique Buddhist ritual called sângkeahăh in Khmer. This ritual can be regarded as an emerging practice of community-based care in the face of the rapid modernization and development that has been unfolding in rural Cambodia since the 1990s. It is performed at the houses of ill persons in villages, and the donations collected through the ritual are given to their family; participants are motivated first by merit-making and second by the acute awareness of increasing medical treatment costs. In addition to moving care from the private to the public sphere, the ritual represents a cultural articulation of a traditional practice of care at the grassroots level of the society, a unique case of a bottom-up response to modernization that the local culture and values support. The ethnographic description and analysis of this article contribute to deepening our understanding of the nature of community in rural Cambodia, cultural transformation in rural South East Asia, and the relationship between religion and care.

Improving agricultural research and education is highly recommended to control agricultural development and environmental sustainability in Cambodia. Agricultural research mostly focuses on interviews with farmers as a first measure in developing countries, but a lack of quantitative accuracy remains one of the major constraints. In this situation, we conducted educational activities for master’s degree students of the Royal University of Agriculture (RUA) to append agronomic information with popular equipment in interdisciplinary fieldwork in Pursat Province, Cambodia. For the popular equipment, an RGB camera, a reflectometer as well as pH and EC meters were selected. The agronomic information collected by the students supported the results obtained during the interviews. For example, the difference in fertilizer application between the irrigated and nonirrigated areas was confirmed by the soil ammonium concentration evaluated with a reflectometer; the difference in rice growth among water conditions was confirmed by the leaf area percentage evaluated with an RGB camera. Since the majority of the students lacked agricultural and statistical knowledge, the agronomic information quantified by popular equipment provided proper educational materials. The interdisciplinary fieldwork also indicated serious problems in the study area, such as low beneficial crop production and environmental sustainability. To overcome these problems, improving agricultural education is required to foster skillful agricultural professionals, and the quantification of agronomic information is an essential issue.

Connectivity with the global economy was crucial to Cambodia’s shift from a post-conflict to a developmental state during the 2000s, a decade after it began recovering from international isolation....