ELLA GUTHRIE

Ella works as an Environmental Engineer for the Engineers without Borders Australia Cambodia office as a field professional. She has recently conducted research with Pu Ngaol residents to understand their day-to-day life and culture to learn how technology could support them in some of the challenges that they face in their daily lives.

About 

In her role, Ella supports and advises on the work of the Cambodia office in Pu Ngaol, with a focus on technology development appropriate to community needs.

Ella emphasises that while there is energy and digital availability, connectivity is a challenge in Pu Ngaol. Many of the homes in Pu Ngaol do not have access to electricity due to the high costs. Whilst basic mobile phone access is common, the connectivity is very limited. Computers are also unavailable for pupils and teachers at schools.

Ella shares that food scarcity is a challenge in Pu Ngaol. Families will often have access to land where they can grow fruit and vegetables. However, she highlights that formal education in productive agriculture and farming is limited. People in Pu Ngaol follow their traditional agriculture practices, which has been very successful in the past. In recent years the crop yields have been decreasing. Factors such as changing weather patterns, environmental issues and deforestation have had an impact on crop viability, however, religious reasons are sometimes cited as reasons for fruit and vegetable crop failure. 

Ella would like to see more formal knowledge and skills to plant and cultivate crops introduced to support people in Pu Ngaol grow fruit and vegetables. She shares that she would like to see community gardens at the primary school to give children the opportunity to learn about farming, however, families often have their children supporting them with domestic duties, which impacts school attendance. 

Issues and Ideas

• Ella highlights that there is a lack of formal knowledge in productive agriculture and farming in the community. What ideas can you come up with to promote and support people in learning about regenerative agricultural practices and community gardening?

• Due to the high cost of electricity, many residents are disconnected from the outside, making schooling and gathering resources a challenge. Can you think of any cost-effective and accessible ways in which the village could generate their own electricity? Consider the various types of renewable energy in Pu Ngaol in your solution.

• Lack of water and sanitation can increase the risk of life-threatening illnesses in communities. Can you think of ways in which water and sanitation could be managed or treated by the community safely, easily and sustainably?

Find out more from Ella Guthrie in their video interview, available here.