PHNOM PENH: The pandemic of Covid-19 has hit hard different sectors of society, but the cyclo riders of Phnom Penh, in special, have struggled to sustain their livelihoods over the past years. The Cyclo Conservation and Careers Association, along with Local 4 Local, a youth-run food drive initiative, as well as Prudential Cambodia, are associations willing to help the cyclo riders.

They have come up with creative ideas to help and conserve the livelihood of cyclo riders, such as promoting pantries on top of the cyclos to provide food for those in need as well as exhibiting designs of futuristic cyclos made by thirty different khmer artists.

A profession dated back from the French Protectorate of Indochina has been decreasing with risk of never existing anymore, due to the rising of other transport modes, such as motorbikes and tuktuks. According to the Cyclo Conservation and Careers Association there were more than 1,500 cyclos in Phnom Penhn in 1999. The number has dropped to nearly 300 cyclos remaining active in the city.

The CCCA was created seeking to support cyclo drivers by providing access to hygiene and health, education and housing. Currently the association supports around 280 cyclo drivers between the ages of 32 and 82 in Phnom Penh. EAC News have interviewed CCCA Direcotr Um Sambath , who explained more about the work of the Association.

He says, “This association was created since 2009 but before created this association we created Cyclo project and we had studied about four types of people are: Motobike taxi, Cyclo taxi, youth in the community and scavengers. After the studies we saw that Cyclo Taxi has more high risk and need than other types. That’s why we created this association to invite them for education such as HIV/AIDS, side effect of smoking cigarette, traffic law, their personal hygiene and we also teach them an English language. Until 2009, we created the CCCA, an informal occupation at the Ministry of Interior and then we started to providing other services like health service, livelihood service for them. We focus more on tourism service.”

He has added that before Covid crisis, in Cambodia the Cyclo service is tourist service. On average they can get 25000-30000 riel as an income for a day apart from their spending. So, that was why they continue to prepare this Cyclo tour for them and when they come, they give them free service. They can shower in the area and they can sleep because most of them are homeless, coming from other provinces. They came to Phnom Pehn by riding Cyclo and they sleep on Cyclo at night but during day they can come to sleep.

Um Sambath has added, “At the beginning of 2019, the Covid 19 pandemic started to spread around the world and it also affected in Cambodia. Until 14 April 2021, Phnom Pehn city is locked down so we can see that when the city is locked down, Do the Cyclo driver have anything to eat? Because all the food stalls on the street are all closed, so we have ordered food from four other food vendors for them 400 packaged of rice for a day. From 14 April- 5 May, the Phnom Pehn city was re-open so we created the Local for Local application but before created this app we have cooperated with youth Tang Hong Hao. Nowadays, he studies at American and during the lockdown he saw the difficulty of poor people that don’t have enough food to eat, that’s why he created the Local for Local application that we continue the journey until today.”

He has talked more about the Cyclo Pantry activity, consisting of containers carried out on top of the cyclos, where donations can be given as well as taken by people in need.

He stresses, “For the Cyclo pantry, we have called mobile community container. Nowadays, we have to divide for 10 different places around Central Market, Chroy Chongva Bridge, Night market, in front of Royal Palace, in front of Wat Botum, Boeung Keng Kang, Toul Tumpoun Market, Orruessey Market, Depo Market and Kdan 2. They have one Cyclo pantry in each place as charity given by the Local for Local app that we put in from 9:00AM-10:30AM AND 4:00PM-5:00PM following above locations. For this app why did we create it? Actually, we never have this app before and this is the first time that the app exists in Cambodia, especially in Phnom Penh city. In particular, why Tang Hong Hao create this app because when he studies at an American school, he saw the container which has the dry food and other food in it.”

He said that when he is hungry and doesn’t have money, he can take those food to eat with only in sites such as school and other public places. So now they bring this style by providing food and many other stuffs to put in the container deliver by Cyclo for poor people and homeless people that are in need.

He says, “Before we contain rice around 60 packages a day. From 100-60 packages because we also low budget so we can order only 60 packages, we try to did our best as we could. Now we don’t contain rice in package but we have noodle, water, soy sauce, alcohol spray, face mask and other stuffs provides from charity to those 10 difference places.”

In November the Association has come up with another great idea, to partner with the Cambodian Children’s Fund for an art competition, consisting of children and youth drawing futuristic designs of cyclo. It’s a movement to imagine a Phnom Penh and a Cambodia in the future with the conservation of the cyclo career.

The exhibition called Futuristic Cyclo Art Exhibition can be seen online, clicking at the Facebook Page Local 4 Local, as well as the physical exhibition at the Factory. Sin Vannak took the top prize, winning cash prize of $700, while Judisak Meng won the second place and Toby West the third runner-up medal for their drawings, winning $500 and $300 respectively.