The “cows on loan” helping Cambodia’s poorest villages

Andrew “Cosi” Costello, a popular Australian radio and television presenter, founded “Cows for Cambodia”, a project that lends pregnant cows to the most vulnerable rural families. The initiative, launched following a trip to a country still marked by poverty and the legacy of the Khmer Rouge, aims to foster economic independence.

Phnom Penh (AsiaNews) - From pig farmer to television and radio celebrity, and on to becoming the founder of one of the largest agricultural cooperation organisations operating in Cambodia. Andrew “Cosi” Costello, 47, is now helping thousands of families escape poverty through a simple project: lending pregnant cows to the poorest farmers.

The project, called “Cows for Cambodia”, operates mainly in rural areas around Siem Reap, in the north-west of the country, not far from the Angkor Wat temple complex. Families are loaned a pregnant cow, look after it until the calf is born and then return the animal to the organisation, whilst the calf remains with the family. The calf can then be reared, sold or used for farm work.

“I had never seen such poverty,” Costello tells AsiaNews, recalling his first trip to Cambodia in 2011. “I had never faced major financial difficulties in my life. It was a huge shock.” Three months after that first trip, he returned to the country with his wife and eldest son. “We decided to buy a cow and give it to a family chosen at random. That’s how Cows for Cambodia came about.”

The idea also came about after a first failed attempt at direct charity. Costello had bought a tuk-tuk for his Cambodian driver, but the man sold it straight away. “Direct aid doesn’t work,” he explains today. “It’s not about creating dependency, but independence. We need to offer people the chance to break the cycle of poverty.”

In Cambodia, owning a cow can radically transform the life of a rural family. The animals are used to pull ploughs and carts, produce natural fertiliser and also represent an important economic asset to be sold on the market. In a country where almost 80% of the population lives in rural areas and the average annual household income ranges between ,500 and ,000, a cow worth between 0 and ,200 is equivalent to a small fortune.

In addition to distributing livestock, the organisation also provides tonnes of rice and housing assistance to the most vulnerable families. “It’s not about helping ten or fifteen people,” Costello emphasises. “It’s about helping thousands of people.”

Cambodia continues to rely on non-governmental organisations and international charities to provide support to the poorest sections of the population. The state’s limited resources are unable to meet the needs of a country still scarred by the deep wounds left by the Khmer Rouge regime. Between 1975 and 1979, the communist movement led by Pol Pot caused the deaths of around a quarter of the Cambodian population.

“Cows for Cambodia” also organises fundraising trips, which almost always begin at the Tuol Sleng Museum, the former Khmer Rouge detention and torture centre in Phnom Penh. “You cannot understand Cambodia without understanding what this people has been through,” explains Costello. “It is important that those visiting the country understand why Cambodians still need help.”

Part of the initiative’s success also stems from Costello’s popularity in South Australia, where he hosts television and radio programmes dedicated to travel, a career he began in 2000. Among the tour participants is 21-year-old Olivia Thiele, who told AsiaNews that she wanted to learn about “Cambodian culture” and visit the communities supported by the organisation. “Australia is a fortunate country,” she says. “We should do more to help others.”