Video: Empowering the rural disabled

To mark the International Day of Disabled Persons on 3 December, FAO produced a video to highlight two of its successful projects for the rural disabled in the Asia and Pacific region. This video illustrates a joint project between FAO and the Thai Department of Public Welfare to train the rural disabled in Thailand in mushroom production. Many of the trainees have now gone on to start up their own mushroom enterprises and are utilizing the skills they learned in the training course: from production and preparation to marketing and sales.

In Cambodia, FAO and Handicap International (HP) coordinated a joint pilot project with UNDP funding. The project was designed to provide rural farmers with skill training. The training takes place in the farmers' own fields where the disabled farmers learn about Integrated Pest Management (IPM). The training reaches out to individuals who may have been marginalized and helps them to develop special skills and knowledge which they can then share with their communities.

Click here to go to complete video script