Bat faeces: how this ‘black gold’ improves the fortunes of Cambodian farmers

[CEOCambodiaNews]

January 24, 2018 | Cambodia

Climate change, a lack of irrigation and pesticides have all contributed to damaging Cambodia’s agriculture. Bat faeces could be the answer

By the fading light of day in Cambodia’s southeast, Hoerm Oerun squats in her orchard, sweeping the dust beneath her barren trees. Nothing stirs in the enclosing rice paddies, but the grandmother of four presses on, pausing intermittently to behold the withered palm fronds hanging limply in the breeze.

At twilight, a faint chittering breaks the silence. “Here they come,” she exclaims. Overhead, the dead leaves rustle and twitch to life as, one by one, inky forms emerge, pirouetting in mid-air; a bewitching swirl of wings. A moment later, a thick ribbon of shapes swarms forth, raising a crescendo of shrill squeaks before turning tail into the dusk: Oerun’s bats are leaving home.

Encircling Phnom Penh, Kandal province’s verdant plains supply the capital with its daily rice. “Most people in the village are farmers,” Oerun says, “and most of them use the guano.” She pats the swollen sack at her feet. Inside, a gift from above: nutrient-rich bat faeces, commonly known as guano. If farmed right, this ‘black gold’ falls from the sky in great abundance. Oerun has perfected the technique over three decades.

Every day, she sweeps up the pellets collecting in murky rings below her trees before drying and packaging her bounty for sale. This “black gold”, as bat experts call it, is then snapped up by local rice farmers. “They come to me directly, so I don’t need to go to the market,” she beams. With more than 30 trees to her name, Oerun can collect 12kg of the precious waste per day, which can fetch up to $10...

http://sea-globe.com/black-gold/