Beong Tompun Lake is a source of income for the poor people in
the Phnom Penh city who would grow water spinach in the water.
Over 200 families have built their homes next to this lake,
which has a dark colour and a bad smell. Every day, they can
earn from 20.000 riel to 30.000 riel. Mrs. Terl Saron is 49
years old and has 3 children. She has been growing water spinach
since 1990. Early every morning, Mrs. Terl Saron waits for the
middlemen who buy the water spinach from farmers like her to
sell in the markets in Phnom Penh. She describes the process of
growing the water spinach. Firstly, they grow the plant on
normal land for two weeks before moving it to the water. After
one month, they can harvest it to sell in the markets. Mrs Terl
Saron added that even this water is fertile enough to help the
water spinach grow, but some chemical fertilizers and
insecticides mixed with chemical powder is needed to help the
water spinach grow well. She says, “I get this about 50 batches
to 100 batches of this water spinac