PhnomPenhPost-Jan 10, 2023
Forest dwelling weaver ants are a common species in the Kingdom, and often employed as a tasty addition to many traditional dishes like some sour soups, or prahok. They are usually collected wild from the countryside, but one enterprising woman has discovered how to raise them commercially. Khem Sreymom has used a Covid-19 induced redundancy to pivot her career, and now successfully raises the ants at her home in Por Sen Chey district, Phnom Penh. Sreymom said she was born and raised in Sampov Poun commune of Kandal’s province’s Koh Thom district. She moved to Phnom Penh with her three sons, after her husband found work in the capital. Originally, she found work at a garment factory in the same district as her home, but when the Covid-19 pandemic rolled through the region, the factory was shuttered. After losing her job, she attempted to make a living selling traditional medicine, but the pandemic had reduced consumer spending to the point where demand was limited. She watched many videos that suggested raising fish, frogs or even snakes might be the answer to her income woes and considered them as options. Eventually, she stumbled on a video – in a foreign language – which described how to raise the ants for sale. Seeing a unique opportunity, she discussed the idea with her eldest son, who agreed to accompany her into the forest to find the first generation of her new project. At first, they had a hard time, and were only able to relocate two nests back to their home. From these two nests, they were able to successfully breed ten separate colonies, each accommodated in a repurposed plastic bottle. She said the populations grew so quickly that she hired a blacksmith to build steel racks to maximize storage of her individual farms. At the same time, she began posting videos of her activities to Tik Tok, which led to many visitors, some of whom wanted to buy ant eggs from her. This encouragement led to the growth of her operation, and her home now plays host to over 400 colonies of weaver ants. Read more at: https://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/ant-farms-turn-science-project-new-agri-business
