Using pepper to fight prostitution

Cris Peterson and Tom Gordon with their new dog Ranger. A border collie mix that was saved from the animal shelter in Downey and trained by a Cambodian prisoner at the Youth Correctional Ficility in Norwalk. (THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER)

The basic goal of the Pepper Project: sell Kampot pepper as cheaply as possible and donate proceeds to the Daughters of Cambodia, an organization that rescues young people from the sex trade. (TOM GORDON, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER)

Some of the Pepper Project products for sale at a cooking demonstration at the Xanh Bistro in Fountain Valley. The event was the first big funraiser for the project that benefits the Daughters of Cambodia, a grup that rescues girls fromt he sex trade in Phnom Penh.

The bags The Pepper Project uses for it's Kampot pepper are made by the Daughters of Cambodia. They are crafted from traditional Cambodian material.

It started with Kampot pepper. (TOM GORDON, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER)

July 1, 2011
BY TOM GORDON
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER (California, USA)

For more information

• Pepper Project: www.pepperproject.org or www.facebook.com/pepperproject
• Daughters of Cambodia: www.daughtersofcambodia.org
• Kampot Pepper Promotion Association: www.kampotpepper.biz/en/apgi.html

The Daughters of Cambodia operates a small gift shop on Street 178 in Phnom Penh. It's across the street from the University of Fine Arts.

Upstairs is a cafe, Sugar 'n Spice, that serves coffee, sandwiches and desserts.

Employed there are young ladies and men, mostly in their early 20s. They smile a lot and wear matching t-shirts. They are eager to do a good job.

Not too long ago they all worked in Cambodia's sex trade: brothels, karaoke bars or hostess bars. They often start them young in Cambodia. Surrounded by violence and disease, they usually don't last long.

The Daughters of Cambodia group plucks these young people off the streets and gives them some medical help and day care for their children. It also teaches the former sex workers some new way to make a living. Some wait tables, others learn to sew or make jewelry.

The pay is around $80 a month. You can live in Cambodia on $80 a month.

Last year, during the time my wife Cris was recovering from serious injuries she received in a traffic accident, we came up with the idea for The Pepper Project.

The business plan was simple enough: Sell a lot of Kampot pepper to help the farmers of southwest Cambodia, and donate the proceeds to the Daughters of Cambodia.

The past few months have been exhilarating mixed with bouts of frustration. It's always been interesting.

We have friends all over Cambodia. It's still a thrill every time we ship a 2.5-ounce bag of Kampot pepper or a tote made by the Daughters of Cambodia from a recycled rice bag. I know more about pepper than any sane person should. We watch the "likes" creep up our Facebook page and run Google searches for Pepper Project now and then just to see where we rank in the pecking order. (We regularly get beaten by some anime babe for computer geeks called Pepper).

We have imported about 100 pounds of pepper. And on my last trip to Cambodia, in April, I handed Ruth Elliott, who runs Daughters of Cambodia, enough money to sponsor two young ladies for a year.

When we return this fall I suspect we will have made enough to sponsor another two or three.

The life of a sex worker in Cambodia is not pleasant.

Some estimate the HIV infection rate at 40 percent. There's abuse and violence at every turn. Some are tricked into a life of prostitution, some have no other choice and some are sold into it. Most of their customers are Cambodian men who pay a couple bucks for services rendered. A brothel can be small building with a mattress tossed on the floor.

The Daughters of Cambodia employs about 75 former prostitutes: 55 young ladies and 15 former "ladyboys" (young transvestites).

Here are the stories of the two girls, Namary, 26, and Sokunthea, 18, sponsored by The Pepper Project:

Namary was born in a poor part of Phnom Penh. She met a man, got married and worked as a cook for awhile at a charity organization.

She became pregnant. A short time later, her husband was jailed for killing a man and stealing a motorbike.

In desperate need of money, Namary went to work at a karaoke bar—a front for prostitution. The girls there are paid a small salary and are forced to service their customers sexually.

Namary's pimp found her a job in an outlying province. There, she waited tables, washed dishes and slept with customers. She made about $60 a month.

She married another man who drinks, gets angry and throws things, but never hits her, she says.

She was referred to the Daughters of Cambodia by a former client at the karaoke bar. She has learned to sew by hand and is currently learning to sew by machine. She has taken workshops on child care and hygiene and dreams of becoming a clothing designer.

Sokunthea, 18, grew up in Phnom Penh. Her father tried to rape her at a young age. In the 10th grade, she ran away and went to live with a young man and his family.

The only stability in Sokunthea's life has been her mother who, when she would try to protect her daughter, would be beaten by her father. Her mother died after a botched abortion. Her father now lives with his new wife, a mistress, and Sokunthea's 10-year-old sister. Sokunthea lives with her 19-year-old husband, his parents and his brother.

Sokunthea now works in the Daughters of Cambodia spa giving manicures and pedicures. She hopes to run her own business one day, though she realizes that may be a longshot.

There are many more such stories at Daughters of Cambodia, all filled with tragedy, violence and, sometimes, a measure of hope.

The Daughters of Cambodia training center is located deep in the heart of one of the seedy brothel districts of Phnom Penh. It is protected by a high wall and an iron gate. When a man enters, he has to register and agree not to take photographs. He's escorted through the daycare center and workshops. It's here where the young people make the pouches for the Pepper Project as well as the other Daughters products that we sell.

It costs about $80 a month to support a girl.

Think of it this way: That's about the cost of a Field MVP seat at one Angels game.

Two young ladies is a small step. There's only so much pepper can do.

Tom Gordon is an editor at The Register. He oversees coverage of crime, courts and traffic.

Contact the writer: 714-704-3789 or tgordon@ocregister.com