Rice is a staple food in Cambodia, but not all rice is equal.

Rice comes in a variety qualities, ranging from high quality food grade rice, to lower quality rice used for animal feed. When purchasing rice or other food products, it is important to be explicit and clear about the quality product you wish to purchase. For example, in our project, we encountered a rice seller who had three grades of rice: “High Quality” (similar to U.S. food quality), ” Animal Feed” (lower-quality rice meant for feeding dogs and other animals), and “Mixed” (a mix of both qualities). Ahead of our visit, we planned to purchase several bags of rice from a rice merchant. In the region where we were purchasing this rice, it was common for “Mixed” rice to be served as a cheap alternative, but we chose to go with the “High Quality” rice, as we believe the students deserve the quality we would purchase for children in our own country. Due to the scheduling of our trip, we had to arrange for the rice to be purchased ahead of our arrival by a local 3rd party. The rice was purchased and delivered to its destination a few days before we arrived. Upon our arrival, we inspected the rice, and were able to quickly tell that we had been sold bags of “Mixed” rice. We had been clear in our discussions with the buyer, but unfortunately did not have a written record of the agreement ahead of the delivery. Having a clear record of our intended purchase would have been helpful in resolving this situation without relying on word of mouth.

This experience taught us a few important lessons:

1) It is always important to be explicit, preferably in writing, about both the quantity and the quality of goods you are purchasing

2) When possible, it is better to schedule a trip so that you can personally buy any supplies which must be paid for at the time of purchase (as opposed to smaller purchases tied to milestone payments)

3) It is polite to trust that all parties involved are acting in good faith, but verify the products being purchased before rendering payment

Ultimately, we viewed this as a valuable learning lesson, and used this interaction to improve our procedures going forward. We hope that by operating transparently and sharing our experiences, we can save you from re-learning these same lessons in your own charitable ventures.