The Stilt Village

The photos Jim has posted are a brilliant reminder of our visit to a rural village built on stilts called Kampong Plok. The village consisting of about 300 houses has been built on wooden stilts to accommodate the flooding river which is also the lifeblood of the community. Of the 300-odd families living in the village, 95% are fisherman.

To reach the village, we took a 3km walk and a boat. As it currently the dry season, the water which usually flows underneath the houses has receded allowing the children to walk to school. The river bed is covered in litter and debris. The villagers lack education about recycling and there is no infrastructure to allow for garbage collection. There was a program recently instituted by the government aimed at encouraging community members to recycle their plastic bottles. They are paid for bag fulls of bottles. Years ago, Khmer food was wrapped in banana skin and could biodegrade. It is now wrapped in plastic but there is no understanding of the difference.

The village had a striking visual impact on the group. The photos tell part of the story of this amazing place.