AsiaLIFE

The Cardamom Mountains are home to much of Cambodia’s exotic biodiversity, but illegal logging and poaching pose a grave threat. Mai Lynn Miller Nguyen embarks on the first community-based ecotour in Trapeang Roung. Photography by James Grant.

This is no package tour for the pampered tourist. There will be leeches, bucket showers and aching muscles. But for those who can handle the challenge, a stay in Trapeang Roung commune can be enriching for visitors—and have a positive impact for the area’s residents.

In early August, Wildlife Alliance NGO launched the second Community Based Eco Tour (CBET) in Koh Kong. Following the successful Chi Phat village model, the Trapeang Roung tour also offers a chance to embed yourself in provincial life. Trapeang Roung, situated along a river of the same name, includes four villages and around 500 families.

Years of war and isolation have stunted economic development in Trapeang Roung, and some of the community have turned to illegal poaching and logging for their livelihoods. Poachers can sell a pangolin, a type of scaly anteater, to middlemen for around US$100 per kilogram—receiving a tidy sum for a creature that usually weighs around seven kilograms. Certain types of timber can be even more lucrative.

The ecotourism initiative is an endeavour to provide villagers with much needed alternative sources of income. According to Veth Sonim, CBET project officer, around 128 families have joined the community-based ecotourism project, including former wildlife hunters, traders and loggers.

For a community which has had a fair share of struggles—and which also continues to confront the current issues of economic land concessions and sand dredging—the ecotour raises hope that the arrival of visitors will create greater awareness of the province.

“The first time, no villagers wanted to believe me that I could bring the tourists to stay here,” says Veth, following the conclusion of the premier tour. “They said that no tourists will come to this remote area, but after our success today, we show that we can bring tourists.”

Although Wildlife Alliance provides technical and financial support, the Trapeang Roung community undertakes the responsibility for ownership and management. Villagers can apply to become members, joining as part of the restaurant, homestay, guide and teaching programmes. Preference is given to applicants who show great economic need, as well as to women.

“This project is good because all the villagers can benefit from the project,” says Veth. “If you stay here, you pay for accommodations, for activities in the jungle and around the village, and for food.”

Revenue is shared at a 75 percent to 25 percent ratio amongst service providing members and the CBET fund, which supports project improvement, village infrastructure, and community education and services.

Members must demonstrate certain levels of commitment. Restaurant owners undergo training in hygiene practices in order to have their establishments promoted to tourists. Homestay hosts must maintain suitable sleeping rooms for guests, including bathrooms with bucket showers, clean sheets, mosquito nets and fans.Guides are trained in first aid as well as in mountain bike maintenance.

Several itineraries are on offer, with options for lobster fishing, birdwatching, mountain biking, trekking, kayaking and boat rides. From Trapeang Roung village, 12 waterfalls, two beaches, a lake and ancient burial site are accessible reach.

“Mangrove Thais” is a local moniker for the people who inhabit Koh Kong’s forested Thai-Cambodian border. Many of the villagers also speak Thai, and the food has a more generous dose of chilli compared to most Cambodian cuisine. Cooking and handicraft production lessons exhibit the area's specialties. “We have two aims, one is to protect the nature and wildlife, one is to preserve the local culture,” explains Veth.

The premier tour group, which included journalists, photographers and a tour operator, spent an afternoon learning traditional village activities, including how to make num chak, a provincial specialty sticky sweet grilled in a palm leaf, and rice noodles.

Day two featured the main event. Making use of a new fleet of first-class mountain bikes, participants set off on a biking and hiking route through the Cardamom Mountains. Vertical trekking was rewarded with a breathtaking view of the forest, followed by a lunchtime picnic on the site of a small waterfall.

Covering over 20 gruelling kilometres, the experience requires physical endurance and a lack of squeamishness about the ever-present, but harmless, leeches. Great Angkor Tours operator Yim Rathna anticipates that the overall experience will be well received, just as many of his clients have enjoyed the Chi Phat village tour. “Trapeang Roung is more for adventure,” he adds.

On our visit, no pileated gibbons, great hornbills or Indochinese tigers were sighted, although one blue crab was encountered and barking deer were heard in the distance. But whether animals are seen or not, tourists can enjoy knowing that their visit could help keep these rare wildlife protected for future generations.

For more information, see ecoadventurecambodia.com. To book a Trapeang Roung tour, email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 035 690 0815.