The villages keeping Cambodia's forests alive
Bun Sophai grew up surrounded by trees. Her village in Ta Taok commune was green, alive, full of the things her family needed to eat, farm and carry on. Today, she watches wildfires sweep through land that used to nourish them. The rice, she says, barely reaches 10 centimetres. But something is shifting. Across six Cambodian provinces, Indigenous communities are getting direct access to climate funding and using it in ways that no outside planner quite could. They're mapping sacred forests, running patrols, registering land that has belonged to them for generations, and building savings groups that keep families afloat without having to sell or strip the land around them. In Mondulkiri, women make up 60 percent of forest patrol teams. These efforts reduced illegal logging, safeguarded sacred sites, and resolved land disputes for 25 families In Ta Taok, deputy commune chief Vun Hunna has seen something she didn't expect: women speaking up in meetings, sharing ideas, shaping decisions. "Before, women only listened," she says. "Now they raise concerns, share ideas and participate actively. When women are strong, the whole community becomes stronger." 👉 Read moreBun Sophai grew up surrounded by trees. Her village in Ta Taok commune was green, alive, full of the things her family needed to eat, farm and carry on. Today, she watches wildfires sweep through land that used to nourish them. The rice, she says, barely reaches 10 centimetres. But something is shifting. Across six Cambodian provinces, Indigenous communities are getting direct access to climate funding and using it in ways that no outside planner quite could. They're mapping sacred forests, running patrols, registering land that has belonged to them for generations, and building savings groups that keep families afloat without having to sell or strip the land around them. In Mondulkiri, women make up 60 percent of forest patrol teams. These efforts reduced illegal logging, safeguarded sacred sites, and resolved land disputes for 25 families In Ta Taok, deputy commune chief Vun Hunna has seen something she didn't expect: women speaking up in meetings, sharing ideas, shaping decisions. "Before, women only listened," she says. "Now they raise concerns, share ideas and participate actively. When women are strong, the whole community becomes stronger." 👉 Read moreExpert summary pending. Showing the newcomer version.