The Muslim fishers of Kampong Tralach Kraom and other tales

These are Muslim women? Well, at least most are. Two villages are represented at the meeting.

When I decided to travel to Cambodia this fall I didn't expect to be encountering Muslims. Buddhism is Cambodia's official religion, and approximately 97% of Cambodia's population follows Theravada Buddhism, according to Wikipedia. But there are also Muslims, Christians and observers of  tribal animism. Today's posting touches on four villages, and the small surprises they have presented during my trip. The photo above was taken at a fisheries loan meeting; two villages were represented, one Muslim, the other presumably Buddhist.

Kampong Tralach Kraom

This Muslim community is one of ten being benefited with interest-free loans provided by Sustainable Communities International, and they seem to fit right in with a second, non-Muslim village, also represented at the meeting. Like their neighbors, they are more than fishers; those who have land are farmers as well. Check out the photos that follow.

When the Tonle Sap River draws down the Tonle Sap Lake, the rich soil left behind grows rice.

On a neighboring parcel of land, a farmer smooths the silted land for the next planting.

It's not hard to see how the frequently flooded landscape can have multiple uses

Homes adapted to flood and dry times remain close to the areas of production.

Literally a stone's throw from the Tonle Sap, the fisher-farmers meet to discuss the loan program.

Lieng Sopha, representing the department of fisheries, listens to comments from the village chief.

Colorful garments testify that there is no single stereotype defining dress for Muslim women.

Remembering my little friends at Kampong Tralach Leu

My little friends from 2014. Where are they now?

Four years have past; four summers, with the length

Of four long winters! and again I hear
These waters, rolling . . . With a soft inland murmur.

Well, OK, I'm not Wordsworth, and these are not "Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey." But I did kinda wish that the kids hadn't been in school when I stopped by Kampong Tralalch Leu this week.

Let me explain the photo above.While a community fisheries meeting was going on back in March of 2014, I was sitting in the back of a pickup, composing a blog. A couple of those tykes climbed up to get a peek. I showed them some photos I had taken, and the next thing I knew they were bringing me flowers. So I stuck a couple in my sweat band and they responded by denuding every bush in the neighborhood to outfit me. My friend, Jay, took the photo.

I should have recognize the building in the photo below, but it has been four years, so Jay had to tell me we had reached  this memorable spot.   I pulled out my laptop, which had the photo above on its desktop, and showed it to a couple ladies. They recognized some of the kids, but they were in school and not available. Dang! But there were other things to discover.

This unique building was a reminder of my last visit here.

 For example, the poster at the left, produced by the Czech Republic and apparently promoting inoculations, was still there. I had forgotten all about it, but I brought along my photos from 2014, and there it was! Is it still relevant? Who knows--I don't read Khmer.

Now check out the two photos immediately to the right. Four years ago a building was being constructed, and now it's completed. The palm tree is gone, and the electrical cables are operational. Villagers are accumulating wealth.

And I'm seeing things I didn't notice before. (I presume they were there.) The haystack, for example, in the photo below, and the tall green grasses nearby. Those grasses are rice. I remember wondering why fishing villages were associated with farming, but when you live in land that floods every year, fishing and farming go together well. So well that Cambodia is right behind China and the United States for metric tons of rice exported -- 1.25 million. It produces one third what the U.S. does, and one tenth of Indian's volume by weight.

The rice plants are almost ready to flower; two crops a year are grown.

Some things haven't changed, such as the use of these white cattle to pull carts:

This pair of carts is part of a much longer convoy.

And I could have shot the photo below four years ago; the house hasn't changed.

But check out the home below, the one with the New York Yankees baseball cap hanging on a post in the front yard. While life is challenging, prosperity is possible in Cambodia.

I just wish I had been able to track down these little rug rats, below, while I was in in the neighborhood. It would have been fun to show them the photo and see whether they remembered me.

What was with the "V" sign, anyway?

Phlong

Phlong was the first fishing village I visited by boat. The picture below may look rather ordinary, but take a second look. Do you see the solar array sticking out of the top of the floating cabin?

The sun does more than grow crops in Phlong. Note the solar array.

In the photo below, the fisheries meeting was held "in the shade of a kind old tree," as a lazy (Tonle Sap) river  slowly drained its lake.

Meanwhile, children used the shade of a school to keep cool while they recreated.

An aging wooden took rested in a nearby cove.

The prosperity of Kampong Prasat

While the loan program is important for helping fishing communities develop capital, some Cambodians are already reaping benefits of development. Representatives of the Peam Popech fishing village gathered at Kampong Prasat for the program evaluation meeting. Down the road through Kampong Prasat, ornate structures are rising side-by-side with more modest dwellings, and the following photos illustrate the promise of emerging prosperity for at least part of the Cambodian population.

The road into Kampong Prasat is bustling with activity.

Within a mile of the main market area, an ornate concrete pagoda is arising.

Christians represent less than 1 percent of the population, but  Presbyterians are undeterred.

Buildings that appear to be flimsy are flanked by more weather worthy stock.

Across the street from the Tonle Sap, rows of more affluent buildings are lining up.

This building looks a little rustic, perhaps dilapidated, but it's counting on growing traffic.

Clearly, the owner of this residence is optimistic about the future.

Well, that's enough about villages. In my next post I intend to tell you about One World Futbols. I was able to take 40 of them to Cambodia, so it's time for a report to the donors. Stay tuned!

Love,
Robert

Opposite the Pagoda, a lone tree marks a ferry landing.