On the road again. . .

ON HIGHWAY 5, NORTH OF PHNOM PENH--
This blog is about a day behind, and it's going to be brief. We've been on the road, visiting some fishing and/or farming villages . It's hot, and there are some roads with potholes so deep that we're bouncing vigorously in Vuthy's pickup. (Vuthy (pronounced "voo-tee) is a government employee of Cambodian Fisheries Administration, and I'll explain his role in this expedition in future posts.)

We got on the road early, navigating Phnom Penh traffic before it got crazy, passing trucks packed with people, buses, lots of cycles and some exotic vehicles whose photos may show up here in future posts. Vuthy makes ample use of the horn to warn the bicyclists he's overtaking them, and moving into the on-coming lane with plenty of time to signal to the oncoming drivers that he's passing, and they need to move over to the opposite shoulder.

Fisher woman discusses the market

Near the village of Kampong Tralach Leu, my traveling companion,  Jay Hastings, wanted to stop and talk to a woman selling fish by the side of the road. He wanted to get a sense of what the market is like for fishers. Vuthy translated for him.

Then it was on to Kampong Tralach Leu, where we met with community representatives to discuss how they are managing and using the loans that Jay's program is providing,  and any details that need to be clarified. During the meeting Jay tried to get a GPS bearing, so that he can explain to any interested people just where these remote villages are located. And, with the coordinates, we can post a photo viewable in the future  on Google Earth when you zero in on the locale.

Jay and Vuthy learn how community is managing and using the loan.

Members of the community who manage the loan

 While we visited a family to ask them about how the loan program was working for them, I had a thrilling surprise. In one of the homes I saw a young man dip into a container and pour himself a glass of water; I wondered what that water must be like. I had a hunch, and glanced around, spotting an old friend: a plastic bucket with a spigot at the bottom. I knew what that was! Sure enough, hanging within the bucket was a  ceramic water filter -- the very same design I had learned about in Peru three years ago. The filter was designed by an organizagtion that didn't patent it, so that it could be shared royalty-free around the world. And here it was, on the other side of the Pacific. The woman of the house explained that this filtered out 99 percent of the pathogens. And she knew they were good for three years. (A day or so later we saw children lugging containers of river water for drinking. Did they have a filter? Did anyone in this particular community know about the filters?)

Let's all gather at the river...

Tonlé Sap River in Dry Season

As you might guess, this is the Tonlé Sap River shown above. Right now, it is low.This photo shows some boats along the bank.

Home designed to endure flooding

In a few months that river will begin climbing that bank and go over the top. At times  it has reached almost to the floorboards of this house on stilts.

The couple in the next photo live in that house; they are sitting on a platform where they can observe the river--and potential poachers.

A fisher couple at their lookout over Tonlé Sap River

After lunch in a local fisheries office, we headed off to Kanlaeng Phe, a community I have a special interest in.

But it wasn't easy getting there. In Kampong Prasat, where the narrow road makes a left turn, the road was blocked because there was a celebration for somebody's mother. No pickup traffic through town on this day. So we walked past the people and their tables and found a ferry boat down the road that conveyed us across the Tonlé Sap for a whopping 500 Baht (25 cents). Once across, we met with another community before heading upriver in one of those little canoe thingies they call a "took" (emphasize the long "u" sound) for a half hour or so.

Example of a took. We used a fiberglass took to go up river.

Think of me as Mr. Deep Pockets, a venture capitalist of immense global influence I flew off to Cambodia so I could fatten my investment portfolio by making a loan to this community of 300 adults (total population, 911). The $250 loan is channeled through Sustainable Communities International. Jay is secretary-treasurer of SCI. Jay has been coming to Cambodia for several years to see whether investment in these fishing communities through a no-interest loan program can help them manage their community-based fishery resources for their subsistance and economic well being. OK, so my contribution isn't going to fatten my portfolio because I'll never see it again. But it's for a good cause and I don't do a whole lot of this sort of thing. That's me, the tall guy, in the photo below with government officials and members of a new community to receive a loan with my contribution through Sustainable Communities International.

Me with government officials and Kanlaeng Phe community members.

Panic attack.
As I'm writing this, I have a great sense of relief. This morning I couldn't find my passport. I looked through my luggage, my fanny pack, my laptop case -- it wasn't anywhere. What was I going to tell my companions? Then I realized it wasn't just the passport -- the document also carried my exit visa for Cambodia and my transit pass for Thailand How was I going to get home? I knew there was time to recover from  this, so early in my trip, but how could I be so careless? After taking a deep breath and figuring out my next move, I discovered it right where any pickpocket would look -- if they had the nerve. It was right next to my undies, in my Rick Steves money belt, which hangs inside my pants, looped to my belt. Well, DUH! I put it there so I would't lose it. But that's why you have those money belts--so they are secure and the things you count on don't walk off when you are half a world from home.

Before today (Wednesday, my time) was over, I would almost lose that money belt again and a few other things. But that's a story for later. Time to upload this post and then crash for the night. Tomorrow comes quickly.

Love,

Robert
Author’s note: This blog is produced independently of Sustainable Communities International. Observations, opinions, errors and omissions are solely the responsibility of the writer.