PEPY Joins Heritage Watch Sustainable Development Initiative

The following was published in PEPY's December 2007 newsletter.

This past summer PEPY established a promising partnership with Heritage Watch, an organization that aims to protect the cultural and architectural heritage of Cambodia. Concerned about the unchecked looting of many ancient temple sites across Cambodia, Heritage Watch was created by a group of archeologists in 2003 to “preserve the past and enrich the future” of this developing nation. In addition to their conservation efforts, Heritage Watch recently initiated its first sustainable development project at the ancient Khmer capital of Koh Ker, more than 1000 years old.

While Koh Ker briefly served as the center of the Khmer civilization, it is now overshadowed by the nearby temples of Angkor, which receives the majority of the benefits of the current tourism boom in Cambodia. The people of the Koh Ker community are among the poorest in Cambodia, most of whom support themselves through subsistence farming. Due to the extreme poverty, local resources to help protect the temple complex, which has been looted heavily since the 1990s, are scarce. Heritage Watch’s initiative will not only promote the protection of this important site, but also aims to help locals prepare for the increase in tourism which will certainly reach Koh Ker in the coming years.

Heritage Watch will provide training in heritage protection and conservation for the local community, helping them to organize and equip community patrols to protect the temples from looting. Additionally, the Heritage Watch training center will provide education to community members in the hopes that they will directly benefit from tourism, offering training in Khmer literacy, English language, , tourism and cultural heritage. The program will also offer small business management training with the goal of sparking entrepreneurial efforts amongst the community members. Watch will educate locals about land rights as well. As the site attracts more foreigners, there is risk of not only increased looting, but the loss of land to wealthy outsiders. Thus, it is imperative that the community learns to protect and manage the temple complex, as well as benefit from increased tourism.

While the training center provides an excellent opportunity for community members, many felt they did not have time to attend training sessions. Women especially, due to domestic responsibilities, were unable to come to the center. Heritage Watch therefore proposed to The PEPY Ride, the construction of a Day Care and Education Facility. The facility will provide care and a learning space for young children while their parents attend training sessions. Impressed by the scope of the overall project, PEPY was enthusiastic about the new partnership and contributed all funds needed to build the facility, as well as provide food and nutritional supplements for the caretakers.

Just this month, PEPY also agreed to fund an apiary project, one of Heritage Watch’s small business development initiatives. The bee-keeping project will provide training in raising indigenous honeybees and consequently improve the livelihood of those residing in the Koh Ker community. Honey is a highly valued product and could provide a supplemental source of income for the local population. In addition to the production of honey, the project could be extended to produce all-natural soaps and hand creams which could, like the honey, be marketed in the fast-growing city of Siem Reap. The apiary project will also have positive benefits for the environment, as bees play a crucial role in the cross-pollination of plants and are essential to the agricultural cycle. PEPY’s contribution to the apiary project will primarily pay the salaries of beekeeping specialists and a honey hunter, responsible for training interested community members. Additionally, PEPY will cover all other expenses associated with the training sessions, slated to begin in January 2008.

We at PEPY are enthusiastic about this new partnership with Heritage Watch. The various projects mesh well with PEPY’s goals, as they increase access to education for both adults and children. Furthermore, as a responsible tour operator, we hope to ensure that the increase in tourism in Cambodia positively impacts the local areas where we work and the benefits go directly to the community. We believe that the Heritage Watch endeavor will empower the local community of Koh Ker, allowing them to protect their community and improve their livelihood.

Stay tuned for updates about this program...