(Wrote in 2008
by Ty Theavy, edited by Mr. Jack Smith from England)
Many
first-time overseas visitors to Chi Phat village eco-tourism sites have little
idea of what they will actually encounter. This commune, which accommodates
around 500 families, is interesting because the people have come here to live
from many other regions, mainly because they were attracted by work during the
time of deforestation and logging. After the creation of the Cardamoms
Conservation park, logging declined and after that Chi Phat village had fewer
opportunities for work.
The majority
of the villagers are quite poor, and so have few other ways to earn a living
unless they illegally hunt wildlife. But we were also concerned that the
wildlife would be in danger of becoming extinct. This is the reason for the
creation of the first CBET office established by Chi Phat Community; we believe
we can improve the local livelihood, preserve and share our
culture, preserve natural resources and wildlife, and encourage
cross-culture exchanges through the development of Eco Tourism. Community Based
Eco-Tourism in Chat Phat is delighted to warmly welcome you in visiting our
many tour programs, such as jungle trekking and camping to photograph wild
pigs, monkeys, elephants and the many other species of wildlife you can see;
mountain biking across jungle streams and water falls to ancient burial jar
sites which still hold the mystery of who and why they were created; tour boat
trips to see a diverse number of different bird species; and refreshing swims
in mountain-fed rivers which create beautiful waterfalls near the village. A
very special experience is if your tour is around mid November when you can
experience the color and excitement of our local Water Festival ceremony. And
because we are interested in cultural exchange, you will probably be happy to
share your experience by participating in English lessons during the evening
classes for the poorer villager’s children and CBET service member students.
You can also tour our classroom and photograph our happy students and so make a
special souvenir of your time here.
Chi Phat
Commune is physically located southwest of Phnom Penh city, Cambodia. It is one
of the Thmor Bang District’s communes in Koh Kong Province with total
population about 500 families. It is divided into 4 villages such as Chi Phat
village, Toeuk La Ork village, Cham Sla village and Kom Lot village.
Most residents
have always lived on their farms, and hunt wildlife for food; hunting has now
been made illegal. It also has a local market area, which is dominated by
Vietnamese, Chinese and other venders which come from many different places.
You can buy something from the local market with dollars or Cambodian currency.
The exchange rate here is about 1$ equal 4000 Riels. The people are friendly
but they do not understand English very well, or not at all; the CBET organization’s
staff gaining English with the help of facilitators from the Phnom Penh office.
The climate is very warm during the days and pleasantly cool at night,
particularly in December and January. The village even has cell phone coverage
especially for 012 and 016 (Cambodian Mobitel and Hello companies); foreign
visitors also report their roaming phones from overseas have good reception.
The CBET office and guest house also has wireless Internet available.
Chi Phat is
named after a holy man named So Phat. It was called So Phat Village. It
was changed into Chi Phat because in Cambodian Culture someone who is a sanga,
(a holy man) is called Chi. this location comes from the story says: So Phat
was a King. One day he was separated from his brothers by a terrible storm
while trekking in the jungle near Stroerng Prath Stream and then he lost his
way in the jungle to reach this area.
He had decided
to be a Sanga since he could not find his way home. after that the recue team
came seek for him, and reach the same place to camp living here. Long time
later on, they captured him as a holy man and invited him to be a village’s
head from then on.
In 1979, there
were only 10 families in this village. They made a living by trading fish for
rice from Viet Nam soldiers (at that time this village was supervised by Viet
Nam administration). In 1993, after the free market opened, this village
started to increase its population. People came from everywhere in Cambodia
because it was a good place to log. Now this village has a static population of
180 families.
Chi Phat in Pol Pot regime
In Pol Pot
regime Chi Phat was a base village. This meant that the village had a hospital
and a factory and the villagers had enough rice. However, they were
forced to live in a special site (where the local market of Chi Phat is now).
The female and male were not allowed to live together (there were two
pavilions; one for women and one for men). The people were patrolled by
soldiers every night. They were waked by bell at 4 am in the morning to
assemble before farming.
They were sent
to work for 12 hours a day at the Bald Mountain farm and to another farm on the
other side of the river in Toek La Ork Village. There were only 800 dwellers
living and working in Chi Phat during that time. Majority of them were taken at
rifle point to a killing field in Toek La Ork and Tmar Domrey without good
reason. They were replaced by the people from other villages. The people also
worked extra around their home to grow the cassavas.
The street
here Chi Phat was constructed in 1976. The Khmer Rouge brought 5 tractors
in order to transport the food grown in Chi Phat.
After Pol Pot
collapsed, this village was under supervised by Vietnamese troops. And it was
restructured into Commune with 4 villages, Chi Phat village, Cham Sla village,
Kam Lort and Toek La Ork village. The people started to boom up increasingly in
1993.
No comments:
Post a Comment