Project Background

Kep municipality is located on the south coast of Cambodia, roughly three hours by car from Phnom Penh.  Despite Kep’s charm and natural beauty, which has made it an increasingly popular tourist destination, it still lacks basic infrastructure and remains one of the poorest and least developed regions of Cambodia.  It is clear that there is great potential for sustainable development in Kep, particularly as the tourism industry develops; however, that potential will only be realized if the impoverished residents of Kep’s rural villages are trained, empowered and invested in to achieve their development aspirations.   

Phnom Voar was chosen as the target area of the project for several reasons.  It is the poorest region in the municipality; yet, its enormous needs are matched by great potential, particularly in the agricultural sector due to high soil quality, favorable weather conditions and the presence of water resources. 

Phnom Voar is a notorious place in Cambodia, known for being one of the fiercest battlegrounds between the Khmer Rouge and the Cambodian government during the civil war of the 1980s and 1990s.  This area was one the final stands for the Khmer Rouge resistance, with the fighting lasting until 1994. The Phnom Voar area is still populated largely by former Khmer Rouge families, but for the last twelve years their main priority has been peaceful development. By working with this particular Kep community, the project hopes to contribute to their ongoing reintegration process.  This will be accomplished by conducting development activities that promote cooperation and reconciliation between the still relatively isolated former Khmer Rouge families and their non-former Khmer Rouge neighbors.

Chamcar Bei, the second largest village in the Phnom Voar area, was chosen as the first village in which the project would initiate community development activities.  After assessing the other villages in the area, Chamcar Bei was selected because of a range of factors, including its size, accessibility, need, unrealized potential, and warm reception of the community to our offer of assistance.

The unused community center donated by the Social Fund of the Kingdom of Cambodia and formerly used by UNESCO as a “Community Learning Center” offered the project a building for office space, a place to conduct training activities, and a focal point for community organizing. The centrality of Chamcar Bei in the Phnom Voar area also makes it possible for the project to reach out to the more remote nearby villages that have had less access to development assistance, using the center in Chamcar Bei as a base for developing the wider Phnom Voar area.

BAB believes that it is essential that development initiatives are planned and implemented with the full participation of the affected population, the local government and all other stakeholders. Before initiating development activities in any community, our approach is to spend time living in the community, learning from the people and gaining their trust, and developing an informed understanding of their living conditions, past and present difficulties and important issues. In keeping with our development ethos, BAB conducted a participatory assessment in September 2006, during which time we got to know the people of Chamcar Bei and their situation.

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