Cambodia tour, temples and culture

Planet

Our local Cambodian agents use bio diesel for their vehicles in Siem Reap which is more sustainable than normal diesel. They also arrange a clean-up of the local area around the hotels in Siem Reap every six months or so to pick up litter, etc. Guests at their wholly owned hotels are encouraged to only use fresh towels when they need them which is in common with other hotels across the world. All the guides are trained to minimise environmental impact with simple things like not littering, and not leaving cars running idle.

Over the last 5 years our local agent has become the top tour operator supporting the Sam Veasna Centre and the Elephant Valley Project which are both doing important conservation work. They have consulted on eco-tourism initiatives like behind the scenes at Phnom Tamao and Wildlife Alliance's Cardamom Mountains trip. They also work closely with these and other eco-tourism initiatives, advising them on the tourism sides of their initiatives thereby helping Cambodia develop as an eco-tourism destination.

This holiday stays at 4 Rivers Floating Lodge and has been built with the surrounding environment in mind. The tented rooms float alongside the riverbank and were built using a wood-plastic composite material with, the plastic component produced from recycled plastic. This is a very hardwearing and long lasting material - if the resort had used wood it would need replacing regularly and result in repeated numbers of trees being felled.
The lodge has now moved from generator power to solar power generated from solar panels on the floating platforms. The agents used to install the system were selected because they understood the needs for the lodge to not fell any trees to make way for the panels. The lodge also has a sophisticated waste water treatment system which treats water to make it safe.

The HanumanAlaya hotel aims to be as eco-friendly as possible with water conservation practices and recycling of all paper, glass, cans and plastic. In-room bathroom toiletries often provided in plastic bottles are dispensed in ceramic dispensers to avoid the use of excessive amounts of plastic and low-wattage lightbulbs are used throughout. The hotel also takes part in the annual ‘keep the community clean’ programme.

People

The 4 Rivers Floating Lodge is staffed by local people from the surrounding villages who have been trained in all aspects of in-house service, including environmental management, which serves them in future roles. The boat transfer service to/from the resort is operated by a local villager, Oudom, who built the boats in conjunction with the resort’s requirement for fuel efficiency and to ensure no oil or petrol was spilt in the river. The relationship between the resort and Oudom has allowed him to develop his business and help provide income for the village community.

The Veranda Natural Resort management believes strongly in their commitment to the local community, particularly in relation to the youth of the region. The resort has been involved in various projects over the years to help poor local children gain access to quality education. A key endeavour undertaken by the resort is the Kep International School which is open to both ex-pat and local children. A percentage of the resort’s income goes towards covering the educational expenses of the Khmer children that have enrolled in the school. The resort also helps maintain school facilities and donate educational materials.

Our local agent in Cambodia is entirely locally-owned and locally-staffed and firmly believes that tourism has a role to play in the economic development of poor rural villages. They aim to ensure that their community-based itineraries bring a positive experience to local people and visitors and allow the local communities a greater level of control over the activities in their region. They support many sustainable community tourism activities, many of which we can arrange suitable visits to, and endeavours to take guests to remote areas to discover the real Cambodia.
Such initiatives include Artisans d’Angkor which promotes the sustainable development of Cambodian arts and crafts to benefit rural communities. The centre provides training to young Cambodians in traditional arts enabling them to make a living in their own villages. This initiative has helped to create over 1,000 jobs.
Another initiative supported is the Cambodia Landmine Museum, established by a former child soldier to promote awareness and education for tourists and locals on the ongoing problem with landmines. Over 100 people a year are still killed by unexploded landmines and many more injured. The facility also provides a home and school for children affected by mines and poverty.
In Siem Reap our local agents support the Hospital for Children which offers free healthcare to the regions children. The hospital regularly treats 300-500 children per day and is also committed to training health care professionals from around the country. Our local agents have donated equipment to the hospital.