We have had a wonderful time on the coast. We just finished 2 weeks at Kep Gardens (www.kepgardens.com) which is a project set up by 2 Adelaideans to provide opportunities for rural young people. Andrew and Janine have been there over 4 years and today they farm (chooks, veggies, rice)alongside an English School. The English school enables young and old from the nearby villages to attend classes free of charge. We helped with a spot of veggie gardening and taking the kids to the beach. They had a ball! Even though they are close to Kep beach they had never been before.
There were about 40 kids and each one of them tried their hardest to learn to swim. they had no fear of the waves or water. As it was considered a special occasion they all wore their best clothes - which were the clothes they swam in!
We were sad to leave Kep Gardens. It is an example of a project which really gets to the grass roots and helps people. They hope to build a larger schoolhouse; so if you are looking at a good spot to make a donation we can recommend it as a cause. Janine and Andrew are truly dedicated.
So - next stage of the adventure. We travelled to the north east of the country - Mondulkiri. This area is very remote and composes of mainly minority groups; the Bunong. It is hilly and cooler and grows coffee, cashews and rubber.
Where do the elephants come in you may ask! Tomorrow we go to spend a night at an elephant project (www.elephantvalley.org) which seeks to keep elephants in the wild and train locals to be mahouts and look over them. Unfortunately with more people wanting land the elephants and locals often come into conflict. So we will do our bit and contribute as well as have some fun with them.
