Mondulkiri is an eastern province of Cambodia, which is the most sparsely populated province in the whole country although being the largest province in Cambodia. The province is chock full of natural beauty, with thickly forested mountains, powerful waterfalls and the lush green rolling hills of the western side.
Despite the growing deforestation, especially due to the valuable minerals remaining in the deep red, fertile ground, Mondulkiri has still one of the biggest successional woodlands of Cambodia. Except being in Sen Monorom, you'll find deep pure jungle, with a huge variety of flora and fauna. You may also find gigantic and beautiful waterfalls, where you can take an empowering shower, such as the impressive Bou Sraa.
Sen Monorom is the provincial capital and doesn't show up as a typical Cambodian town, while it is the only town the province has to speak of. With approx. 7500 inhabitants, 20 guesthouses, 12 restaurants, 3 bars and no post office it is often compared to American Wild West frontier towns. Concerning the quietness and beauty of Sen Monorom people from other parts of the country move here and therefore the land price doubled from 2006 to 2007.
The town of Sen Monorom is the best base camp for travellers who want to explore the surrounding areas. A quiet but beautiful town nestled into the hills; it has a lot of potential to develop into a centre for non-intrusive eco-tourism. At present, it's very undeveloped, which gives you a feeling of going somewhere off the beaten tourist trail. Add to that the communities of hill tribe people, who are not affected by mass-tourism, as they are in neighbouring Thailand, and you have an area that is very attractive to the adventure traveller.
Also interesting is the variety of languages being used: Khmer, hill tribe languages, Vietnamese and Lao. 80 percent of the population in Mondulkiri is made up of ten tribal minorities, with the majority of them being the Chunchiet from the tribe of the Phnong. The remaining 20 percent are Khmer, Chinese and Muslim Cham. Most of the population lives off the land, planting rice, fruit trees and a variety of vegetables. Others grow, coffee, strawberries, rubber and cashew nuts.
More and more houses are built in the typical Khmer style. Visiting the hill tribes you still can find the traditional Phnong houses. In the houses you can find traditional gongs and big jars, whereby the last ones are said to be more than a thousand years old. There are various sorts of gongs used for different occasions. Jars and gongs are among the most valuable possessions in an indigenous community, whether in traditional, spiritual or material terms. During the Khmer Rouge Regime those objects were buried in hidden places in the jungle and in many cases they still wait in the ground
Helping the indigenous Bunong people
Life is very hard for the indigenous Bunong (hill tribe) people of this area. They must keep doing hard labouring work even when they are old and sick to provide food and money for themselves and their families. There are no pensions or Social Security schemes. In Cambodia families try to look after all their relatives. But the indigenous Bunong people are so poor that the whole family struggles to survive. Old people still have to farm the land, collect food from the jungle and sometimes walk more than 50 kilometres every day, just so that they don’t starve.
The Mondulkiri Project improves the lives of the poor and preserves the special culture of the Bunong people. This culture is under threat as Mondulkiri Province becomes more connected with the wider world. The Mondulkiri Project creates jobs in the community which allow whole Bunong families to improve their living standards. Families are able to stay together and the older people do not have to work so hard.
Mondulkiri Project Elephant Sanctuary
When I was young we had 2 elephants in our village, but these days there are very few elephants left. In the sanctuaries and villages close to Sen Monorom there only 41 elephants and they are growing old. There are not many wild elephants left in Cambodia’s forests because of land clearing for timber and to make rubber plantations.
The Mondulkiri Project has started a new elephant sanctuary where there are 6 elephants who walk freely around the forest eating lots of bamboo, playing in the mud and swimming in the river. There is no elephant riding by customers or staff.
In the future we hope to start a natural breeding program to help with the long term survival of elephants in Cambodia. The elephants are very well cared for as they are part of the vision for a better life for all of the communities. Our elephant sanctuary is a place where elephants get to live long and happy lives.
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