#ShowMeYourTree Kicks Off in Cambodia’s Kuy Community

Location: Kuy village in Sala Visay Commune, Prasat Balang District, Kampong Thom Province

Phnom Penh-based content creators will visit the Kuy Indigenous Youth Group in Kampong Thom Province, which is a network of the Cambodian Indigenous Youth Association (CIYA). There are about 40 youth members between the ages of 15 and 35 from the Kuy village in Sala Visay Commune, Prasat Balang District, Kampong Thom Province.

The youth group works to promote savings, community rice, sports, arts, business ventures, and agriculture tourism packages among their community. The Kuy community have long faced several challenges including: 

1. Loss of land, forest, and traditional occupations
2. Bank debt
3. Transition from working as traditional farmers to rubber plantation workers or hired laborers
4. Lack of support for children to get higher education
5. Migration
6. Influx of immigrants
7. Loss of culture, identity, customs, language 

This visit will teach us their way of living and help us see the connection humans have with nature, trees, and forests. 

Content Creators:

• Miguel Jeronimo is a freelance photographer and curator who has been based in Phnom Penh for more than six years, working with NGOs and collaborating with other artists on exhibitions focused on social and environmental topics.
• Sochenda Aok, known as Cambodia's "Zero Waste Girl", has been working on raising awareness on climate change and zero waste lifestyle in Cambodia since late 2018. See her content on Facebook and TikTok at @zerowkh.