Siem Reap, KH – Students from Mill Hill County High School in the UK engage with Peaksneng village – 19 Aug 2016

The Peaksneng Thormacheat Garden Shop hosted a group of fifteen students, two teachers and an expedition leader from the Mill Hill County High School in England from August 2-8. The expedition was organized by the company True Adventure, whose ethos is to have students learn about: leadership, budgeting and project management by organizing every aspect of their own trip. The students stayed in Peaksneng village and worked with the garden shop to implement various community projects including; making compost and natural sprays, organic vegetable gardens and school breakfast. They also had the opportunity to discover the Cambodian culture by engaging with local businesses, learning traditional woodcarving, and playing with a Khmer music group.

The student’s project work began with them visiting some of the families currently involved in Peaksneng Thormacheat’s programs. They spent time with each family and were able to get a good understanding of how the organic vegetable garden and micro-loan programs work. The families love having visitors and were happy to answer any questions the students had about their gardens.

They then helped the garden shop team make compost and natural sprays for the organic garden program. These are vital in providing the soil and plants with the necessary nutrients required to thrive. The students worked with local families to build organic vegetable gardens to help improve their food security and access to nutritious vegetables in their home.

The students also helped prepare a vitamin rich breakfast at a local community school. This consists of a soup made from: rice, pork, squash, moringa leaves and carrots. The team prepared many of their own meals from scratch whilst staying at Peaksneng. This involved rounding up live chickens from the garden shop’s farm, butchering, cleaning, and cooking them to make a delicious supper. It was an interesting experience for students who usually would only see chicken breasts neatly packaged in the supermarket!

A local wood carver invited them for a lesson on traditional Khmer wood carving and the students really enjoyed trying to emulate the iconic carvings of Angkor Wat. One evening, a traditional band came and put on a great show with dancing and singing. The musicians even let some of the students try their luck with some of the instruments, with the drum being the most successfully played.

Their time in the village will be remembered by the community and hopefully the students for a long time to come. Many have already expressed an interest to return and revisit the projects they helped to implement. The Peaksneng Thormacheat team were grateful for their participation and would welcome them back to continue to help the community.