Man carving boat, rural village

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This village belongs to another major type of village community in Cambodia, that of the traditional subsistence rice farmers. These communities are scattered through the lower and upper plains, and consist of farming groups who cultivate rain-fed or irrigated rice paddies. They tend to live in small family groups or villages. In general, each family also cultivates a field where rice, cucumbers, occasionally corn, and other vegetables are grown. Usually a number of different traditional varieties of rice are grown, each one adapted to different soil types and water conditions. The farmers use animal fertilizers and traditional farming techniques, such as the swing plow pulled by oxen or buffalo. Houses are generally made of bamboo and straw thatch, and are typically raised on stilts to reduce dampness and increase ventilation, as well as to provide protection from wild animals and flooding. The fact that the houses in this village are not raised indicates that it may be located higher in the upland plains or that the family is very poor.

Source for information about the object depicted in the image: Choulean, Ang et al. Angkor: A Manual for the Past, Present and Future. Cambodia: UNESCO with United Nations Development Program and Swedish International Development Agency, 1998.

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