CAMBODIA, TONLE SAP

A unique perspective on the world

An episode from the series THROUGH YOUR EYES

Synopsis

In the heart of Cambodia lies the Tonle Sap, the largest lake in Asia and the most populated. Countless floating villages move according to the seasons and the whims of the weather.

Sophie is welcomed into a house on a raft that raises crocodiles, a common practice on the Tonle Sap. She also learned to weave freshwater hyacinths, a plant pest that nevertheless provided a livelihood for some families on the lake.

As early as the 9th century, the vast Khmer empire had succeeded in taming the fluctuations of the lake and rainwater by setting up an extraordinary network of canals and basins, which, a thousand years later, still allows Cambodians to face droughts.