Interview Mr. Ha Yerngtang

Summary

Uncle Hayoen Tang is a community chief and a committee leader, and he lives in Krala village, Poy commune, O’Chhum district in Ratanakiri province. Talking about the  community’s land, he defines four areas: the “Mobile Farm” land cleared for farming  and growing vegetables; the forest reserves which are preserved for the next generation; the protected forest where big trees are not allowed to be cut down or land cleared for the farming, but the forest products can be consumed; and finally the ancestral land (Arak Forest) that can’t be cleared for farming — if someone does that, they will get sick or die.

Boigraphy

My name is Rombay Sokea (Miss), and I am 23 years old, of the Kreung indigenous people and Cambodian nationality. I live in Krala village, Poy commune, O’Chhum district in Ratanakiri province. I finished Grade 12 in 2018, but was unable to afford to continue my education, so I decided to participate in volunteer work in Ratanakiri province.

Impression

I would like to show the community leaders’ efforts to protect and preserve the  community land when it faces being lost, and to encourage the young generation to understand their own culture.