A message from an inter-community indigenous women’s group dedicated to the protection of the forests of Northern Cambodia. “We are not afraid to die, but if we lost our Forests then we would die”
The primary income source is tree resin which is harvested and sold along with other, non-timber products from the forest such as Vegetables and Honey.
They are trying to reach out and inform the wider world and other Indigenous people that it is possible to live outside of the global economy and maintain and protect their Indigenous heritage and support themselves.
It is impossible not to feel the effects of de-forestation which has decimated the Cambodian forests by over 60% in the last 40 years alone.
Supported by the men in the community, these women have taken responsibility for their survival and ultimately ours too as without Forests to provide Oxygen none of us would be able to live. They even patrol the forest to keep illegal loggers at bay.