Cheung Kok Ecotourism Village

Updated June 11, 2025

## Cheung Kok Ecotourism Village, Kampong Cham: Community-Based Travel in Rural Cambodia

Just a few kilometres outside Kampong Cham city, Cheung Kok Ecotourism Village offers something you don’t get in temple towns or big cities: a working Khmer village that has turned community-based tourism into a practical tool for survival, not a buzzword. Tour Advisor

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## What Cheung Kok Ecotourism Village Actually Is

Cheung Kok (sometimes written “Cheung Kok Village” or “Amica Village”) is a traditional Cambodian farming community supported by a long-running NGO project. The village partnered with the French organisation Amica to reduce dependence on a single annual rice harvest and create additional income through handicrafts and small-scale tourism. Tour Advisor

Key facts:

– Location: Cheung Kok Village, near Kampong Cham, eastern Cambodia
– Coordinates: 12.0176155, 105.4076351
– Primary livelihoods: Rice farming, silk weaving, krama (Cambodian scarf) production, palm sugar and palm-leaf products, plus homestays and guiding. Spirit
– Tourism model: Community-based, with income shared among families involved in hosting, guiding and craft production. Tour Advisor
– Reviews: Consistently positive, averaging roughly 4–4.5/5 on major platforms.

For context around the region, you could internally link from this intro to a broader Kampong Cham travel guide (e.g. /kampong-cham-cambodia-travel-guide) covering the city, Mekong riverside and nearby temples.

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## Why This Village Matters for Responsible Travel

### A Working Khmer Village, Not a Stage Set

Cheung Kok is home to several hundred residents living in classic wooden houses on stilts, surrounded by rice paddies and gardens. It’s a fully functioning village where people still farm, tend to livestock and send kids to school, while adding tourism as a side income.

The ecotourism project helps families:

– Diversify income beyond rice: With only one main harvest per year, relying on rice alone is risky. Tourism and crafts buffer families against bad seasons. Tour Advisor
– Keep skills alive: Visitors buy kramas, silk items, and palm-leaf baskets directly from makers, keeping weaving and traditional techniques economically viable. Spirit
– Share revenue more fairly: The project is structured to spread benefits across households participating in homestays, guiding and craft cooperatives, rather than concentrating profits with a single outside operator. Tour Advisor

From a sustainability standpoint, Cheung Kok is frequently cited by Cambodia specialists as an example of community-based ecotourism that actually belongs to the residents, not a tour company.

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## Things to Do in Cheung Kok Ecotourism Village

### 1. Walk the Village Paths

Most visits begin with a simple walk along sandy lanes past stilt houses, gardens and small shrines. This is where you see everyday rural Cambodia:

– Rice laid out to dry
– Children cycling past on the way to school
– Families cooking outdoors or tending to chickens and cows

Visitors often describe Cheung Kok as one of the most attractive villages in the Kampong Cham area, specifically because it hasn’t been rebuilt for tourists. Tour Advisor

### 2. Learn About Traditional Crafts

Crafts are the backbone of the village’s tourism economy:

– Krama and silk weaving: Several households operate handlooms under their homes. You can watch the process of setting the warp, weaving the fabric, and finishing kramas and scarves.
– Palm-leaf weaving: Residents produce baskets, mats and decorative items using dried palm leaves. Spirit
– Palm sugar: In season, some families tap sugar palms and boil the sap into sugar, sometimes molded into small cakes. Spirit

Buying directly at the house keeps money in the village and avoids the mark-up you see in city markets.

### 3. Stay in a Khmer Homestay

One of the key features of Cheung Kok’s ecotourism project is a network of simple homestays run by local families: Angkor

– Guests sleep in basic but clean rooms, usually with mattresses, mosquito nets and shared facilities.
– Meals are home-cooked Cambodian dishes—rice, vegetables, seasonal produce and sometimes Mekong fish.
– Evenings tend to be quiet, with conversation, card games or just listening to insects and distant music.

Homestays make it easier for families to earn from tourism without leaving their village or investing in separate guesthouses.

> Outdated-data flag: The number of active homestays and exact booking process can change, especially after the pandemic. Current sources suggest contacting the village through their Facebook page for up-to-date information and reservations.

### 4. Join Everyday Activities

Depending on the season and what your hosts are doing, you may be able to:

– Walk through nearby rice fields and learn how planting and harvesting work
– Help with vegetable gardens or simple farm chores
– Join a bicycle ride through surrounding countryside
– Sit in on craft production or try weaving a basic pattern under supervision

These are not packaged “shows” but extensions of what people already do, which is why flexibility and patience are essential.

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## Practical Travel Tips

### How to Get There

Most travellers base themselves in Kampong Cham city on the Mekong River and visit Cheung Kok as a half-day or overnight trip: Angkor

– The village sits a short drive from town along National Highway 7, followed by a local road.
– Common options include hiring a tuk-tuk, motorbike or bicycle from Kampong Cham.
– Some Cambodia tour operators now build Cheung Kok into broader Mekong or rural-Cambodia itineraries.

For readers planning a bigger route through the country, this section is a good place to internally link to a Cambodia itinerary article (for example, /cambodia-itinerary-2-weeks) that strings together Phnom Penh, Kampong Cham, Kratie and Siem Reap.

### When to Visit

Kampong Cham and Cheung Kok have a tropical climate with a marked dry and wet season:

– Dry season (approx. Nov–Apr): Easier road conditions; fields may look dusty but village lanes are less muddy.
– Wet season (approx. May–Oct): Lush rice paddies and greener landscapes; heavy showers possible, which can make paths slippery.

None of the major sources flag seasonal closures, but rural roads always feel the effects of extreme weather, so check conditions locally before travelling.

### Costs & Booking

Prices are not standardised across all online sources, but community-based projects in Cambodia typically operate with: Angkor

– Modest homestay fees paid directly to your host family
– Optional small donations or fixed contributions that go into a village fund
– Separate payments for meals and crafts

Because rates can change and online listings are often outdated, it’s safer to:

– Ask your guesthouse or tour operator in Kampong Cham to call ahead
– Or message the Cheung Kok Ecotourism Village Facebook page, which currently lists the project and contact details.

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## How to Visit Respectfully & Inclusively

Cheung Kok is a real community first and a tourist site second. A few ground rules make a big difference:

– Ask before taking photos of people, especially elders and children. Many families are open to photos, but consent should never be assumed.
– Buy crafts directly from makers rather than bargaining aggressively—prices are usually already modest and income supports the household. Spirit
– Dress with local norms in mind: shoulders and knees covered are appreciated in rural Cambodia, particularly near pagodas or shrines.
– Avoid poverty voyeurism: this is not a place to “compare how people live on less”; it’s a community working hard to steer its own development.
– Be realistic about comfort: homestays are simple. Fans instead of air-conditioning, roosters at sunrise, and shared bathrooms are part of the experience.

Inclusivity also means being aware that not every resident wants to interact with visitors on any given day. A smile and a greeting are usually welcome; pushing for photos, home visits or “performances” is not.

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## Is Cheung Kok Ecotourism Village Still Active?

A common question with community-based tourism projects is whether they’re still running. As of 2023, Cheung Kok Ecotourism Village is still being listed in up-to-date Kampong Cham travel guides and sustainable tourism round-ups, and a recent article on community-based tourism in Cambodia highlights Cheung Kok as an operating project. Angkor

That said, a few important caveats:

– Online reports span nearly a decade, so some details—such as the exact number of homestay families or daily activities—may have changed.
– The village’s Facebook description currently advertises free afternoon visits and tours (around 2–5 pm), but schedules in small projects can shift without formal notice. Always confirm directly.

If you’re building an itinerary or writing up logistics, the most reliable approach is to treat older blog posts as context, then verify times, availability and prices via direct contact shortly before you travel.

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## Who Will Appreciate Cheung Kok

Based on how the project is structured and how visitors describe it, Cheung Kok Ecotourism Village is best suited to travellers who:

– Are interested in rural Cambodian culture and everyday life, not just headline temples
– Prefer responsible, small-scale tourism where money goes directly to residents
– Don’t mind simple accommodation and limited English in exchange for genuine interaction
– Want to understand how communities in Cambodia are experimenting with sustainable, community-owned tourism

If you fit that profile, Cheung Kok can be one of the most rewarding stops in eastern Cambodia—and a meaningful way to support a village that has worked hard to steer its own future.

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Cheung Kok Ecotourism Village

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