A combination of illegal logging and clearance for agriculture had two consequences – a great many landmine accidents and the rapid deforestation of the countryside. The HALO Trust has been working here since 1993 clearing mines and making the land safe for people to rebuild their lives. Now we have begun to work with a unique local community to safeguard the remaining forests as well as the people who live there.
“In 2012 we won the Equator Prize in America, which has made the forest globally recognised and helps us to protect it. We allow one per cent of the forest for local villagers to grow mushrooms and other agriculture. But we work with HALO to construct biogas digesters to local people so that they can cook without needing to collect firewood.”
HALO’s biogas digester – a means of creating cooking gas from composting waste – was begun as a pilot project in partnership with ActionAid in 2023 for families in eight villages near the forest.
HALO is also helping make safe any landmines or explosive devices found in the Monk’s Forest as they develop it into a sustainable tourism destination with a campsite and café.
Constructing biogas digesters
“The biogas digester helps people stop using wood from the forest. Some of the families cried – it was the first time anyone has ever given them something for free. It helps protect the environment and when finished it provides fertiliser for their farmland."
Our work in Cambodia is made possible thanks to the generous support of the United States Government