Greetings everyone! Reunited with family is a pleasure. I'm super excited to take you all on a journey today. We'll get to observe a beautiful family reunion, enjoy some delicious grilled corn, and be surrounded by incredible natural plants. Plus, we'll hear an inspiring story at the end! In a village in Cambodia, they don't have waste management trucks that come to pick up garbage. But an uncle there came up with a creative solution to get rid of the household waste and plastic that was accumulating.

Reunited: Enjoyment of Grilled Corn 👷🌽

As he munched away on his grill cone, he start to tell everyone with stories that happening from the factory—a moment to how enjoyable these gatherings are.

My friend, who recently got back from working at the factory, is indeed a classic example of this feeling. He was delighted to be reunited with everyone after being apart for so long, so he followed the smell of grilling food to his family and friends while they were cooking.

A proof of how fun these get-togethers are, even after a long day of work or a tough day, he greeted everyone with stories from the workplace while he chomped on his cone.

Chilling in Hammocks

The mother here had chosen the perfect spot though - there were plenty of tall and straight trees with a steady breeze – which made it easy to tie the hammock anywhere.

I just came to the backyard of this house and noticed some of the hammocks were broken, with no explanation. There was one that was still usable, and I saw a lady with her baby asleep on it, with some music playing in the background. That must have been helping her baby sleep faster. This reminded me of my grandma doing something similar when I was young. As a mother myself, I don't let my kids sleep in hammocks too often because if they get used to it then I'm afraid they won't be able to sleep without hammock during travel or besides one place.

Water Lettuce - Pistia

The Pistia plant is living on a lake, floating atop its light green surface with some bead-like droplets of water.

On the lake, there are many water lettuces that I can find. With the obtuse tree at the back you can see, they make for a delightful sight. The trees don't have many leaves, but with their tall, and bright wood, the scenery is sure to be well creation of nature.

Not only does it grow on the water, but the land near the lake too.

An Example for Community

I was amazed to witness an uncle in our village carrying white sandbags, as there is no waste management trucks here to take the trash away. Most of the trash consists of household items and plastic, so people have no choice but to burn it.

No, nothing is happening without any other solution, I think they can pack it safety at home without throwing it anywhere like this and then the day when as much as the trash is full of sandbags, they can transfer it to the recycle factory in Takhmao town where is about 7 kilometers from this village.

However, I saw this uncle picking up bottles without even wearing gloves to protect his hands. He would carry these bags around the village every day, either giving them away or just tidying up the leftover mess. I think, if people here just placed their garbage in one spot, he would have an easier time collecting it.

Fortunately, a woman who had just finished her water bottle offered to help the uncle pick up some of the debris too. I'm glad that someone in our community cares about the environment around us and does their best to keep it clean.

The uncle was most likely taking all this trash somewhere else to sell to trader or recycle it, whether in any purpose, I really admire him for that – his initiative in caring for our village environment without criticism of anyone else is truly admirable!

The lake water used to be more polluted than it is now, and I'm hoping for further improvement soon, thanks to my uncle's efforts in collecting most of the trash. There are still some waste that haven't been taken care of yet, but I am eagerly looking forward to seeing how much clearer the lake water can get.

At the back of the lake, there is a large house owned by a Takhmao resident. In this area, there are only locals, who have been working hard to preserve the lake's natural beauty.