Following a recent two-day environmental tourism celebration in Siem Reap’s Kampong Phluk community – located on the Tonle Sap Lake – 32 families were named as “Clean Families” and awarded certificates and prizes.

The winners were evaluated by the NGO2 BambooShoot Foundation and local commune councilors, and announced following the conclusion of the June 17-18 event, which was attended by up to 10,000 people.

As part of the “Clean Family” campaign, one family was awarded one million riel in cash, in addition to the certificates and 10kg sacks of rice that were awarded to all 32 finalists.

Oeun Sreymom, a member of the winning family, told The Post that she and her mother have been sorting waste for years, as they are dedicated to maintaining a clean and hygienic environment in and around their home.

“I am happy to have been given this opportunity. I will continue to keep my home’s surroundings clean, and set an example for other families. Proper waste management is crucial. As a vendor, it’s important that I sort and store garbage properly. It can be challenging otherwise,” she explained.

Sea Sophal, director foundation, told The Post on June 20 that after the two-day event, a working group had determined that 32 out of 1,000 families met the required criteria. They were judged to live in clean and hygienic environments and exhibited good waste management practices, particularly when it came to the separation, packaging, and storage of plastic waste.

“Our teams will continue to educate people on how to properly store and sort waste until the low water season this year. We aim to identify an additional 70 ‘clean families’,” he said.

Kampong Phluk commune chief Sok Plang, clarified that the evaluations would continue.

“As chairman of the commune council, I was pleased with the efforts of the 32 families we identified. However, this doesn’t mean that other families aren’t doing well, as we had only a short window to conduct our evaluations,” he explained.

The Kampong Phluk community is comprised of three villages, Tnot Kambot, Kork Kdol and Dey Krahorm village, with the majority of the residents dwelling in floating houses and making their livings through fishing. Tourists often visit the community, to admire the lake and explore the flooded forest.