Saving Tonle Sap: How Local Villages, Worldschooling & Simple Ideas Fight Plastic Pollution

Tonle Sap is one of Southeast Asia’s most important freshwater ecosystems — and one of the most vulnerable to plastic pollution. In this episode, we travel to Kampong Pluk, a floating village near Siem Reap, to see how local communities, a Norwegian NGO, and visiting students are working together to stop plastic from entering the lake — before it reaches the ocean. We meet Sophal, a local community educator who developed a powerful idea: teaching villagers to harvest plastic using the same tools and skills they already use to harvest fruit and rice. His work focuses on practical education, dignity, and solutions that actually fit local life — especially in communities where many families are former refugees, cannot own land, and have limited access to education and healthcare. We also join Steinar and Rivers Global, a Norwegian non-profit organization working to prevent plastic pollution at the source by supporting local education, waste systems, and community-led solutions. Together with a Norwegian school class on a year-long worldschooling journey, we see how learning, cooperation, and simple ideas can create real change. In this video you’ll experience: Life in a floating village on Tonle Sap How plastic builds up during monsoon season Sophal’s plastic harvesting & family certification system How clean villages, gardens, and recycling improve livelihoods Norwegian students learning sustainability through real-world experience The mangrove forest and lake that make Tonle Sap so special — and worth protecting 🌍 Visiting Siem Reap? Stay longer than 3 days. Many travelers come only to see the temples — and they’re incredible — but Siem Reap has so much more to offer. Spending extra time allows you to experience local communities, nature, and projects like Kampong Pluk, where your visit can have a real, positive impact on the people who live there. 🤝 Learn more & support the work Rivers Global 🌐 Website: https://rivers.global Babel Guesthouse (Siem Reap) 🌐 Website: https://babelguesthouse.com 📸 Instagram: @babelguesthouse Babel Guesthouse helps connect visitors with meaningful experiences in and around Siem Reap — far beyond the usual tourist routes. This is worldschooling in real life: learning from local people, understanding complex challenges, and seeing how solutions grow from the ground up. More Cambodia videos are coming — and we’re not done with Siem Reap just yet. If you enjoy travel that focuses on learning, sustainability, and real human stories, consider subscribing and joining us on the journey. Links: Kim - Our regular driver in Cambodia Contact: WeChatID: KIM092966866 WhatsApp: +855 92 966 866 Telegram : +855 69 966 866 Contact him on Social Media Facebook:   / kim.drivertour.1   Instagram:   / kim_taxii   Family Instagram: ➡️ @we.like.this.life Travel Esim : Saily.com - use referral code for 3$ off: EYVIND9470