Destination & Crafts: Andong Russei, a village of potters that attracts visitors

Jars, vases, incense burners, money boxes, traditional cookers and pots can be found in front of almost every house near the mountain of Phnom Krang Dei Meas, a region rich in red clay.

Most of the inhabitants of the village of Andong Russei, in Kampong Chhnang province, continue to make pottery in the traditional way. Some practised this craft even before the Khmer Rouge regime. Photo Hong Menea

Most of the inhabitants of the village of Andong Russei, in Kampong Chhnang province, continue to make pottery in the traditional way. Some were already involved in this trade even before the Khmer Rouge regime. But pottery production is not the only source of income for these families. Taking advantage of the growing number of tourists in the region, some have opened up the destination to visitors.

Three Cambodian women sit in front of their pottery wheels in a workshop waiting for the next customers. To attract tourists, they have installed a traditional fountain consisting of a vase at the entrance and a long bamboo bed so that tourists can sit and watch them work on the wheel.

Pov Sambon, 47, and her two teenage daughters have made more than 3,000 oil lamps, which they sell to customers and pagodas for use in Buddhist ceremonies.

‘During religious ceremonies such as Meak Bochea and Visak Bochea, I receive orders for thousands of clay oil lamps that people light during the ceremonies. We're always busy making pottery and souvenirs,’ explains Sambon.

The villagers are always ready to share their skills and knowledge of pottery with curious visitors,’ she adds.

Most of the inhabitants of the village of Andong Russei, in Kampong Chhnang province, continue to make pottery in the traditional way. Photo Hong Menea

Sambon, who learned pottery from her mother and is now passing on the technique to her daughters, told the Post: ‘Many people visit the village. They come from Siem Reap, Battambang and Phnom Penh, as well as from outside Cambodia’.

‘Sometimes they buy one or two souvenirs. Sometimes they come just to see us work. Some come to learn the trade with us,’ she says.

Watching the villagers at work, Py Nara, a resident of Phnom Penh, says he wants to learn how to make pottery.

‘The first time I saw them doing it, it seemed quite easy. They put the clay on the wheel and, as if by magic, the clay gradually becomes a lamp. However, when I tried it, it turned out to be more difficult than I expected. I just couldn't do it,’ he says.

‘People rarely buy clay objects because they are fragile,’ laments Pov Kongkea.

In one of the workshops, villagers are trained in a more modern method. The method involves shaping the jar with a wooden paddle used to strike the clay, which is supported by a round wooden knob inside.

‘Visitors can watch us work or learn the craft. They can make their own clay pots and take them home,’ explains Teang Sophan, from Kampong Chhnang Pottery, a company associated with the Cambodian Traditional Pottery Project.

‘Tourists come to see what we do. If they don't want to buy, that's fine. We won't charge them,’ explains Sophan.

Sam Sokha, 33, painstakingly makes a metre-high clay pot and is happy to share her knowledge of this traditional art form.

‘I now make vases for my customers to sell at the market. In one day, I can make 10 vases, each costing 12,000 riels’, explains Sam Sokha, who started learning this art form at the age of 14.

Chea Muon, 85, has been making pottery for as long as she can remember. Photo Hong Menea

In a thatched cottage with dried clay splattered all over the walls and floor, Chea Muon follows his daily routine of collecting clay and using it to make beautiful pots.

‘I strike the clay every day, and each day I can make around 10 pots,‘ confides Muon, 85, who, because of her advanced age, often has memory problems and therefore has difficulty answering journalists’ questions.

Sokha, her granddaughter, helps her with journalists and anyone who wants to know more about her life and profession.

‘My grandmother continues to make pots every day, but she doesn't know whether the business is profitable or losing money. Her children and grandchildren want her to stop, but she won't. Sometimes she buys the clay, and sometimes she digs it herself. Visitors often give her money at the pagoda so that she can buy clay,’ explains Sokha.

Most of the inhabitants of the village of Andong Russei, in Kampong Chhnang province, continue to make pottery in the traditional way. Photo Hong Menea

The Andong Russei tourism community was created to promote local crafts and generate more income for families. But the organisation has encountered some difficulties.

‘Sometimes we invite villagers to meetings so that they can learn more about welcome and hospitality. However, many of them don't want to come because they think it's a waste of time and they won't benefit from it,’ explains Sambon, who is also responsible for the Andong Russei tourist community.

Of the 400 families in the village of Andong Russei, only 15 have joined the organisation. Created a few years ago, the Andong Russei tourist community allows tourists to discover the production of clay pots. Visitors can also see how the villagers produce palm sugar, in particular by watching them climb the tree and boil the palm juice.

‘Although we face many difficulties, I really want this organisation to work,’ concludes Sambon.

Raksmey Hong with our partner The Phnom Penh Post