Kampong Chhnang, in west-central Cambodia, lies on the banks of the Tonle Sap, some thirty kilometres south of the lake. The town is a stopover on the road linking the capital Phnom Penh to Battambang.
The name Kampong Chhnang translates as "Port of Marmites", as the town is renowned for its pottery, created as far back as the 6th century. These are produced and sold in the country's biggest markets.
Like the vast majority of Cambodian provinces, Kampong Chhnang is also a farming town, although textile factories are becoming increasingly common. 80% of the population make their living from rice growing or fishing.
The province of Kampong Chhnang is made up of rice paddies as far as the eye can see and is an extremely fertile area.
Explore the floating villages
One of the main attractions in Kampong Chhnang is to take a motorboat to explore the floating villages of Chnok Tru and Phoum Kantal.
These villages are essentially fishing villages, and you can see huge fish traps under some of the houses.
Many of the people living in these floating villages are Cham. The Cham of Cambodia are made up of two ethnic groups: the first is made up of Vietnamese Muslim immigrants who took refuge in Cambodia between the 16th and 19th centuries; the second, the result of earlier immigration (14th-15th centuries), is made up of Malays from the Indonesian archipelago and the Malay peninsula.
Because of their religious practices, the Cham are nicknamed "Khmer Islam". They have adopted the Islam of the Malays. They have their own language and script. The original Cham language belongs to the Western Malayo-Polynesian family.
Clay pottery, symbol of Kampong Chhnang
In Cambodia, potters have been using the same manufacturing technique for generations: hand-moulded pottery. The aim is to place a ball of terracotta or clay that has been shaped on a support that fits the craftsman. In this way, a manual sketch is made, trying to give it a cylindrical shape.
The next step is to optimise the appearance of the pot by holding the upper end and working the lower part to form a dome. The counter-batten used inside the vessel is used to slenderise the walls and solidify them. This is a vital and delicate stage, as the clay is fragile and must not be punctured or cracked.
Next comes the decoration: the potter optimises the opening of the pot by turning around it with a damp cloth, then draws what he or she wants.
After drying, the creation is finally placed in the kiln for several hours.
The panoramic view from Wat Thoam Mavoan
Outside the city, on the heights of Kampong Chhnang, head for the Buddhist temple of Wat Thoam Mavoan.
On the way up, climbing a few steps, a colourful pagoda looks out over the province carpeted with rice paddies. From the top of the pagoda, you can see the Cardamom massif and Mount Aroal or Phnom Aural (ភ្នំឱរ៉ាល់), Cambodia's highest point at 1,813 metres.
Text and photographs by Fabienne Nigon © All rights reserved