It’s always refreshing to meet people who have the tenacity to do what most only talk about. Back in February, I spent two weeks building a school in rural Cambodia with a group called The Red Road Foundation. They bring that quote to mind – you know, the one you hear all the time and probably disregard – about being the change you want to see happen. As far as I could tell, they’ve become that change. And for those few weeks, they allowed 20-something other volunteers to become it, too.

The concept: An ‘earthship’ school, built out of sustainable and recycled materials. Something of an educational sanctuary for one targeted community nearly an hour outside of Kampot. There, youth and adults alike will be taught a variety of subjects – in both Khmer and English – which extend beyond the classroom, onto the adjoining farm, and into the realm of personal and communal development.

They will be growing crops like Moringa, a relatively little-known superfood just beginning to make it’s way into the spotlight. The hope is that the idea of nutrition might then be integrated organically into their daily lives. Once the plant is harvested, it will be an ample contender for filling a large portion of their nutritional needs. Of course, along with this will come the dissemination of trade-skills via encouraged participation in the various facets of cultivation and production.

In 1979, the Khmer Rouge regime was removed from power, marking an end to nearly four years of systematic killing throughout the nation. In it’s wake was left an entire generation of disillusioned survivors; traumatized fragments of a youthful population with little in place to help them cope with the profound violence most had largely experienced first hand. Now adults and with families of their own, many have fallen to an extreme poverty that is common among survivors of such graphic events.

And so there will also be a focus on arts, expression and spirituality; things that lay the foundations for communities to form and people to thrive as creative, productive beings. The long term goal is to develop the farm into a self-sustaining means of support for the school. In other words, the ultimate form of empowerment. Teachers and caretakers will be employed, knowledge will be shared, and hopefully, community members will have the opportunity to contribute as much to this project as they will be able to gain.

It’s interesting though, how our own group emerged as something of a microcosm of this greater vision. There was little structure in place for how some of our most basic needs would be met – cooking, for example, or taking water runs to the towns nearby. As volunteers, we had room to form the working parameters of how our own community would operate. Brought together for a purpose, all of our decisions were made keeping this idea in focus. We were there, quite simply, to build a space in which beautiful things could happen to beautiful people who have historically been left behind.

We defaulted to inclusive participation and active communication, methods of resolution in which we encouraged each other to be our own, contributing selves. To love and to produce, to share and be shared with. Our way of life fell into place, and our needs were always met – even if it took some intense deliberation to get there. As individuals and as a collective, we grew.

And this is why I have so much faith in the project as a whole. When people are brought together over something greater than themselves, they rise to that occasion. When they have the freedom to contribute knowledge of their own, they flourish. When there is space for trial and error, learning inevitably follows. And through all of this? Healing.

So when I say embody, I mean that for the time that our group came together, we became the essence of what our project was meant to provide. If you believe in christening something with the energy of what you’d like to see it become, I’d say we did a pretty good job of that. And if you believe in science, well we did some of that too.

Countless hours spent moving dirt and packing tires with no idea of how these two things were going to provide a structure safe enough to hold a group of kids every day. We poured our bodies into the grind and our minds into the complexities of problems that needed creative solutions. We woke with the sun, we dealt with the heat, and we even fought a forest fire for good measure.

Yes, blood and sweat went into this school, but so did laughter and joy. Because when you’re working towards something great, you feel it. And when you feel it, you can’t help but shine.

The following photographs are meant to present the early steps of the Earthship-building process. After this I’ve also included a photo essay of the forest fire our team was confronted with on our last day on-site. Finally, at the end you will find a link for donating to the Red Road cause.

 

 

To the best of my knowledge, no major injuries were sustained in this fire. The woman pictured in Photograph 2 of the fire sequence was, however, profoundly affected: Her banana orchard was decimated by the flames, and with it, her main source of both income and sustenance. The hatted man featured in the ending sequence is a neighboring land owner, and also suffered paralyzing losses to his crops.

Seemingly now, more than ever, has the opportunity to make a difference been presented to The Red Road Foundation. Under some divine act of randomness, none of the Red Road property was touched by the flames. They will continue to support this community with open hearts and eyes towards building a brighter future.

If you feel inspired, you can Donate Here.