How Community Tourism Is Transforming Kok Sangke Village

Kok Sangke is a small farming village about 35 km from Angkor, Cambodia. Rice fields, simple homes, and quiet roads shape daily life here. For many years, agriculture was the heart of the village. In recent years, community tourism has slowly changed Kok Sangke. This story looks at how community-based tourism is shaping the village and its people.

1. From Quiet Village to Turning Point

Life at Kok Sangke village has always been simple, with most people working in farming or fishing. There are no large hotels or crowded streets, only small homes and peaceful surroundings.

Education options were limited, with only basic schools available. Healthcare services were also modest, with a small local clinic serving the community.

In 2020, everything began to change. Together with local monks and community leaders, Vivu Journeys Cambodia helped Kok Sangke explore a new direction through community tourism. Instead of mass tourism, the village embraced community-based tourism as a way to create local opportunities, strengthen education, and support long-term community development.

2. What Drives Community-Based Tourism in Kok Sangke

2.1. Empowering Education

Education was one of the first priorities in Kok Sangke. Through community tourism, the community has worked to improve the quality of education for local children. These small but practical changes help children stay in school longer and build skills they can actually use in real life.

Read more:

• Empowering Education in Kok Sangke with Vivu Journeys Cambodia.

2.2. Creating Awareness, Inspiring Action

Community-based tourism also helps people learn beyond school. Training and talks focus on health, education, farming, and caring for the environment. These activities help families understand how to improve daily life. Because of this, people feel more confident to protect their health, land, and future.

2.3. Building Economic Resilience

Before community tourism, most families depended only on farming and fishing. Now, family farm projects and small livelihood programs give people more ways to earn. This extra income helps pay for school, health care, and home repairs.

2.4. Championing Responsible Travel

Tourism here follows clear rules. Visitors are asked to respect local life, culture, and nature. Responsible travel and CSR principles guide how tourism is done in Kok Sangke. Money from tourism is shared fairly and used for community needs. Some of it supports schools, health care, and village projects. This way, community tourism gives back more than it takes, and people stay in control of their future.

3. What Has Changed Through Community Development

In Kok Sangke, you can easily see the impact of community tourism.

In 2022, community-based tourism was still new to the village. Only a few families joined, and there were not many activities. That year, the village earned about 5,770 USD. Even though the number was small, the income already made a difference. For the first time, some families earned money that did not come from farming or fishing.

From January to September 2025, total revenue reached 36,101 USD, many times higher than in 2022. Income now comes from different activities, with meals for visitors as the main source, bringing in over 14,000 USD.

Community tourism in Kok Sangke is not about fast money. It grows step by step. From a few thousand dollars in 2022 to over thirty thousand in 2025, and more importantly, it helps the village build a better future with its own hands.

4. Community Tourism Projects in Action

Community tourism in Kok Sangke is not only about visitors. It is also about long-term community development. Two key projects show how this work happens in real life.

4.1 Kok Sangke Pre-Elementary Education Centre

One of the most important community projects is the Pre-Elementary Education Centre. The plan is to build two classrooms for pre-primary children in Kok Sangke.
Around 75 children from three nearby villages will benefit from this school. This project helps families who have very limited access to early education. With this center, children can start learning earlier, closer to home. It also helps parents, because they know their children are in a safe place. Education is one of the strongest parts of community development in Kok Sangke.

4.2. Kok Sangke Community Experience (2D1N Village Stay)

The Kok Sangke Community Experience is a 2-day, 1-night village stay. Guests live with local families and join daily activities.

During the stay, visitors can:

• Authentic village homestay experience
• Hands-on cultural immersion with local families
• Support eco-tourism and sustainable development projects
• Discover ancient Khmer healing traditions

This is not luxury travel. It is real life, shared simply. Money from this experience goes back to the community. It supports families, schools, health care, and village projects. So tourism here is not just about seeing a place. It is about helping the place grow in its own way.

You may also like: 

• Kok Sangke Community Village & Tonlé Sap Experience

5. Sustainability Commitments

• Health & safety: Health and safety are our top priority. We ensure the following for every trip: Safety procedures, risk Management, first aid kits, trained staff, food safety​ standards, emergency procedures, and travel insurance
• Child Protection: We partner with child protection experts to implement policies and procedures to make sure that we have the best practices in place to keep children safe.
• Guide School: We establish guide schools in each of our destinations to deliver specialized training to make sure we hire locals and have the best guides.
• Community Development: We contribute to the positive development of the communities in which we operate by prioritising social enterprises in our supply chain and sponsoring community development projects.
• Animal Welfare: We do not offer any activity with wild animals in captivity for touristic or entertainment purposes, such as zoos, circuses, or dolphin shows.
• Climate Change: We use greenhouse gas-friendly transportation when available.
• No Single – Use Plastic: We do not use single-use plastics such as plastic water bottles and instead use refillable or glass bottles.

Through community tourism, Kok Sangke is opening new ways for families to earn income in a fair and steady way. By creating more chances to work and grow, the village is building a future where people can live better, stay in their home community, and move forward together.

Want to learn more about community tourism in Kok Sangke or work with our community projects? Partner with us to explore trips, partnerships, or ways to support community development.