Mangrove villagers

Most of the people living near the mangrove are fishing communities. Many of the fishing villages rely on the mangrove estuary for their daily subsistence.

Many of these people have interesting cultural roots. In particular the Cham and the 'Manou K'toui' (the people with a tail) sometimes also reffered to as the 'Khmer Dam (the original Khmer)'

In the area, there are today mostly Cham communities. The Cham are said to be descendants from Malay fishing communities. They have well established religious structures, with Omams that are revered and influential in local decision making processes.

There is also a disappearing ethnic minority that traditionally lived here: the Khmer Dam (original khmer) or Manou K'toui (people with a tail). This ethnic minority is being slowly absorbed by the rest of the population and it is likely that their language will be lost in the next two decades. Young people feel ashamed to speak their traditional language - as a result only a few of the elder speak this rich language. It is a sea-farer language that employs over 100 different words for fish for example, pointing to the strong relationship between men, land and sea.