Indigenous adaptation to a rapidly changing economy: The experience of two Tampuan villages in Northeast Cambodia

Abstract

This study focuses on changes that have taken place in two Tampuan villages in northeastern Cambodia as a result of Khmer in-migration and increased market activity in the province: Kahoal village, which lies along a provincial road four kilometers from the town of Andong Meas, and Kamang village, which lies along the national road bordering the town of Borkeo. The field research for the study was conducted in May 2000. The research team, which was composed of three men and three women, included an expatriate team leader, a Khmer research associate, and four Tampuan research assistants. The team, which took up residence in each village for a period of ten days, conducted a 50 percent random sample household survey in each village and interviewed village leaders and selected families in both Kahoal and Kamang. In addition to research at the village level, team members also interviewed government officials in Andong Meas, Borkeo, and the provincial town of Banlung, and with UN and NGO workers in Banlung. Finally, market surveys were undertaken in Andong Meas, Borkeo, and Banlung.