Pnong Pepper Farmer

This man lives in a small village.  I didn't get his name but he made a wonderful impression upon me, sporting a nurse's scrub top and a Rockwell reckless grin baring the few remaining teeth.  He eeks out a living growing peppercorn vines and a few coffee plants.  He is of an indigenous people group called the Pnong.  They live in the eastern lands of Cambodia bordering Vietnam and are a fascinating people group.  One reason is that they are neither Buddhist nor Hindu.  A few are Christian, reached by Vietnamese missionaries but many more are animists.  Additionally, they have their own language and live in tight villages.  The paths from one village to the next may stretch for miles and miles and are nigh impassible during the rainy season.  Everyone we met was exceedingly pleasant, quick with a smile, a warm greeting and a long shake of the hand.  Rare are such excellent, hardy and happy people as I have ever met.

Pepper Farmer
Dak Dam, Cambodia – January 2013