People visit the community forest on February 6. SORNG RUKHAVORN VIA FACEBOOK
Monks protecting the Sorng Rukahvorn Community Forest in Oddar Meanchey province are committed to turn the area into a Buddhist-style natural tourist attraction for Cambodians and foreigners.
Venerable monk Tho Thou Ros, acting head of the community, said the commitment was made following the encouragement and support of Venerable Khy Sovanratana, deputy head of the Supreme Sangha Council who participated in the community forest’s 22nd anniversary celebrations on February 5.
“After the celebrations, I asked Samdech Preah Moha Areyvong to visit the forest nearby with me. He said he would find an engineer to help with the design and a donor to build a Buddha statue in the forest,” Thou Ros said, using the official title of Sovanratana.
He said the proposed statue, which is planned to be built taller than the trees, will be about 30m high, although final plans have not yet been confirmed. Large dead rosewood trees would be carved in a Buddhist style and serve to highlight the image of monks acting to protect the forest.
“There are some large trees such as thnong [Pterocarpus macrocarpus], koki [Hopea odorata] and so on, which have died due to their great age, so we will carve them where they fell in the forest. I think that if anyone who can envision the project as I see it in my mind will think it is fantastic, especially for the people of Oddar Meanchey province. It will attract many domestic and foreign tourists to the forest,” he said.
He added that while the community forest would be transformed into a Buddhist place, it would not be exclusively Buddhist. An interfaith centre would be set up to welcome all guests, including those who practiced Christianity or Islam.
He said the establishment of the interfaith centre would not detract from any other faiths, including Buddhism, because the forest was being protected for the benefit of all mankind as a whole.
Thou Ros confirmed that he would also build a new tourist site next to the waterfront of the Stung Sreng II Dam and would set up tents for students or the general public who could relax and learn about the biodiversity and natural resources of the forest.
He also said that there were many ancient temples in the forest which may be classified as historic tourist sites in the future.
“The remains of about 70 temples can be found here, although only the foundations remain for many of them. One has an iron smelter, which is associated with temples from the time of Preah Vihear,” he said.
Thou Ros added that the development of the forest still requires a lot of resources and asked that authorities and the public help preserve the forest for future generations.
