A drawn conversation with Tchaw Monorom, the founder of Leng Dei, a sustainable garden project in Phnom Penh.
Monorom began by organising workshops for students, workers, and gardeners, encouraging people to get their hands dirty and discover how alive our soil truly is. When nature is allowed to fulfil its function, a new understanding of responsibility emerges. Through sustainable waste management, people can compost at home and transform their kitchen waste into valuable soil.
A small plot of her family's land is intended to become a compost museum and garden-cum-farm, providing a space to experience and understand ecological processes — for example, how plants grow into the food we consume. The garden is also envisaged as a venue for film and documentary screenings on ecological themes.
At the heart of her vision are fun, quality of life, and environmental education. Life is one entity — everything is connected. The economy should reflect this interconnectedness and evolve into something fundamentally different from what it is today.
Cambodia, January 2026