Volunteer and save lives with the Cambodia Clean Water Project
Water-borne illness can be deadly, preventing children from attending school and their parents from working. The Cambodia Clean Water Project prevents illness, saves lives and helps protect livelihoods by giving rural communities access to clean, safe drinking water. If you are looking for volunteer work in Cambodia; this project has a high impact on many communities and villages.
Talk to Chris who lives in Siem Reap and will be happy to help! E-mail me directly at info@globalteer.org or use the contact form below:
Project Overview
Immerse yourself in Khmer culture and volunteer to provide clean, safe water to villages and communities in need. Volunteers build water filters and distribute them to villages surrounding Siem Reap.
Assist the local staff in making the amazing Bio Sand filters! The filters provide years of clean, safe drinking water for villages and saves lives. Volunteer to help provide clean water to villages in need! Live and volunteer in the wonderful town of Siem Reap for a life changing experience!
Volunteer at the Clean Water Project and make a real difference
This volunteer opportunity allows you to make a real, long lasting difference to lives in Cambodia. Gain new skills whilst changing lives by providing access to clean drinking water for those living in poverty. There is still a lack of access to safe water for many people in Cambodia. This causes sanitation and hygiene issue that lead to wide spread sickness. And in many cases disease from water borne illness can be fatal. By providing villages with access to clean water to drink, this reduces the risk of water borne illness and resulting deaths.
You will have the opportunity to learn about a different culture and visit the incredible temples of Angkor Wat. Join us to help at our most popular community volunteer programme in Siem Reap!
The Cambodia Clean Water Project Summary
The Project: The innovative project tackles some of the deadliest symptoms of extreme poverty by addressing one of the root causes; lack of clean drinking water. By giving communities access to clean, disease-free drinking water the risks of illness are significantly reduced.
Project Location: The charming town of Siem Reap in Northern Cambodia; home to the UNESCO world heritage-listed Angkor Wat temple complex. There is an international airport with good connections to the capital Phnom Penh and further afield in Asia. Siem Reap has good range of facilities for visitors; a variety of shops, excellent restaurants, lively & traditional bars and plenty of unique sightseeing opportunities. There are also good medical facilities in the town should you need them.
Main Volunteer Activities: Volunteers work with local Khmer staff on building and installing water filters. Volunteer work also includes assisting with well digging in rural villages. There is also the option to help out in the project's kitchen garden.
Hours: Volunteers work from Mon to Fri for 6 hours a day. Weekends are free for sightseeing, relaxing or travelling through this beautiful and diverse country.
Duration: Volunteer placements are year-round and for 1 to 12 weeks.
Accommodation: Choose from a private ensuite room in a locally owned hotel with outdoor pool. Or upgrade to a more upmarket three star hotel, also with outdoor pool. Both options are centrally located and within walking distance of Globalteer's office.
Volunteer Requirements: Volunteers at this project must be aged 18+ and have a reasonable level of fitness; some of the work can be tiring in the hot and humid climate.
Volunteer Placement Fee: From UK£354 / US$461
Project History
How the project is helping
The project supplies water filters to villagers in need. They also dig wells to find reliable supplies of water that can then be treated in the filters. The bio-sand water filters used by our partner are a low cost way to provide potable water to impoverished areas from any source (i.e.: pump wells, pit wells, rivers, ponds). Sand filters are a relatively new technology to Cambodia, but are highly effective. They are easy to construct with locally available materials, and simple to install and maintain.
Operation and maintenance is simple and within the capabilities of any user. A single filter provides sufficient water fast enough to keep up with a family’s demand. Each filter can filter 50 - 80 litres of water a day. With sufficient manpower and funding there is no limit to the impact of this amazing project.
Why the project need volunteers
To bring clean water and a healthy future to rural village communities across the Siem Reap area; The Cambodia Clean Water Project relies entirely on private donations, grants and volunteer support. Additionally, the more hands there are to do the work the more water filters can be built and installed where they are needed most.
As a volunteer you are very much part of a dedicated team; by sharing the various tasks that go into creating the life-saving filters, you will see the impact of your work almost immediately. This project provides volunteer work in Cambodia for those wishing to make a real impact. Helping provide access to clean water for those living in poverty in Siem Reap you will be making a real difference!
Typical Volunteer Duties
Volunteers spend a minimum of 3 days a week building the filters under the expert supervision of experienced staff at the project HQ. One day a week is spent travelling to local villages to install the filters and instruct villagers on their use. On this day volunteers are required to work a full day.
Volunteers who are prepared to help with the project's market garden are particularly welcome. Produce is grown here and sold to local hotels and restaurants to help provide funding to the project. The work can be physically demanding so a good level of fitness is required for this programme.
Accommodations when you Volunteer in Cambodia with Globalteer
Volunteers with the Cambodia Community Programme can choose from our standard or upgrade accommodations. Both accommodations are located centrally in Siem Reap and are within walking distance of the Globalteer office where you can catch up with our friendly team, make use of our teaching resources or stock up on your free supply of drinking water! They also offer 24-hour security and reception giving volunteers both peace of mind and easy access at all times.
Our Standard Accommodation
Our standard volunteer accommodation is in the popular Cambodian-owned Bou Savy Guest House located close to Globalteer’s offices in Siem Reap. Rooms are single occupancy or can be shared if volunteers are travelling together.
Volunteer rooms are clean and comfortable, each with hot water, ensuite toilet and shower. The rooms have fans but can be upgraded to air conditioning for a daily fee. Cable TV is available in all rooms with channels in English, and each room has a small fridge for storing cold drinks and snacks. The guest house also has several larger air-con rooms which are assigned on a first-come first-served basis to guests who pay the additional fee for air conditioning. Make sure you specify if you would like an aircon room when you apply.
The guest house has a bar area and restaurant, all set in lovely leafy grounds. Globalteer volunteers also have use of our very own social area - just right for a drink and snack after a long day working at your project. There is also a small pool for that refreshing end of day dip!
There are also plenty of Khmer restaurants near the guest house if you fancy "going local" in the evenings. Free WiFi internet is available in rooms and in communal areas. We also have a team of friendly and reliable tuk-tuk drivers on hand with specially negotiated rates should you need transport at any time.
Our Upgrade Accommodation
We know that some volunteers prefer a few more creature comforts when they get to the end of a long, hard day working at their project. To be honest, if you are generous enough to donate your time and money to volunteer with us, then you deserve to be as comfortable as possible during your placement!
Upgrade volunteer rooms are located in the modern G&Z Urban Hotel situated on the Siem Reap River, just a 4-minute walk to Pub Street and within walking distance to Globalteer’s offices. They offer a higher standard of comfort and more facilities for volunteers who don’t mind paying a little extra. Rooms are spacious with large beds, cable TV, free wi-fi, in-room safe, tea and coffee making facilities and a mini bar. The rooms have modern en-suite bathrooms that are spotlessly clean. Air-conditioning comes as standard – there are no surcharges to pay here. Rooms also offer a desk which is convenient for planning your volunteer sessions or writing postcards and journal entries. You will also receive bathrobes and slippers, a perfect way to relax after a day working at your project!
The hotel has a beautiful swimming pool and poolside bar and a restaurant which serves free breakfast, lunch and dinner, with a good variety of reasonably priced Cambodian and international dishes. There is an on-site business center if you require some computer time. Spa services are available if your muscles really need some therapy after a day in the field!
Free Time in Siem Reap and Cambodia
Our team in Siem Reap are all very well travelled throughout the country and further afield in Southeast Asia; they can offer plenty of travel tips. There are lots of options for weekends in Siem Reap as well as for travel before or after your placement. Here are just a few of Cambodia’s treasures to whet your appetite.
Siem Reap
Angkor Wat and the temple complexes
Visitors come to Siem Reap to visit the temples of Angkor. There are over 100 temples scattered in the area in various states of decay. Some in overgrown jungle, some on lakes. Rest assured everyone leaves with their own personal favourite temple!
Some people visit for one day to see the main attractions. But we would recommend 3 days exploring the temples to get a much better overview of this incredible period in Cambodian history. On arrival in Siem Reap our friendly staff can advise the best ways and times to visit the temples.
Tonle Sap Lake
Tonle Sap is the largest fresh water lake in Southeast Asia and an attraction in its own right. About 10km form Siem Reap, the lake stretches almost as far as the country's capital Phnom Penh. Its size varies enormously between the wet and dry seasons. Half the year the waters flow into the lake from the river Mekong and for the rest of the year the waters flow in the other direction; giving the lake a unique ecosystem.
Boat trips on the lake are very popular and you can visit lake the famous floating villages and stilt villages. Orginally home to refugees, they have grown into entire communities with schools, shops and houses sitting directly on or over the water. Also venture further to see the wildlife sanctuary which is home to several species of endangered birds. You can also take a kayak through the famous sunken forests.
Further Afield
For a small country Cambodia has a lot to offer those who have time to travel further afield.
Phonm Penh is a short flight away or 6-8 hours by road and is home to many popular attractions. The magnificent Royal Palace and the restaurants and bars along Sisowath Quay are on every vistor's list. There are also more sombre sites of S-21 prison and the Killing fields; reminders of Cambodia's tragic past and the genocide under the Khmer Rouge Regime.
In the south of the country you will find the laid back coastal towns of Kampot and Kep. As well as the lively beach resort of Sihanoukville. There are some lovely unspolit islands where you can kick back and recharge your batteries. You will also find jungles, forests and the wildlife havens of The Cardamom Mountains. Buses and internal flights from Siem Reap airport make getting around easy and relatively cheap.
For those who have time there are also regular direct flights from Siem Reap to other must-see Southeast Asian destinations: such as Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore as well as long distance buses.
Fee Options
Base Donation
The base donation for volunteering is where all money received goes to the charity, our charitable activities, charity partners and supporting volunteers in country. Your daily transport to the project is also included.
Standard Package
The standard package fee includes everything in the base donation. Plus standard hotel accommodation & private airport collection.
Standard Package plus AirCon
The standard hotel does not include air-conditioning but this can be added on. We recommend that you book this early as their are limited number of air-con rooms.
Upgrade Hotel
Volunteers can also choose to upgrade their accommodation to a hotel. This includes more facilities, larger rooms and air-conditioning. Accommodations are carefully selected by our team in Cambodia for their great locations, suitability for volunteers and value for money.
| British Pounds £ | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks | Base Donation | Standard Package | Standard + AirCon | Upgrade hotel |
| 1 | £354 | £413 | £445 | £536 |
| 2 | £470 | £588 | £652 | £833 |
| 3 | £586 | £762 | £859 | £1,130 |
| 4 | £701 | £937 | £1,065 | £1,427 |
| Extra weeks | £115 | £174 | £207 | £297 |
| United States Dollars USD$ | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks | Base Donation | Standard Package | Standard + AirCon | Upgrade hotel |
| 1 | $461 | $536 | $578 | $696 |
| 2 | $611 | $762 | $846 | $1,081 |
| 3 | $761 | $988 | $1,114 | $1,467 |
| 4 | $912 | $1,214 | $1,382 | $1,853 |
| Extra weeks | $151 | $226 | $268 | $385 |
Siem Reap Accommodation questions
Financial Transparency
As a UK registered Charity, Globalteer is completely financially transparent to you, our donors. You can therefore see a full breakdown of where your money goes and our independently audited accounts by clicking below:
To discover why you should consider choosing Globalteer, please visit the following page:
Why do we charge a fee for volunteering?
Globalteer requests a donation from volunteers to allow us to achieve our charitable objectives and support our partner programmes. In return, Globalteer provides volunteers with an amazing, responsible and ethical volunteer experience and in-country support from the Globalteer team in Cambodia. Ensuring that your placement is responsible as well as rewarding, safe and enjoyable takes a good deal of work.
A summary of Globalteer’s total expenditure for the last financial year is shown below:
Donations and Grants 60% – This includes a share of volunteer placement fees, grants we have secured for our projects and donations managed by Globalteer that are made by individuals and groups to our projects and partner projects.
Support Costs 29% – This includes volunteer accommodation, volunteer transport, support staff costs, travel costs and some volunteer meals.
Operational Costs 11% – Costs of running Globalteer.
What’s Included
√ In-country support from Globalteer staff.
√ Daily transport to and from the project location.
√ Cambodia orientation guide and arrival induction.
√ Free town tour.
√ All necessary project equipment and materials.
√ All necessary project training by Globalteer staff.
√ Free Globalteer water bottle and welcome pack.
√ Project donation.
With the Full Package
√ Free airport pick up from Siem Reap airport.
√ Accommodation at a comfortable hotel with pool.
What’s not included
- Flights
- Medical and travel insurance
- Vaccinations and inoculations
- Onward transport at the end of your placement
- Police or background check (where necessary)
What do everyday items cost?
The official currency of Cambodia is the Riel, however, all shops and market stalls accept US$ and you may be given small change in local currency ($1 = 4000 Riels). Be aware that dollar bills with any tears or markings are generally not accepted. ATMs dispense cash in US$. The cost of living in Cambodia is very low compared to most countries in the developed world. The costs of some typical items are:
- Short journey by tuk-tuk - $1 to $2
- Meal in a market - $1
- Bottle of soft drink - $0.50 to $1
- Draft beer - $0.50 to $2
- Meal in a restaurant - $4 to $25
“The progress you make in only 2 weeks can benefit numerous communities for generations ”
Yasmeen, Student, Australia
Volunteer rated at
(4.4 / 5)
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Volunteering with Globalteer at Picaflor House was an incredible experience - everything was well organised from day one and any... read more special requirements were met with ease. I can fully recommend volunteering with them to anyone who wishes to spend their time and energy on a worthwhile charity project! read less
Hannah Verity Stone 6/30/2017
I had the amazing opportunity to volunteer with Globalteer at the Northern Thailand Elephant Sanctuary! It was amazing being at... read more this sanctuary and if you love being outdoors with animals then I highly recommend this one. One of the best things about this sanctuary is that you can stay overnight! It is incredible to see the elephants before you turn in for the night and then watch them get bathed in the morning as you eat your breakfast. This trip was very well organized by Globalteer. The sanctuary is small but it gives you the chance to really see the animals in their natural habitat. You can participate in feedings and sit in bungalows out in the jungle and just watch these magnificent creatures. Meals are filling and delicious and I highly recommend staying for a few nights. read less
Kayla Lynne Kiteley 1/25/2018
I absolutely loved my time volunteering in Cambodia with Globalteer! I worked at Helping Hands School in a rural... read more village outside of Siem Reap--very different from my native New York City. Globalteer representatives Jillian and Theavy worked with me to find a placement that allowed me to use my skill set. I am a School Librarian, and I was able to start a lending library with books that had been donated by students at my school in New York. I also assisted with English classes. The Globalteer staff was supportive, and the students and teachers were absolutely amazing. It was a life-changing experience for me, one that I will never forget. read less
Ann Quinlivan 5/31/2018
