About Me
Hello! My name is Raksmey and I am your incense crafter.
It all started when I was a little girl living in Han Chey village at the foot of Han Chey mountain near the Mekong River in Kampong Cham Province, Cambodia.
(On the right, age 11)
I am the youngest of 7 children born on the floor of our wooden house to a family of farmers.
(Room of my home we all share)
(My home from the front)
(Our kitchen)
When I was not in school I would spend my time helping at the house or helping my father at the farm.
(Me on my motorbike at the farm)
We didn't have a lot of money but we had a lot of love and hard work. A lot of laughing! My father had a great sense of humor.
Being in Han Chey village near the Han Chey mountain and close to the Mekong River put our home in an interesting place. Tourists from America and Europe would take boat tours of the Mekong river. They would stop near my village and travel to the top of Han Chey mountain. I loved to meet the western people who would give me candy and teach me how to speak English. Sometimes they would give me money but my father would not allow it. He told me that if I want to make money I must give them something for the money.
So, I would take fruits from our farm or coconuts and bring them to the top of the mountain to sell them to tourists. There at the top of the mountain was an old Buddhist temple which the tourists would visit.
(Wat Han Chey)
Beautiful and sweet old women would make incense using ingredients from the rainforest near the mountain. They are similar to nuns in the Christian faith. The tourists would love to photograph them and ask to buy the incense. But, the incense was not for sale.
One day I asked one of the women who was always very sweet to me if I can learn to make incense and sell it to the tourists. I would perform tasks for them and bring them water or rice. I would help them clean and even started to learn enough English to translate for them when the tourists asked questions.
Eventually the women taught me the ancient tradition of making incense with dried plants. This method is very old and originates in Tibet.
Once I learned to make the incense I would sell 10 sticks for $0.25 to the tourists. I made good money and my father was proud that I was selling the incense instead of getting free money. It also made me very social and open minded. I fell in love with western culture and food.
Lets fast forward here. Sorry, I don't have a lot of photos because we didn't have the money for a camera.
I graduated from high school. Only 2 of the 7 sisters and brothers graduated. Of course, I decided to study English and go to university. I did not want to be a farmer and I wanted to escape my village.
After university I moved to Siem Reap to join the tourist industry. I worked in hotels, restaurants, and applied to be a tour guide. I made my parents very nervous but they trusted me and even when times got hard and they asked me to come back home, I refused and pushed forward.
In 2017 I met a man from America while I was living in Siem Reap. He was touring Cambodia and we had nice long conversations. We couldn't stop talking to each other! He was a gentleman and he had a good sense of humor like my father.
In 2018 he came back. This time he was touring Vietnam and he invited me to join him. So I did! We had an amazing week together in Vietnam.
(David and I in Halong Bay, Vietnam)