At our first visit of the villages the site of the sleepy area around the village pagoda caught our eye.  Cambodians normally reinvest and put  much effort into their temples most willingly.

Aside to the systematic demolition of buddhist temples under the Khmer Rouge era these beautiful wooden pagodas are gradually replaced by ornated buildings made of concrete, since these seem to be more stable and are considered as "more beautiful".

The appealingly old pagoda had such power of attraction that we clearly felt sure to preserve and restore this precious piece. Together with the villagers we want to give the entablature a new look by giving it a new painting and getting a grip of the the worm damage.

After an official inquiry of agreement for a restauration we even got to know about the meaningful coming into existence of this sacred site:

"About hundred years ago a monk called So Buddh used to live in Roveang. Every day he would visit the poorly Khum Rohas to finally settle down under a tree where he used to have his meal at noon time. Then he would bide there awhile resting or in meditation. So he didn't slip the fact that the inhabitants always suffered water deficiency in dry seasons.

The spot where he always used to stay at was at the base of the mountain Ge. Hence he had observed all the changes throughout the year and had also noticed that in rainy season much water ran down the mountain right in front of his meditation ground.

On a hot day in a rainless time of the year he began to heap up a dike and invited the villagers to  follow his example. The whole Khum worked at this dike in hope not to suffer from the dryness as much as before.

As rainy season started the trough in front of the dike filled up with water. Far above the hoped for measure a new lake was born. The villagers were so thankful that they built a small cot for the monk at his favourite place, which was behind the dike of the lake. Later they added a sala to be able to listen to his teachings. About twenty years after his death this wooden pagoda was erected in his honour and until today it reminds of the wise help of the monk So Buddh."

The little lake behind the 70 -year-old wooden pagoda fills up every year again.