Community Development in Rural Cambodia

Trailblazer Foundation works with the poorest communities in Cambodia's Siem Reap province, location of the world-renowned Angkor Wat. Without technical and financial support, these village communities cannot develop beyond a level of subsistence, and remain in a state of poverty where survival is a struggle. 

Trailblazer is most well known for helping our partner villages secure clean and abundant water. For each of more than 50 villages, we start by helping the community to dig wells and construct water filters. In addition to pure and plentiful water, these villages also need ample food to feed their families, good education facilities for their children, and opportunities to make a living. 

Our four program areas—health, food security, education, and economic development—represent a well-rounded strategy for not just giving our partner communities a proverbial fish, but helping them learn how to live in ways that are self-sustaining.  

With our headquarters in the United States, we are officially recognized by the IRS as a U.S. 501(c)(3) nonprofit. clean water

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Your generous gift will help us fund our mission to help those in rural Cambodia. Together, we can make a difference.

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Our Programs

Health Program

Abundant water with a pull pump well.

The Buddha once said: “Without health, life is not life; it is only a state of languor and suffering.” 

Trailblazer Foundation’s  Health Program focuses on providing clean water, by working with partner villages to dig wells, construct bio-sand water filters, and build latrines — a critical step in advancing rural community health.

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Food Security Program

Compost and Agriculture Training

Malnutrition is a leading cause of sickness and death in Cambodia. To counter this, Trailblazer first builds wells so villagers can irrigate gardens or create fish ponds for improving their food supply. Next, we provide training on best agricultural and aquaculture practices—knowledge gained from our agricultural research test plots.​ 

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Education Program

Beng School Construction, 6 rooms

One way to break the cycle of poverty is to give children the opportunity to go to school. Since its inception in 2004, Trailblazer Foundation has built six schools and two libraries. Trailblazer reduces another barrier to education: transportation. We provide hundreds of bicycles to our partner villages so students can travel to school.  

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Economic Development

Micro Loans

Trailblazer has learned that one of the greatest challenges to economic development is access to capital. Even small amounts of funding can help start a new business, or turn a craft into an income. Our 
Village Fund process enables villagers to start or grow a business through a village-owned and managed microfinance program.  

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Introductory Video

Trailblazer Foundation's introductory video, which tells the story of our work in Cambodia's Siem Reap province, where we are developing ripples of sustainability through community water projects.   Trailblazer is extremely grateful to Ysabel King for producing this video. Ysabel is a graduate of the Film and Digital Media Master's Program at the University of California, Santa Cruz.   She  worked her magic with what we gave her.   We hope you enjoy the results as much as we do. 

Volunteering in Cambodia

We welcome individuals interested in volunteering, interning and fundraising.

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