Home of the Tribes

Ratanakiri province is the home of many of Cambodia’s indigenous minority groups. Groups like the Krung, Brou, Kavet, Kachok, Jorai, Tumpuen, and Bunong (Phnong) live and work and die in this province. The largest tribal groups in the province by population are the:

1. Jorai 30,000
2. Tumpuen 30,000
3. Krung 20,000
4. Brou 7,000
5. Kavet 3,000
6. Kachok 1,500

These tribal groups are mostly rice farmers, either working their rice paddies, or growing upland rice using slash and burn agriculture methods. They are also Animists, not Buddhists, and have a very different worldview from their Khmer neighbors.

OMF is currently doing Bible teaching and leadership development with the Krung and Brou groups. There are many challenges to working with the tribal minorities in Ratanakiri. Low rates of literacy, extreme poverty, drunkenness, spirit worship, remote villages, small percentage able to speak Khmer fluently, and the most challenging of all, most do not have access to the Bible in their own heart language (only the Krung has Bible portions).

In addition, the one resource that the people have is wanted by the lowland Khmer, namely their land. Many tribal villages are being uprooted from their land due to concessions to big companies.

In spite of all of this (or perhaps because of this), God is working very powerfully in drawing the tribal peoples to Himself.