Trailblazer founders, Scott and Chris Coats are heading back to Cambodia on November 11th for another season! There is a lot of new exciting developments taking place with the Trailblazer Foundation, we are expanding our bio-sand water filter operations to Battambang, about 4 hours South-West of Siem Reap to address the clean water needs in that area.  We have been asked by the ministry of education to help build a kindergarten for a women’s development center in Ankgor Thom Province.  This is the first government initiative of its kind, and we are honored to have been asked. That says  alot about our reputation on the ground. Stay tuned for more….

Trailblazer Foundation is getting some national attention in Cambodia for its work in rural villages.  After 4 years and 3 schools, word is getting out about the work Trailblazers is doing in this amazing country.

A great article was printed in the Phnom Penh Post today (3.26.09) about the construction of the school in Ta Trav.  Read it here!

Here’s the best part:

‘The current school building has been housing 340 students, but this recently swelled to 478 after construction work closed the  school in neighbouring Bos Ta Trav village. The new Ta Trav school building will be able to accommodate  the maximum number of students permitted by the government, which is 40 students per classroom for two sessions per day.’

Trailblazer Foundation has just gotten hipper. 

We have joined the online network wonder that is facebook. 

Check it out for some fun photos, and great updates from the field!

Just click on the logo below!

The Trailblazer Foundation Facebook Page

Just down the road from Sras village is a smaller village called Ta Trav.  This is where Trailblazers are setting our focus for the next year starting now!

The children of  Ta Trav village will be able to begin school this fall thanks to a new 6-classroom primary school that will be finished this May!  Trailblazers broke ground in January and the villagers have all assisted in the construction, the school is probably going to be finished ahead of schedule because of their exhuberance. 

 This new school is the 3rd school that Trailblazer Foundation has been able to help construct in Siem Reap Province since 2007.  The success of this school’s existence is due to generous donations from the British School of Beijing and the Cambodian Landmine Musuem Foundation Fund, and the villagers – most importantly the children- of  Ta Trav village are eternally grateful.  Approximately 300 more children will now have the opportunity to get an education.

Eight students from Jackson Hole High School Interact Group will be taking a trip to Cambodia in April.   They will be getting some volunteer experience at the Trailblazer water filter site, and will do arts and crafts projects with the Sras village students.  We’ll keep you posted on their trip here on the Trailblazer Blog.

                                   Jackson Hole Interact Group

Here’s some updates from the field as of Jan 26th, 2008:

Installing first pump well in rural village of Sras, Angkor Thom District, 2005

The community leaders of Angkor Thom district have requested that we provide assistance to the villages of Preah Koh Chas and Kokkak. These villages have a low level of access to potable water, and desire wells and filters. Preah Kos Chas is actually two villages: part of the population moved away from the original site during the civil war and never returned, so we will be dealing with a total of three villages: Kokkak, Preah Koh Chas 1 and Preah Koh Chas 2.

Our proposal for each village is as follows: 10 pump wells, 5 pit wells and 20 filters.

This project is due to start in March/April.

 Rather than focusing so heavily on filters, it has been decided that TF will initiate training/recruitment of well-digging staff to assist us in some of our projects.  We have used a reliable contractor for two years, but he cannot travel long distances to establish one or two wells, as it is financially impractical to do so. We propose to use our established crew in Sras village to undertake local work that they find accessible, and use them to train our own crew who will travel further afield when we accumulate enough orders. This will provide local people with new skill sets and jobs, therefore enhancing the community. It will also enable Trailblazer to drill and install wells regularly and when they are requested.

Scott and Robert arrived safely back in the U.S. Saturday evening, Mr. Minton will stay in S.E. Asia for the rest of this month.  There is a lot of momentum for our 2008 projects and everyone is excited about the difference Trailblazer is making!

There will be a group from Jackson Hole High School Interact visiting Cambodia in April, so keep checking with us for that exciting trip!

Thanks for reading!

Erin : )

Hi there fellow Trailblazers!

The visit to Sras Village Jan 18th was heartwarming and productive.  The footings for the new school building are almost complete, and all of the children enjoyed seeing themselves in the Trailblazer 2008 Calendar. (You can still gets your today!) Below is Uhra,in the middle,  seeing herself on the April page.

The new water lab is being planned with our Field Director Ben, our goal is to have it complete by March to start testing! The water filter production warehouse in Siem Reap is busy and operating well with a constant flow of volunteers and donations.  Thank you all for your support there in Siem Reap!

Trailblazer Founder, Scott Coats (pictured above on the right) had an interview with The New York Times on Sunday, so be on the lookout for that article.

Please feel free to leave your own comments and/ or experiences below and keep in touch with us, we’d love to hear from you.

Peace,

Erin : )

Hello friends!

I hope you are all having a prosperous new year!  We voted in another new board member at our first meeting of the year, Mr. James Minton, specializing in alternative energy power systems.  He is a great addition and we are so happy to have him working with us!  He is also over in Cambodia right now working with Trailblazer Founder, Scott Coats and our Denver based board member, Robert Youngberg to build a facility to test the water from the bio-sand water filters.  This will be an important resource for us to make sure the filters we install continue to produce clean water for families in rural Cambodia.

Scott, Robert, and James will be heading out to Sras village to check on the construction of the new classroom building sometime next week and take some photos – so then we can keep you all updated on that great project! For more information on our water projects, visit the “Water Projects” tab on our website and find out how you can help to provide clean water for several families. 

Erin Youngberg

Trailblazer VP

Welcome to the new Trailblazer Foundation blog! 

We are starting the new year off with some great news!  We have our 2008 calendar showcasing the first-time-art project of the children of Sras Village in Siem Reap, Cambodia.  The calendars are $18 (that includes shipping) and all proceeds go directly to water projects in rural Cambodia. You can buy one hassle-free from our website with PayPal or a credit card, check it out!

Trailblazer Founder and Project Director, Scott Coats left this morning (1/8/08) at 7:30am for a 1 month visit to the worksite in Siem Reap.  One of the main goals of the visit is to set up a water testing facility to test water from the bio-sand filters that have been installed so far by Trailblazer Foundation.

He will be joined by Trailblazer Board member, Robert Youngberg next week for the groundbreaking of the NEW Sras Village CLASSROOM!!!! With a grant from the British School of Beijing, there will be a 2nd 4-room classroom built next to the classroom Trailblazer aided construction of in 2006.

                  We’ll keep you updated on their trip, thanks for tuning in!!

Erin Youngberg

Trailblazer VP