Past Explorations

Blood Donation
This team worked on creating an app that will bridge the gap between tourists who want to donate blood + the organizations that can make that happen; they also worked with the National Blood Transfusion Center to redesign their website (dormant since 2018); finally, they worked on hosting a blood drive at Liger as a pilot — what is effective in changing people’s attitudes toward voluntary blood donation? they also gathered data on people’s ideas on why they do or do not donate; they’ve had several conversations with doctors, NGOs, and others associated with blood donation to get their perspective.

University Support Platform
Students worked to create a Facebook-based university support platform for students in Grades 11-12 who are looking to go to university in Cambodia, but don’t know where to start; a hub of resources that they can use to discover different options like schools and majors; including videos with student interviews.

Anti-Bullying Workshop
Students worked on modifying an existing workshop outline, keeping the best parts and including new ideas; their product is several videos using animation (no real actors), an informational poster and a code of behavior suggested to school admin — all of these products can be packaged in connection with the workshop, and given to World Renew and other NGOs for distribution.

Frisbee Handbook and Videos
Finalization of a guidebook for teaching ultimate frisbee in Khmer; also making a series of short how-to videos (25-30 seconds) to be accessed via QR codes inserted into the manual; for public school teachers to better understand how to integrate ultimate into their PE curriculums.

Outdoor Leadership
Students learned critical outdoor leadership and survival skills to gain environmental awareness and appreciation, develop risk management and emergency response strategies, and build physical and emotional resilience in the outdoors through collaboration, problem-solving, and stewardship. This was a preparatory class for the development of a packaged and distributable outdoor leadership course, to be given to other classes in schools around Phnom Penh and Cambodia. The Exploration is intended to teach young learners about outdoor leadership roles, how to live and travel in the outdoors, and become stewards for natural spaces in Cambodia.

Core Value Books for Children
Students planned, wrote, illustrated, and designed their own English and Khmer children’s books, one for each of Liger’s six core values. As part of the process, students reviewed literary devices, learned how to analyze children’s literature, learned the makings of a good story, practiced illustrating in different mediums, and employed book design principles. Students also learned the benefits of reading at a young age.

Foldscope
This Exploration was a component of a Senior’s individualized impact project. The members of this group were divided into three teams: video creation, research and development, and school partnership. The video team was tasked with creating three videos, all in Khmer, about how to assemble Foldscope, a low-cost microscope, how to create sample slides, and a general info video about the device. The workshop team planned the overarching workshop structure, which included the videos, and the school partnership group worked to secure a partner with which to pilot the workshops.

ILO Collaboration
In collaboration with the United Nations’ International Labor Organization (ILO), students worked to adapt and modify modules created by the ILO for corporate level training for Cambodians. Students customized the existing material for a Cambodian audience. These training modules will be offered to select high schools and universities in Cambodia as Liger students monitor the engagement with these modules.

Geography Book
The 420-page student-written, student-published book “The Geography of Cambodia” took more than 18 months to complete – involving 4200 hours of research, 3150 hours of design, 1848 hours of editing, 5560 hours of revision, and a visit to all 25 provinces and cities around Cambodia. The book is intended to be a reliable and credible source of information about the geographical diversity of the Kingdom of Cambodia.

Health Promotion
In this Exploration, Liger students collaborated with students from the NGO World Renew to explore ideas and pathways of how to execute a community project. The students conducted a workshop for 40 youth from four different Cambodian provinces. After the pilot workshop, World Renew students were able to lead workshops in their own communities in the four provinces and expand the impact of the project.

Frisbee League Pioneers
The goal of this Exploration was to create the first Cambodian frisbee league that is replicable and scalable, enabling empowerment of rural girls in Cambodia, and challenging female stereotyping through facilitation of a more gender-equitable environment.

Khmer Sight Foundation
Liger students assisted an NGO, the Khmer Sight Foundation, with pre- and post-op eye testing and documenting patient experiences so that anxiety can be reduced among those in need of surgery.

Liger Edge
Liger Edge is a student-run digital platform for young inspired writers. Their mission is to deliver thought-provoking, interesting, and relevant articles each week. The students are dedicated to cultivating a culture of reading, writing, and critical thinking at Liger and beyond. They hope to provide a medium of change for youth to share their stories through writing.

Hydroponics
To assist with food production for rural families, students created a hydroponics system at Liger. This involved engineering, designing, and figuring out the economics with the ultimate goal of recreating a viable system in local communities.

Sustainable Farming
Students learned about sustainable practices in farming and put this knowledge to good use at the NGO Camkids’ garden. They identified a need for soil testing to help make their soil replacement more sustainable and created a soil testing kit that can be distributed and utilized widely throughout Cambodia. Additionally, Liger students became registered contributors of Open Development Cambodia and visited local farms to help give more information to ODC.

Traditional Foods
Students explored how food plays a role in culture and the passing down of recipes and restaurants generationally. They produced blogs, videos and photo essays, and published these online.

App Development
Students worked to further three apps that were developed in previous Explorations – Tos Tov, IMEX, and Liger Digital Currency. By the end of the project, the students presented their progress on the apps, and the steps planned to move forward with development in the future.

Journeys of Change Bike Tour Business
Students utilized their past knowledge of business planning and implementation to develop their own bike tour business, named Journeys of Change. It was developed into a successful enterprise that ran bi-monthly tours.

Dengue Fever
Students investigated the incidence of dengue fever in Cambodia – identifying factors for its recent outbreak, health effects, and ways to reduce transmission and increase healthy practices. Students partnered with local and international health organisations to help educate public populations about dengue fever risks and prevention in Cambodia. The Exploration culminated with a formal risk analysis of dengue fever incidence and transmission in the Ta Khmao neighborhood, with recommendations for transmission prevention.

Solar Pi 2
Students planned, researched, installed and monitored two computer labs in government schools. One is run on solar power and the other is connected to the grid. Students worked in collaboration with the Ministry of Education Youth and Sport; Edemy, a company which provides English software; and NRG Community Solar, a solar company. This project is working on the Cambodian government’s initiatives to bring STEM education and English to low income government schools.

Zoonotics – Rabies
Students conducted an investigative analysis of different zoonotic pathogens and disease incidence throughout Cambodia. They conducted research on prevalent zoonotic diseases, prevention and control methods, and the success of and challenges facing current public health campaigns. After receiving training, students partnered with Animal Rescue Cambodia to vaccinate dogs and cats and implant microchips in animals using pagodas local to Liger as gathering places.

Diggin’ up Dinos: Discovering Dinosaurs in Northern Cambodia
Students used investigative and paleontological research methods, networking and communication skills and public education/outreach strategies to determine the existence of dinosaurs in Northern Cambodia. Students investigated the natural and evolutionary history of dinosaurs in Southeast Asia.

To Spray or Not To Spray
Students learned about the chemical, physical and biological hazards to human health. They studied the health consequences of human-environment interaction. By researching the chemical sprayed on the Liger campus, students compared the health hazards of spraying or not spraying pesticides.

Creating Curriculum for Bambujaya School
Bambujaya (BBJ) is a privately funded school in Cambodia which aims to teach the government school curriculum in a more dynamic, activity-based way. Students were hired as consultants by the founder of BBJ to create supplemental activities for the Khmer Grade 3 curriculum. In this Exploration, students played a critical role in developing ideas to add value to government schools and improve the government school curriculum.

Liger Digital Currency
Students designed and implemented a system for transferring currency digitally between Liger students and staff. While building their programming skills, students were challenged to view the project as a system of many interconnected parts. Students were responsible for communicating the progress of their team to the Exploration as a whole, as well as educating the Liger community about the currency and how to use it.

Entrepreneurship: Waste Management
Students approached the problem of waste management in the local community from a business perspective. The first group surveyed the community and put together a feasibility study for a waste disposal start-up, the second group worked the feasibility study into a business plan, the third group attempted community outreach and began developing compost recipes, and the last group finalized the business plan, perfected the compost recipe and tumblers and targeted the local community to find people willing to implement the students’ composting ideas.

Game Design
Students applied design theory to create a dynamic board game that addresses issues pertinent to Cambodia. Students researched causes/ effects/ micro-solutions of climate change to build into the theme of the existing game. Students collaborated with local educators to integrate the government school curriculum into the game “packs” and trialed the game with local students at varied levels in local schools. They also connected with graphic artists, manufacturers, and 3D printers on the concept art and design for the game.  Then students examined each part of the game and found the fastest, least expensive way to manufacture 500 game sets while still keeping the components to a decent quality.

Lucky Iron Fish
Students worked in conjunction with the Song-saa Foundation and the Lucky Iron Fish organization to research anemia in Cambodia. Students used the Iron Fish product in experiments, testing variables like time spent in the water and temperature of the water to come up with the perfect plan for users of the fish. They finally conducted four presentations to local communities about the symptoms and prevention of anemia.

Preventative Health
This Exploration focused on dental health and diabetes, researched the Khmer diet and the negative effects of sugar, heard from three unique speakers about various components of preventative health, presented about dental hygiene and the dangers of too much sugar, and created workshops on these topics to present to communities on the island of Song-saa.

Advanced Robotics (VEX)
A team participated in the VEX robotics competition in Taipei. Ten students were broken into three groups: robotics, fundraising and website design. Students recorded personal video messages to potential donors and launched a student-coded website. On the technical side, students constructed their own robot after trials and practice with a model robot. Through a crowdfunding platform, students raised money to finance their trip.

Climate Summit
Students applied their understanding of the causes of climate change, analyzed climate change policy, designed a Climate Summit, and invited and hosted students from other schools for the Summit which was held on the LLA campus.

Filmmaking in Government Schools
Students delivered a crash course in filmmaking to two groups of government school students; after learning and practicing technical skills, the government school students produced two short films, which were entered into a youth film festival organized by Liger students.

Cambodian Geology
Students traveled to the provinces to learn about the various geological properties of their country with the support of a visiting American expert. Students created an open informational social media platform to share their knowledge and encourage other Cambodians to show interest in their country’s unique geology.

Hidden Voices: Lost Music in Cambodia
With a long history of oral tradition and the loss of so many Cambodians during the Khmer Rouge era, students visited with, interviewed and recorded village elders’ songs in Kampong Speu and Mondulkiri provinces to help preserve Cambodia’s past for future generations. Students created a blog and a podcast, and were also featured in a documentary for a partner organization, Cambodia Sings!

Phnong Indigenous Community
As part of a study of one of Cambodia’s indigenous populations which is diminishing and could be lost, students spent time living with the Phong Indigenous Community, documenting their traditions and taking photos. Students then created a book of color photos and all their research. Click on the link below to view the ebook:

Click Here To View The Student Book

Entrepreneurship
Students were broken up into four groups, all of which participated in activities regarding entrepreneurship and alleviating poverty through financial literacy (a+b=3 curriculum). Together, they created, marketed and tried to sell an original chili sauce. The first group focused on the initial stages of a business plan and recipe development; the second group modified and perfected the recipe and business plan and worked on supply chain issues in order to minimize production costs; the third group partnered with an advertising firm abroad to design the label and researched possible places for the product to be sold in Phnom Penh; and the final group focused on developing a projected budget (annual cost and start-up cost) and finalized the packaging, taste and name of the sauce.

Project Based Learning in Cambodia (for the Ministry of Education)
Our students were given the challenge of designing an experiment to incorporate project based learning into two secondary government schools based on the government’s goal of incorporating project based learning throughout the country. Liger students developed several units including a grade 10 history unit and a grade 9 earth science unit. Our students not only designed the units, but also developed and implemented the professional development for the government school teachers. The teachers conducted their units with their government school students with Liger students providing consulting assistance.

STEM Curriculum Design (for Ministry of Education)
Improving science, technology, engineering, and math is a major focus for the Cambodian Ministry of Education. Liger students were asked to assist the Ministry in developing lessons related to STEM in government secondary schools. Our students designed several creative, hands-on STEM units of study for grades 9 and 10 that were practical and cost-efficient. In addition, Liger students prepared and conducted teacher training for the units in two Cambodian secondary schools – one urban and one rural. The curriculum was then tested in both schools by the Cambodian teachers with our students helping along the way.

Program Evaluation
LLA hired an external consultancy firm to independently evaluate the success of a project based learning initiative developed and implemented by LLA students for Cambodian government schools. Five LLA students worked with the consultancy firm to learn how to professionally evaluate a project and write up supporting reports.

3D Design in Public Schools
Students worked on developing a 3D design curriculum that could be easily pushed out to Cambodian public schools.  A decision was made as to which 3D design software package would be suitable for government school computers, depending on the hardware available.  Once the software package was selected, students started to learn how to use the software package and then develop video tutorials to teach what they learned.

Tech Support for NGO’s in Cambodia
Working in conjunction with an IB school in Singapore, students honed advanced tech skills (hardware and software) in order to offer tech support to NGOs and Liger. After building skills, students solved technical problems for local Cambodian NGOs, including Tiny Toones and Green Umbrella.

Ecotourism
Students collaborated with an ecotourism community in Koh Kong province to assess the local population’s commitment to the program and tried to elevate their profile nationally and internationally.

Entrepreneurship: 3D Printing
Students learned about basic business concepts (product design, prototyping, marketing) and worked in teams to design and 3D print small products; from a business card holder to a child-friendly clothes hook, students saw their products through from ideation to manufacture to selling.

Animal Guide
LLA worked in collaboration with “Art in a Box”, a New York based 501(c)3 non-profit organization, to create a book on Cambodian Wildlife, depicting 87 different Cambodian species and 7 ecosystems. The book is believed to be the first of its kind here in Cambodia. As well as being distributed to government schools throughout the country at the behest of the Minister for Education, Youth and Sport, the book is also available at a leading bookstore in Phnom Penh and at the airports in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap.

Cambodian Economy
Students studied the basics of how their economy works and researched the major sectors of Cambodia’s economy including agriculture, tourism, construction, and the garment industry. Using a combination of their research and in-person interviews, the students wrote, designed, laid out, and published a dual-language book about the major sectors of their country’s economy. The books were then donated via the Ministry of Education and are also on sale at major bookstores in Cambodia.

Hand-painted Bag Business
Students met with representatives from the business sector and the art sector — looking at the process of making bags, including difficulties, and discussed possible business propositions. Students then researched bag styles, potential designs, problems plastic bags create in the environment and business plans. Eventually, students partnered with Watthan Artisans to source fabric bags, which they then hand-painted (the unique value-added selling point) and sold in various stores in Phnom Penh for profit.wh

Renewable Energy – Solar and Biogas
This Exploration was on the practicalities of renewable energy as a viable alternative for rural Cambodians. Students secured outside funding to install two bio digesters for rural communities – one in a children’s center and one in a rural school run by an NGO. Students worked in collaboration with a national bio digester program to implement their products, and in the process, challenged and changed national policy, enabling the recipients of the bio digesters to receive a subsidy from the government, which was utilized to build a composting area.

Angkor Architecture
Students learned about Khmer architecture, both ancient and modern, from the planning and design process to the literal construction. This included a five-day trip to Siem Reap to research the plan and design of Angkor Wat. Through mentorship with Phnom Penh Institute of Technology, students developed a fundamental understanding of Cambodian architecture and its place on the global architecture stage.

Documentary: Tonle Sap
Students traveled to Siem Reap and toured the Gecko Environmental Center and floating villages at Kampong Phluk to conduct research regarding the Tonle Sap river/lake. This research was then turned into a documentary featuring a blend of scientific information about the river’s flow, as well as a look at the lives of the people living in this particularly unique ecosystem.

Constructed Wetlands and Composting Toilets
Students explored two existing ideas to find solutions to wastewater: constructed wetlands and the self-composting toilet. Students were exposed to real world projects being implemented by several NGOs in Cambodia, as well as world-wide. The goal was to equip the students to address the current and future wastewater management issues to enhance the lives of rural Cambodians.

Food Systems
A food system is the cyclical process of growing, transforming, packaging, transporting, cooking, eating, and recycling food. Students took various trips, including to an organic farm, a natural food store, and a hydroponic farm, to learn about compost, hydroponics and growing food sustainably. Students then attempted to start their own small organic vegetable patch at Liger. This was also the Exploration that prompted the Liger kitchen to begin integrating brown rice into the students’ diets.

Make a Difference/Leadership: Electrical Safety
In a true leadership role, students in this Exploration developed a public awareness campaign for electrical safety and delivered it through various mediums to rural communities where knowledge of these topics is low, but the effect of not having this knowledge creates a real danger on a daily basis.