Village schools close during these times so the children can help. Homes are built on stilts to avoid disaster during heavy rain times. People enter their houses by a ladder or an outside wooden staircase. Walls are made with woven bamboo and palm leaves. The floorboards have small spaces between them to allow air to circulate.
Most homes have only one room and the furniture is simple.
Storage chests, baskets and water jars stand along the walls. People sleep on bamboo mats, which they roll up in the daytime. Water buffalo, pigs and farm equipment are kept under the house. This means both parents have to work to feed their family. In the countryside Cambodians still wear the traditional dress, but in the cities, most of the people wear clothing like you and me.