User:Aldunn2/sandbox

History/Origin
​The earliest floating village recorded dates back to Aberdeen in Hong Kong with the Tanka (boat people) settling in the village back in the 7th Century up until the 9th. Now there are numerous floating villages around world. Most being in Southeast Asia. Tonle Sap River is the biggest fresh water lake in South East Asia which is the home to many floating villages as well as Aberdeen Harbour, Angkor and Siem Reap. The ‘Floating Villages of Siem Reap’ were fashioned by the Vietnamese who fled war-torn Vietnam in 1979. The reason as to why these settlers chose to make the Tonlé Sap Lake their home was because of the fact that they had no identity cards, revealing their citizenship status in Cambodia. Floating villages originated from Hong Kong, but the majority of them are located in Cambodia and other parts of South Asia.​The end of the civil war and the increasing tourism industry has led to rapid development of the area. The floating villages are struggling behind this development, and in order to survive they have to develop as well.

Common Uses
The Floating villages have many common uses. The first would be the major fishing industry. It's the main use for floating villages.In Cambodia, 70% of the villagers make their living as fishermen. The fishing year is divided into two seasons: open and closed season. Villages possess what can be called as convenience stores and have seafood shops as well. These places aid the village and help contribute to getting money circulating throughout the village. A majority of the people apart of the village fish for these places in exchange for little money and to keep the village stocked and fed. All the fish come straight out of the lake it sits on. Also, another common use for floating villages is the tourism industry. Village boaters start at certain wages which are not cheap and take tourists around on about 30 minutes to an hour rides to see everything there is to see about the village. This use of the village is the second most paying contribution to the village. It allows the villagers to contribute back to the village as well as giving tourists the ability to come out and see what the village is all about and how it works. Another common use of these floating villages is for cheap shelter. There is no property tax involved with water and there is so much more freedom involved in these villages. So there is no worries of the government coming and making the villagers move out of their homes. As long as the villagers work within the village or provide food for the village by fishing or of other sorts, they are welcome to stay as long as they please. Other common uses include aquaculture and agriculture. Everything produced near the lake are resources for the village to progressively work its way out of poverty. They use their resources for trade and making things throughout the village. The agriculture and natural resources the village produces, helps out the village tremendously and is the third biggest use of the village considering the fact that its basically all profit for them.