Ondong Rossey Pottery Village
The Village That Gave the "Pot Province" Its Name
Photo: Henlynn
Ondong Rossey Pottery Village — Quick Facts
- What is it?
- village — The Village That Gave the "Pot Province" Its Name
- Where?
- Kampong Chhnang , Cambodia
- Entry Fee
- Free to wander; buying a piece directly from a potter is the best way to say thanks
- Opening Hours
- Daytime — mornings are the most active working hours
- Time Needed
- 1.5–2 hours
- Best Time
- Morning, in the dry season, when firing and drying are in full swing
- Don't Miss
- Watching a potter shape a large water jar with a wooden paddle — no wheel, just generations of muscle memory
What to See at Ondong Rossey
Pottery Under Every House
Those huge earthen water jars outside rural homes all over Cambodia? A good share of them started here. Under the stilted houses of Ondong Rossey, families work the area’s distinctive clay — small pieces on foot-spun wheels, large jars beaten into shape with a heavy wooden spatula, decorated with etched and appliqué designs, then fired to a pinkish hue.
The Clay Itself
The golden-hued raw material is quarried at Phnom Krang Dey Meas, a hill a few kilometres away, then pounded into fine workable clay. Nothing is painted; the colour and finish come from the material and the firing alone.
The Pottery Development Centre
A local centre supports the craft and sells finished work — jars, cookstoves, bowls and the piggy banks that have become the village’s unofficial souvenir. Prices are better (and the money more direct) when you buy from potters at their houses.
How to Get to Ondong Rossey
The village is about 7km west of Kampong Chhnang town along a pleasant road through rice fields.
- Bicycle or moto from town: The classic approach — flat, quiet and scenic; guesthouses in town rent bikes
- Tuk-tuk: 15–20 minutes each way; drivers happily wait while you wander
- From Phnom Penh: Kampong Chhnang town is about 90km north — around 2 hours by bus or minivan on National Road 5
Practical Tips
- Ask before photographing people at work — a smile and a gesture at the camera is universally understood
- Large jars won’t fit your luggage, but small etched pieces and piggy banks pack well
- Combine with the floating villages on the Tonle Sap for a full Kampong Chhnang day
- There are no formal opening hours — this is a working village, not an attraction; visit with that in mind
Nearby Attractions
- Kampong Chhnang Floating Villages — the Tonle Sap river hamlets of Phoum Kandal and Chong Kos, off the town’s waterfront
- Kampong Chhnang riverfront — the busy dock and market where the province’s pots have shipped out for centuries
Nearby Attractions in Kampong Chhnang
village Kampong Chhnang Floating Villages
Phoum Kandal & Chong Kos — Life on the Water, Without the Tour-Bus Crowds
other Farmhouse Resort & Spa (Smiling Gecko)
A Farm-to-Table Resort Where Every Stay Funds Rural Cambodian Futures
experience Keat Farm (Sheep Field)
A Thousand Sheep in the Cambodian Hills — the Country's Pioneering Flock
nature Sre Ampel Waterfall
Clear Mountain Pools at the Foot of the Aural Range
Useful Links
Practical Info
- Entry Fee
- Free to wander; buying a piece directly from a potter is the best way to say thanks
- Opening Hours
- Daytime — mornings are the most active working hours
- Time Needed
- 1.5–2 hours
- Best Time
- Morning, in the dry season, when firing and drying are in full swing