Yesterday Fern and I took a tuk-tuk to the Cambodia Landmine Museum (www.cambodialandminemuseum.org) by Banteay Srey about 30km outside Siem Reap town. The drive took about 45 minutes and was through varied countryside making it an interesting ride. On the way our driver stopped at a silk workshop so we could take a peek inside, and although it was really interesting, we discovered that it is run by the Artisan's Silk Farm which we visited in our first week, and so in that respect was nothing new for us.

Founded by an ex-Khmer Rouge child soldier Aki Ra, the museum houses a number of the decomissioned mines, bombs and other explosives that he has cleared in the past 15 years. It is suggested that he has cleared over 50,000 landmines in this time, although the museum shows only a small percentage of this. As well as helping clear Cambodia of landmines, Aki Ra has also been taking in children affected by them for the last decade and there are currently 30 children living at the museum. In 2010 Aki Ra was nominated for the CNN Heroes Award in recognition of the work he has done de-mining Cambodia. Although he did not win, he was recognised in the Top 10 category out of over 10,000 nominees, a respectable accomplishment.

The current Landmine Museum building is in the second building since its founding as it moved to larger premises in 2007. The layout is centred around a large glass room full off old landmines and missiles, with smaller rooms leading off the central area explaining the various de-mining processes and the history of landmines in Cambodia. It started during the Khmer Rouge when landmines were placed by Khmer Rouge cadres, Vietnamese guerilla fighters and American forces. Although America has since cooperated with the Cambodians to de-mine the countryside, they are one of the handful of countries who still have not signed the International Campaign to Ban Landmines which I personally think is disgraceful. Also at the museum is a stage representation of Khmer Rouge fighters and their machinery, as well as a "fake" minefield area.

After reading all the plaques we sat down and watched a short documentary on Aki Ra and his de-mining accomplishments and bought souvenir t-shirts, the proceeds of which go straight to the Landmine Museum's Relief Fund. My "afternoon tea" friend Anne is a volunteer at the Landmine Museum and so after we had looked around the tourist part of the museum she took us to the restricted area where Aki Ra himself lives as well as the children he has taken in over the years. They have recently built a new building which can house 20 new children although they are yet to fill this quota. There is also a school building and office, so all in all it is a very worthy organisation.