A quirky village in Cambodia learns how to make
the most of its resources…

A 90-minute drive from Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, will bring you to an unassuming village sitting on the road to Siem Reap and Kratie. Unbeknownst to many, this little village is known for its furry and leggy produce - tarantulas. At the ‘Spider Village’, the creatures provide the main source of revenue for villagers.

Vuen, a 26 year-old married mother of three has been catching, cooking and eating tarantulas - a Cambodian delicacy - for the past 10 years. She learnt how to catch a tarantula from her parents. The process requires patience and lightening quick speed. She starts by hunting the spiders in abandoned mounds or similar spaces, as a burrowing spider, these creatures are at home in such places and live on small insects, reptiles and even mammals that share the same space. With a small steel shovel she starts digging at the entrance of a hole, when the noise and activity brings the spider to the entrance, Vuen uses a small stick to pin it down and grab it from behind so its head cannot move (much like catching a crab). Then the spider is turned over and in the blink of an eye, Vuen gets hold of the fangs and tears them out. Once the fangs come off, the spiders become docile. Although she made it look easy, Vuen admits she has been bitten a few times. She was sick for a few days after her first bite, but says the more a person is bitten, the less effect the poison has.

Vuen says she can catch around 10 spiders a day in her backyard. Others are starting to do the same. However, the villagers are aware of the dangers of ‘over hunting’ the spiders. Vuen says she and other spider ladies only catch large females, so that the population will not be affected. The smaller females are then able to continue laying thousands of eggs at a time, generally between November and March. It takes around six to seven weeks for the eggs to hatch and two to five years, and sometimes up to 10, for the tarantulas to reach maturity.

To visit Skoun or ‘Spiderville’ contact Asia Adventures: info@asia-adventures.com

Edited from the Stay Another Day Newsletter (Dec 07)