A boy does laundry near the Siem Reap river.
Macy Castaneda Lee
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Macy Castaneda Lee
In early February, Macy Castañeda Lee took a motorcycle ride along the Siem Reap River to the vast green expanses of rice paddies and lotus fields that dot the outskirts of the Cambodian city. Miles from the city center, they came across a booming industry taking over the streets, houses and river banks.
“There was laundry everywhere,” recalls Castañeda Lee, a Filipino photographer who was in Siem Reap for the Angkor Photo Festival and Workshop. “Visually, it was very striking.”
With camera in hand, Castañeda Lee began documenting the different loads of laundry and in the process learned what laundry means to the community: “Laundry is a symbol for Cambodians and Khmers of their economic and health standards. »
Invisible workers
A new photo series by Filipino photographer Macy Castañeda Lee highlights the beauty of the mundane task of doing laundry and the role it plays in Siem Reap’s rural economy.
Macy Castaneda Lee
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Macy Castaneda Lee
Siem Reap is primarily known for its sprawling 400-acre Hindu-Buddhist temple complex, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that has brought nearly a million foreign tourists in 2025. Outside the city, laundry services have emerged to support the growth of tourism and supplement the income of rural communities. The fee for a small load of laundry is typically 4,000 riels, or about one U.S. dollar.
Castañeda Lee photographed the locals in hopes of appreciating the invisible workers on the other side of Cambodian tourism, who spend hours each day doing tourists’ laundry.
A double advantage
Two brothers, Sothea and Bong Chea, do laundry to make ends meet.
Macy Castaneda Lee
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Macy Castaneda Lee
About halfway between downtown Siem Reap and Tonlé Sap Lake, Castañeda Lee visited two Khmer brothers, Sothea and Bong Chea, at their scrapyard house and found some artifacts. Laundry offers them double protection, says Castañeda Lee: The hanging laundry acts as a makeshift wall to keep insects out at night and gives them a little extra financial support when they wash neighbors’ clothes for a small fee.
A boy stands near his house in the Promar market area of Siem Reap, with his guard dog. Castañeda Lee tells NPR that the boy shared with them: “We have a small laundry business that my family and I run and it helps us with money problems. We are in a more remote part of Siem Reap, so we must have more ways to earn an income and doing laundry close to our house is useful and convenient for us.”
Macy Castaneda Lee
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Macy Castaneda Lee
Washing machines and dryers are a luxury in this area, so many laundry businesses and families rely on hand washing and air drying.
Macy Castaneda Lee
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Macy Castaneda Lee
A community affair
Saam Chan Kanita does her makeup in a salon by the Siem Reap river. Castañeda Lee tells NPR that Kanita shared with them: “We try to save time by doing our makeup and hair while we wait for our laundry to dry. You have to multitask to be efficient with your time here.”
Macy Castaneda Lee
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Macy Castaneda Lee
While exploring the communities around the Siem Reap River, Castañeda Lee noticed how many children helped their families with laundry, including scrubbing clothes in round basins.
Many families juggle multiple businesses, like Vonn Da Li Na and his wife, who run P Salon & Laundry. In a conversation with Vonn Da Li Na, Castañeda Lee said he pointed out that it takes his family hours to do his company’s laundry in addition to his own laundry. Castañeda Lee shared with NPR a quote from him: “It’s our job, with the salon, so we’re just trying to have fun with it. I let my daughter have fun. But I wish we had a washing machine and other resources to speed up the process.”
A young girl plays in a tub of laundry water after loads of laundry have been washed. Her family tries to have fun with their laundry and encourages their daughter to play, according to photographer Castañeda Lee.
Macy Castaneda Lee
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Macy Castaneda Lee
Castañeda Lee spent evenings with these families. “There is this slow, tedious work of doing laundry and growing rice for hours every day,” they say. “The ethic of hard work and the care people take in their daily tasks is the symbol of laundry for me.”
A girl stands near her father’s laundry on the banks of the Siem Reap River. Castañeda Lee shared with NPR a quote from the girl’s mother: “I have several small businesses as well as our laundry service. We have a small snack shop where we sell water, cookies, etc. to many locals and foreigners as well.”
Macy Castaneda Lee
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Macy Castaneda Lee
Work with what you have
Hau N Me Tha Na is a mother of three and owner of a laundry business near Coconut Shell Coffee House. She uses what she has, including natural resources like sticks for hanging laundry and the Siem Reap River for her business.
Macy Castaneda Lee
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Macy Castaneda Lee
The Siem Reap River is a source of running water for many laundry businesses. “They depend on the natural resources they have, like rivers,” says Castañeda Lee. “But at the same time, I see that it’s not the most hygienic thing for them to do.”
Yet it is the launderers who succeed, like Honme Thana, a mother of three who owns a laundry south of the river. She relies on the river as a water source because she doesn’t have much access to water in her community, according to Castañeda Lee: “She told me she was learning to work with nature.”
Time and patience
Residents tend to hang laundry in open, brightly lit spaces. Linen is therefore an essential visual element for rural communities around Siem Reap.
Macy Castaneda Lee
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Macy Castaneda Lee
Castañeda Lee was drawn to the serene nature surrounding laundry in these communities. “What calmed me throughout this project was that these people weren’t on their phones waiting for laundry,” they say. “Sometimes they would sit and be still,” perhaps a reflection of Buddhist beliefs in Cambodia centered on calm and meditation. “They’re not in a hurry; it really changed my perspective.”
The photographer hopes to return to Siem Reap one day for a second part of this series, as the laundry will still be there. “It will evolve over the years,” says Castañeda Lee, but will always reflect the hands of the community that washed it.
Bec Roldan is a freelance science journalist based in Brooklyn, New York. He covers health and science topics and previously served as an AAAS Mass Media Fellow at NPR.
