Location & History
The Mango Tree Garden is a local non-governmental organization, located on a piece of land belonging to the Sweet Mango Pagoda (Wat Svay Phaem) in Sre Khnong village (25 km west of Phnom Penh). The Sweet Mango Pagoda, named after the numerous mango trees planted and growing there, was founded in 1981 by a childless Cambodian couple after they had offered their mango tree plantation to the monks.
The Mango Tree Garden was founded in August 2005 by Bowinneth Phem, a Khmer woman, who is a psychologist trained in Holland. The seed of inspiration came from the Butterfly Peace Garden in Batticaloa, Sri Lanka, and was planted at the Sweet Mango Pagoda, Cambodia.
The Butterfly Peace Garden was founded by Canadian Paul Hogan, drawing upon his work at the Spiral Garden in Toronto, Canada. It is an after-school program provided to children, offering creative activities and ethnic reconciliation, with opportunities for trauma healing through artwork. The close collaboration and connection between Paul Hogan and the MTG in the early beginnings of the project has set a base for the MTG to grow and florish into a beautiful and ispiring place for the children and their community. Both the pagoda community and villagers around the Sweet Mango Pagoda have been involved in this project since the beginning. Today the Mango Tree Garden is rooted in the community and has won many children's hearts.
The Mango Tree Garden was founded in August 2005 by Bowinneth Phem, a Khmer woman, who is a psychologist trained in Holland. The seed of inspiration came from the Butterfly Peace Garden in Batticaloa, Sri Lanka, and was planted at the Sweet Mango Pagoda, Cambodia.
The Butterfly Peace Garden was founded by Canadian Paul Hogan, drawing upon his work at the Spiral Garden in Toronto, Canada. It is an after-school program provided to children, offering creative activities and ethnic reconciliation, with opportunities for trauma healing through artwork. The close collaboration and connection between Paul Hogan and the MTG in the early beginnings of the project has set a base for the MTG to grow and florish into a beautiful and ispiring place for the children and their community. Both the pagoda community and villagers around the Sweet Mango Pagoda have been involved in this project since the beginning. Today the Mango Tree Garden is rooted in the community and has won many children's hearts.