A boy does laundry near the Siem Reap River.
A boy does laundry near the Siem Reap River. (Macy Castañeda-Lee)

In early February, Macy Castañeda Lee took a motorbike ride along the Siem Reap River out to the large green swaths of rice and lotus fields that pepper the outskirts of the Cambodian city. Miles from the city center, they stumbled across a booming industry that filled the streets, homes and riverside.

“There was laundry everywhere,” remembers Castañeda Lee, a Filipino photographer who was in Siem Reap for the Angkor Photo Festival and Workshop. “Visually, it was very striking.”

Camera in hand, Castañeda Lee started documenting the varied loads of laundry, and in the process learned what laundry means to the community: “Laundry is a symbol for Cambodian and Khmer people of their economic and health standards.”

Invisible workers

A new photo series from Filipino photographer Macy Castañeda Lee showcases the beauty in the mundane task of doing laundry and the role it plays in the rural Siem Reap economy.
A new photo series from Filipino photographer Macy Castañeda Lee showcases the beauty in the mundane task of doing laundry and the role it plays in the rural Siem Reap economy.
(Macy Castañeda-Lee)
Siem Reap is known primarily for its sprawling 400-acre complex of Hindu-Buddhist temples, a UNESCO World Heritage site that brought in nearly a million foreign tourists in 2025. Outside of the city, laundry services have sprung up to support the boom in tourism and supplement the incomes of rural communities. The fee for a small load of laundry is typically 4,000 riel, or about one U.S. dollar.

Castañeda Lee photographed locals in hopes of appreciating the invisible workers on the other side of Cambodian tourism, who spend hours each day doing the laundry of tourists.

A double benefit

Two brothers, Sothea and Bong Chea, do laundry to help make ends meet.
Two brothers, Sothea and Bong Chea, do laundry to help make ends meet.
(Macy Castañeda-Lee)

Roughly halfway between the Siem Reap city center and Tonlé Sap lake, Castañeda Lee visited two Khmer brothers, Sothea and Bong Chea, in their home of scrap fabric and found objects. Laundry offers a two-fold protection for them, says Castañeda Lee: the hanging laundry acts as a makeshift wall to keep out bugs at night and gives them a little extra financial support when they wash the neighbors’ clothes for a small fee.

A boy stands by his house around the area of Promar Market in Siem Reap, with his guard dog. Castañeda Lee tells NPR the boy shared with them: 'We have a small laundry business that my family and I run and it helps with money issues. We are in a more remote part of Siem Reap so we have to have more ways to earn income and doing laundry by our house is helpful for us and convenient.'
A boy stands by his house around the area of Promar Market in Siem Reap, with his guard dog. Castañeda Lee tells NPR the boy shared with them: “We have a small laundry business that my family and I run and it helps with money issues. We are in a more remote part of Siem Reap so we have to have more ways to earn income and doing laundry by our house is helpful for us and convenient.” (Macy Castañeda-Lee)
Washing machines and dryers are a luxury in this region, so many laundry businesses and families rely on hand washing and hang drying.
Washing machines and dryers are a luxury in this region, so many laundry businesses and families rely on hand washing and hang drying.
(Macy Castañeda-Lee)

A community affair

Saam Chan Kanita gets her makeup done at a salon by the Siem Reap river. Castañeda Lee tells NPR that Kanita shared with them: 'We are trying to be time efficient by doing our makeup and hair while waiting for our laundry to dry. You have to do many things at once to be efficient with your time here.'
Saam Chan Kanita gets her makeup done at a salon by the Siem Reap river. Castañeda Lee tells NPR that Kanita shared with them: “We are trying to be time efficient by doing our makeup and hair while waiting for our laundry to dry. You have to do many things at once to be efficient with your time here.” (Macy Castañeda-Lee)

While exploring the communities around the Siem Reap river, Castañeda Lee noticed how many children help their families with laundry, including scrubbing clothes in round basins.

Many families juggle several businesses, like Vonn Da Li Na and his wife, who run the P Salon & Laundry. In a conversation with Vonn Da Li Na, Castañeda Lee says he noted that it takes his family hours to do laundry for their business on top of their own laundry. Castañeda Lee shared with NPR a quote from him: “It is our work, along with the salon, so we just try to have fun with it. I let my daughter have fun. But I wish we had a washing machine and other resources to make the process faster.”

A young girl plays in a basin of laundry water after laundry loads have been washed. Her family tries to have fun with their laundry and encourages their daughter to play, according to photographer Castañeda Lee.
A young girl plays in a basin of laundry water after laundry loads have been washed. Her family tries to have fun with their laundry and encourages their daughter to play, according to photographer Castañeda Lee.
(Macy Castañeda-Lee)

Castañeda Lee spent evenings with these families. “There is this slow, time-consuming labor of doing laundry and farming rice for hours on end each and every day,” they say. “The hard work ethic and care that people put toward their everyday tasks in life — that’s the symbol of laundry for me.”

A girl stands by her father's laundry business by the Siem Reap river. Castañeda Lee shared a quote with NPR from the girl's mother: 'I have several small businesses along with our laundry service. We have a small snack store where we sell water, biscuits, etc. to a lot of locals and foreigners too.'
A girl stands by her father’s laundry business by the Siem Reap river. Castañeda Lee shared a quote with NPR from the girl’s mother: “I have several small businesses along with our laundry service. We have a small snack store where we sell water, biscuits, etc. to a lot of locals and foreigners too.”
(Macy Castañeda-Lee)

Working 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 makes use of what she has, including natural resources like sticks to hang laundry and the Siem Reap River for her business.
Hau N Me Tha Na is a mother of three and owner of a laundry business near Coconut Shell Coffee House. She makes use of what she has, including natural resources like sticks to hang laundry and the Siem Reap River for her business.
(Macy Castañeda-Lee)

The Siem Reap River is a common source of water for many laundry businesses. “They rely on the natural resources they have, like the rivers,” says Castañeda Lee. “But at the same time, I see that it’s not the most sanitary thing for them to do.”

Still, laundry workers make it work, like Honme Thana, a mother of three who owns a laundry business south of the river. She relies on the river as her water source, since she doesn’t have much access to water in her community, according to Castañeda Lee: “She told me she’s learning how to work with nature.”

Time and patience 

Locals tend to hang laundry in open spaces with a lot of light, so laundry is a visual staple for rural communities around Siem Reap.
Locals tend to hang laundry in open spaces with a lot of light, so laundry is a visual staple for rural communities around Siem Reap. (Macy Castañeda-Lee)

Castañeda Lee was drawn to the serene nature that surrounds doing laundry in these communities. “What calmed me throughout this project was that these people weren’t on their phones while waiting for the laundry,” they say. “Sometimes they would just sit and be still,” perhaps a reflection of the Buddhist beliefs in Cambodia that center on stillness and meditation. “They’re in no rush; that’s really changed my perspective.”

The photographer hopes to return to Siem Reap for a second part of this series one day, since laundry will always be around. “It’ll evolve throughout the years,” Castañeda Lee says, but will always reflect the hands of the community that washed it.

Bec Roldan is an independent science journalist based in Brooklyn, N.Y. They cover health and science topics and previously served as a AAAS Mass Media Fellow at NPR.