'This book, and its accompanying exhibition, have developed out of an ongoing research project entitled The Memory Bank. Two years ago, Reyum began interviewing elderly Cambodians from all walks of life in order to accumulate a history of everyday life in late 19th and 20th century Cambodia. Teams of young researchers, recently graduated from Universities, began to interview elderly Cambodians, taping conversations which followed the line of each interviewee's life and inquired about a wide range of issues. Through these ongoing interview, we have gathered information on many topics not generally found in official histories of 20th century Cambodia: individual memories of historical events associated with colonialism and independence; local beliefs of geography and land use; conceptions of gender and the experiences of women; and everyday accounts of modernisation and change. Compiled into a Memory Bank, these interviews preserve a rich and textured history of everyday life which we hope will serve as a base for further research. The archive of interviews which we are compiling may also suggest local ways of doing things that hold promise and potential for the future. The question Cambodia seems to be facing today is how a sediment of local understanding and behavior will adapt - or disappear - in the face of ongoing development and commercialisation. [...]'

(Excerpt from 'Note from the Editors')