Welcome to 2014 everyone. This is a combined edition not because I had a lazy January, but because I have been travelling throughout Cambodia for the whole month. After a very busy 2013, it was time for a change of scenery and a re-set.

This was a family holiday, but with most overseas holidays, what is important to me is that I come home with a cultural and enriching experience. This is the first time in Cambodia for me and I really loved it, the young people in Cambodia are full of hope, eager to get educated as they can see this will provide them better opportunities but also eager to share their stories and proud of their heritage. There is still a lot of poverty, most people live in small villages, don't have land rights and grow rice, not every village has access to a school and there are lot of kids that do not attend school but work from an early age with their families, this makes the Cambodians very prone to exploitation.

There is a lot of foreign interest in Cambodia, a country that was devastated by the Pol Pot regime and had most of their intellectuals, artists, doctors, educators killed, it had to start all over again with what was left and this can take time and money. So the invasion of foreign interest is visible everywhere, from clothing factories, large high fenced compounds paying workers $80 a month for a 12 hours day to the exploitation of the natural environment and resources logging, dredging.

Big ships in amongst some of the most pristine rivers and mangroves digging up sand, this is what I saw in the Tatai River, just fifteen minutes by boat from our eco-resort we were staying. Apparently, without notice, this year, over 25 foreign ships arrived and started digging for sand, used by foreign countries for building, changing forever the landscape and eco-system of this area. Not to mention, what I personally saw, people working on these ships, throwing large bags of rubbish directly into the river. How can we have so little regard for our environment and our people.

But Cambodia has amazing cultural sites and natural sites as well as amazing people and for those us that like positive tourism, I really encourage visitors to choose countries like Cambodia because hopefully as a result of positive tourism, the government will see that it is worth while investing in protecting the natural environment and investing in people.

Time to get ready for the Fair Trade Fortnight 2014. We got some great things happening here in Melbourne and we look forward to sharing with you as the fortnight approaches. Put it in your diary and keep an eye for upcoming events during the fortnight.