About us

Married since 1997, Chenda and Pierre-Yves Clais are the two sides of the same coin.

Pierre-Yves lives to the rhythm of his passions and of the thousand ideas coming to his mind daily, while Chenda takes care of the of the day to day management of their common achievements.

Daughter of a doctor murdered under Pol Pot, Chenda comes from a Phnom Penh family while Pierre-Yves is a former paratrooper who came to Cambodia during the United Nations’ mission in Cambodia to live his dreams of adventure.

They got married in 1997 and opened their first hotel in 1999 in the former residence of the Ratanakiri Governor.

Their plantation « Chamkar Damnak » takes root in Kep-Kampot’s ancient pepper history. Before the war it was part of « Chamkar Hâng », « Hâng’s field » by the name of the Chinese grand father who owned the property.

Established deep in the heart of the Protected Geographical Indication, Chenda and Pierre-Yves strive to stay true to the spirit of the first pepper planters by sticking to traditional organic agriculture but they also bring their personnal touch by using powerful elephant “fertilizer” from their own animals in Ratanakiri province.