The Bottle Boat
Kongkea sees plastic bottles going to waste by the pond. She finds a clever, planet-friendly way to turn them into something that floats.
The Bottle Boat Svay Leemeng
Kongkea is ten years old. She lives with her father, Sok, and mother, Som. They sell groceries from their home.
Every evening, Kongkea swims with her father in a pond near their home. Kongkea's mother burns bottles on the shore of the pond while she swims.
One day, a gust of wind blew burned bottles into the pond. The smoke from the burning bottles smelled terrible.
Kongkea saw two dead fish near her. "This pond is polluted," said Kongkea.
"Mom," Kongkea said, "the smoke smells terrible!" "If I don’t burn the bottles, what shall I do with them?" her mom asked. "I’ll think of something," Kongkea said.
Kongkea searched for ideas in books at home and in her school library.
Kongkea and her mom searched the internet together. "Aha!" Kongkea said happily. "I know what I’ll make!"
She began collecting materials for her project.
When she had all the materials, Kongkea began building.
Kongkea had built a boat from plastic bottles! Kongkea’s parents were so surprised. "You’re so smart!" her father said. "I will stop burning plastic bottles now," said her mother.
Kongkea rowed around the pond in her plastic bottle boat. Her parents looked on proudly.
From then on, Kongkea and her friends gathered plastic bottles around the village. They made many things with them, and the village and the pond were clean and healthy.
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Story from Global Digital Library · "The Bottle Boat" — Global Digital Library, CC BY 4.0 · CC BY 4.0
