'Leopard skin' plan helps Cambodia farmers stay on large land concessions

A home next to the teak tree plantation run by Grandis Timber in Kampong Speu Province, western Cambodia November 10, 2016. Chris Arsenault/Thomson Reuters Foundation

KAMPONG SPEU PROVINCE, Cambodia (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Like spots on a leopard's hide, small wooden houses and tiny fenced plots dot the sprawling Grandis Timber teak plantation in western Cambodia.

Investing in a swathe of land almost double the size of Manhattan, the timber giant is opting to allow residents and families to stay on the property where they have lived and worked for generations.