Thary Vorn

Thary Vorn, from Cambodia, is the visionary behind SUDrain, a woman-led entrepreneurial venture that ingeniously recycles coconut waste to treat wastewater. This innovative approach stems directly from her research findings and her deep conviction that “to mitigate water crisis, we need to stop looking wastewater as a waste anymore, as it is a resource recovery.” With master’s degrees in Agro-Industry and Environment from the Institute of Technology of Cambodia and Environmental Engineering from TU Delft, the Netherlands (2018), Thary brings robust expertise to her work. Over four years, she’s proven herself as an efficient researcher, sustainability manager, and national project coordinator for various international and local organizations. Her passion for social innovation and commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals led her to found SUDrain, which has won the Khmer Enterprise Start-up Award 2022 and placed Top 3 in the Impact Challenge At SEA in Cambodia. Recently, SUDrain launched an impactful project providing a wastewater treatment system for floating communities, serving over 200 households and transforming her dream into tangible community aid. Her pioneering efforts have earned her the moniker, “A Queen of Wastewater.”