It may be their off-season but that won’t stop a group of West Coast Eagles players heading to Cambodia for an expedition that will mix team building and community service.

Eric Mackenzie, Mitch Brown, Will Schofield, Sam Butler, Xavier Ellis, Mark Hutchings, Josh Hill and Patrick McGinnity, along with a group of coaches and staff, will build houses for a remote village in the Kompong Speu Province, improving their standard of living and outlook for the future.

Kompong Speu is situated over an hour outside of the country’s capital of Phnom Penh and the Eagles travelling party will take in a three day expedition taking in some of the history of Cambodia as well as building new homes for the people in the Kompong Speu Province.

West Coast Eagles Head of Development Gavin Bell says the trip is a great chance to improve the lives of hundreds of people but also to develop the players as people.

“Prior to heading out in the rural regions of Cambodia the players will be given the opportunity to learn about Cambodia’s tragic history and see how a whole nation of people have built the resilience to overcome the atrocities of the Pol Pot Regime,” Bell said.

“Then, with the assistance of Official Partner of Cambodia 2015 Airbnb and some terrific supporters at our inaugural Cambodia Golf Day, our players will be given the opportunity to help build 20 houses for families of a village in the province of Kompong Speu.

“We are working alongside the families who have saved for 5yrs to raise the $25 to build their dream home and keep their families safe. The club and Airbnb have contributed the balance for the house build, which is over $1500 per house.

“The fact you are constructing the house for the man passing you nails or holding the tin walls is an amazing opportunity as the players need to find ways to communicate with and work alongside the families. At the completion of the build you hand over a “house warming gift” and it’s hard not to be touched by the whole experience.

“We are visiting one of the poorest regions of Cambodia which is very susceptible to flooding. By building houses that are up on stilts, we increase the families’ odds of having their children complete primary school by 60-70%.

“The trip could not go ahead without the fantastic support of Airbnb, the very generous contributions of those that attended our Golf Day & the footy club & players who have given up their leave to attend.”