Reviving the Cham Script in the Digital Age
The Digital Akhar Thrah Revitalization Project (DARe Project) aims to create 100,000 articles written in Akhar Thrah, the traditional script of the Cham language.
Our goal is simple but ambitious: to make Akhar Thrah a living, useful, and widely accessible writing system on the internet. If successful, this project could fundamentally change the future of the Cham language.
Why This Matters
Today, Akhar Thrah faces a critical challenge. Although it has been used for centuries and carries the cultural memory of the Champa civilization, its presence online remains extremely limited.
As a result:
- Technology companies often misidentify Akhar Thrah text as noise or unsupported characters.
- There is very little content available for readers to discover through search engines.
- Young Cham speakers increasingly rely on Vietnamese, and many children can no longer speak or read Cham fluently.
- The language risks entering a cycle of decline that may eventually lead to extinction.
We believe we are standing at a historic crossroads: either the Cham language enters a new period of growth, or it gradually disappears.
What 100,000 Articles Can Achieve
A large and searchable body of Akhar Thrah content would:
1. Establish a Strong Digital Presence
With enough content online, technology platforms will have greater incentive to properly support and display Akhar Thrah.
2. Make Akhar Thrah Useful Again
People will be able to search for stories, knowledge, ideas, and information in their own script, making literacy meaningful and practical.
3. Encourage New Creation
A vibrant online ecosystem inspires people to write, share ideas, create new vocabulary, and contribute original content, helping reverse language decline.
4. Strengthen Spoken Cham
Reading and writing reinforce vocabulary and language skills. As literacy grows, spoken Cham becomes stronger as well.
5. Build a Community of Writers
Project funding will support Cham writers and content creators. Whether there are 10, 100, or 1,000 contributors, every new writer helps expand the reach of the language.
How the Project Works
The DARe Project publishes Akhar Thrah content through:
- The Akhar Thrah Blog
- Facebook pages dedicated to Cham-language content
- Community sharing and reposting
All articles are publicly available and searchable.
Each article receives a unique identifier such as:
DARe Project Article 500
This allows readers to easily locate articles through search engines or directly through the Chambani website.
Our long-term vision is to create the largest digital library ever written in Akhar Thrah.
Funding
The project pays contributors for original Akhar Thrah content.
Current rates:
- 30,000 VND for a 300-word article
- 10,000 VND per additional 100 words
Reaching the goal of 100,000 articles will require approximately 3 billion VND (about USD 115,000).
This is a long-term effort that may take many years, perhaps decades, and depends on the support of the Cham community, language preservation advocates, researchers, and donors.
Why This Is a High-Impact Investment
Many language revitalization projects focus primarily on documentation.
DARe focuses on something different: creating a self-sustaining ecosystem of content.
A writing system survives when people use it daily to communicate, learn, search, create, and share ideas.
Even in the unlikely event that the project does not trigger millions of future articles, the result will still be a permanent archive of 100,000 Akhar Thrah texts—a rich cultural resource preserving the voice, imagination, and knowledge of the Cham people for future generations.
Support the Project
Every contribution, regardless of size, helps expand the digital future of the Cham language and preserve an important part of humanity’s cultural heritage.
The DARe Project is coordinated by:
For inquiries, partnerships, or donations, please contact the project coordinator directly.
Donations may also be sent to the project’s dedicated bank account:
Bank: Nam A Bank
Account Number: 342700515
Account Name: LUU HOANG DIEP
All project income and expenditures are publicly recorded and regularly updated to ensure transparency and accountability.
Together, we can help ensure that one of Southeast Asia’s oldest literary traditions not only survives, but thrives in the digital age.
Project Finances
List of Donations Received
| Donor | Amount | Date Received |
|---|---|---|
| Anonymous 1 | 50,000 VND | 29 Nov 2025 |
| Anonymous 2 | 200,000 VND | 05 Dec 2025 |
| Anonymous 3 | 100,000 VND | 29 Nov 2025 |
| Dang Quoc Duan | 1,000,000 VND | 30 Nov 2025 |
| Dave Paulson | 2,570,000 VND | 01 Dec 2025 |
| Anonymous 4 | 5,000,000 VND | 02 Jan 2026 |
| Ai Nghiem | 100,000 VND | 03 Dec 2025 |
| Dao Trung Vo | 300,000 VND | 07 Dec 2025 |
| Anonymous 5 | 1,000,000 VND | 08 Dec 2025 |
| Anonymous 6 | 200,000 VND | 09 Dec 2025 |
| Qua Qua Nhi Chi Chinh | 100,000 VND | 05 Mar 2026 |
| Nguyen Duong Ngoc Nu | 100,000 VND | 09 Mar 2026 |
| Luu Hoang Diep | 10,000,000 VND | 19 June 2026 |
Total Donations Received: 20,720,000 VND
Based on the project’s standard compensation rate, this amount is sufficient to fund approximately 690 articles of 300 words each.
Funds Disbursed
Contributors are compensated according to the length of their articles, at an average rate of 10,000 VND per 100 words.
The number of articles completed and total expenditures will be updated regularly below.
- Articles completed: 100 articles (about 110,000 words)
- Total amount paid to contributors: 11,430,000 VND
- Remaining balance: 9,290,000 VND
Transparency
All donations and expenditures are recorded and publicly reported. This section will be updated regularly so that supporters can follow the progress and financial status of the project.
Last updated: 4 July 2026
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