ARTISANS ANGKOR’S SOCIAL COMMITMENT

Artisans Angkor is a Cambodian social business creating job opportunities for young people in rural areas, while reviving traditional Khmer craftsmanship (silk weaving, stone and wood carving, painting on statues and on silk, lacquering, and silver plating).

Thinking ethical is not just about telling you care about poor people, only wear organic cotton nor eat lots of quinoa. As a consumer, it is about knowing what the long-term consequences of one single purchase are. As an organization, it is about implementing tangible actions in order to durably improve the living conditions of the communities you are collaborating with, while making sure that the production process allows the preservation of natural resources. It is far from being easy, but it is essential.

WHAT BEING A SOCIAL ENTERPRISE REALLY MEANS TO ARTISANS ANGKOR

• Providing vocational training in the handicrafts sector: apprenticeships are free of charge for the trainees, they receive a compensation during that time.
• Guaranteeing safe working conditions: all offices and workshops are provided drinkable water, fans, first-aid boxes and Personal Protective Equipment (protective glasses and headsets, handling gloves, protection shoes, masks…).
• Offering fair compensation packages: thoses packages include fair salaries, but also lots of social advantages, like free and easy access to healthcare (hiring of doctors and specialists), free insurance (accidents are covered 24/7) and Pregnancy covering (compensated maternity leaves).
• Using quality and traditional production processes: Artisans Angkor tries to use first-rate quality raw materials that come from Cambodia as much as possible. Artisans Angkor’s environmental commitment can be seen in the natural water treatment system that we set up at our silk Farm to purify dyed water so it can be used again for local farming or for our dyeing process. Speaking of dyeing process, we also use natural dyers, such as lavender or tamarind.
• Staying deeply attached to Camdodian culture: This point may be the most important. As much as Artisans Angkor wants to revitalize Cambodian traditional Arts & Crafts, it wants to add value to Cambodian amazing culture.

We should not keep Cambodian History and traditions as a simple ‘’background’’ to sell products, but use it as a pillar for everything we want to implement in Cambodia.