Cambodia

The Cambodia women’s silk weaving cooperative is located in the Takeo Province, a rural, low income area. They employ over 500 weavers from 7 villages. The silk is also produced locally by 350 farmers who grow mulberry trees which rear cocoons from silk worms. The cocoons are spun into silk thread and eventually hand-loomed into these elegant works of art.  

The goal of this social enterprise is to prevent the ancient Cambodian silk weaving tradition from vanishing, while empowering women and contributing to the economic development of more isolated areas. The complex art of silk weaving is a dying ancient tradition but the weaving cooperative trains younger generations to keep it alive. They provide employment opportunities and training for women living in the area who would otherwise be forced to flee to neighboring countries in search of jobs. There, separated from their families and lacking education, they often fall into dangerous situations such as human trafficking, sexual abuse or hard work conditions. By joining the weaving cooperative, the women become financially independent and can work from home so they can care for their children at the same time.

Located in rural Takeo Province, Cambodia is a sustainable weaving cooperative who believe that social entrepreneurship empowers people and the community. They identify aspiring entrepreneurs and invest in them by sharing knowledge through mentorship and training and provide interest free seed capital to help establish sustainable micro businesses. The successful entrepreneurs then become the catalyst of change by becoming mentors themselves and inspiring other community members. Entrepreneurs take responsibility for their future, help alleviate poverty and improve the life of their families and community. This creates a ripple effect of sustainable, scalable positive impact, one village at a time.