TUI Colourful Cultures Siem Reap

Map_Cambodia

The handicrafts sector in Cambodia is dominated by small, NGO-driven social enterprises that provide employment to around 20,000 professional artisans. Despite its potential, the sector faces significant challenges. Most artisans are employed by informal, non-registered structures or NGOs, which do not foster empowerment or provide social security benefits. Additionally, the sector is still recovering from the COVD-19 crisis, which left many artisans unemployed and without support.

TUI Colourful Cultures Siem Reap preserves local cultural heritage and empower creatives in the Siem Reap region by creating an innovative social business model that combines training, incubation and guaranteed income to artisans to sustain their living.

Siem Reap, Cambodia, is known for the majestic Angkor Wat architectural complex attracting around two million tourists annually.   The handicraft sector is a vital part of the local economy, providing employment to thousands of artisans. This sector is dominated by small, NGO-driven social enterprises that focus on traditional crafts such as silk weaving, rattan and sedge weaving, ceramics, and lacquers.

Despite its potential, the sector faces sustainability challenges due to its informal nature and reliance on NGOs, which often results in low wages and limited social security for artisans. The COVID-19 highlighted the need for a new business model that promotes sustainable development, empowers artisans, and leverages Cambodia's tourism industry to support local communities and preserve Khmer culture.

TUI Colourful Cultures Siem Reap combines a hybrid business model of incubation and cooperative system. It provides full entrepreneurship training for up to 200 local artisans in the Satcha Handicraft Centre. Theoretical education includes marketing strategies, business creation, language training and art and design technic. Artisans create high-quality handmade products from locally sourced raw materials. All participants are members of a cooperative which commits to buying their products during the training, guaranteeing a stable income. In addition, they receive benefits such as social security, pension funds and bonuses when their children graduate from high school or university.

The project strengthens links with the tourism industry. It establishes partnerships with 50 tour operators and 50 top hotels to encourage them to promote the programme and the visit to the Satcha Handicraft Centre. Four tourist retailer associations help them shift from imported products to locally made. The Satcha Handicraft Centre hosts 50 dinners yearly for tourist groups with handicraft demonstrations and cultural shows featuring traditional dance, boxing and shadow puppets. In addition, tourists can participate in Do-it-yourself workshops and experience carving, weaving, painting and other crafts.

The project will extend its activities to two additional rural areas, including one in Kulen Mountain.

Project Partner

Project Partner

Satcha Handicraft Incubation Center: Satcha is a Cambodian handicraft centre that incubates local artisans, mixing traditional knowledge with contemporary design to showcase Cambodian’ talents to local and international visitors and to transmit this know-how over time while having a sustainable social, economic, and environmental impact.

FOLLOW
TRITON!

Turtle1
Your decision – your user experience at tuicarefoundation.com

We use cookies and other technologies that are necessary for services and functions on our website.

In addition, and provided you consent and select "Agree", we and our up to five third-party partners may place cookies on your device, use other technologies and collect and process personal data [e.g. IP address] from you in order to suggest personalized content to you on our website and to carry out measurements and analyses. Data transfer to third countries [e.g. USA] may also be possible, where the EU data protection level may deviate and access by authorities there cannot be ruled out.

You can find more information under "Settings" and decide which cookies and which cookie-based processing of your data you wish to reject or accept. Further information about cookies can be found in the Cookie Notice.

Imprint Privacy Notice Cookie Notice
Decline
Settings
Accept
Managing your cookie settings

Use the "Status" control to decide for yourself which cookies we are allowed to set. Save your settings by clicking the "Agree" button.

You can change these settings at any time. You can find further information about the processing of your data in our Privacy Notice.

Cookies Description Status
Necessary Necessary Cookies are required for the app to function and cannot be switched off in your systems. We need necessary Cookies so that the service you request on our app functions properly and so that you can move around our app and use its functions, such as filling out forms. Cookie Notice
Statistics These Cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so that we can measure and improve the performance of our app. They help us answer questions about which pages are most popular, which are least used and how visitors move around the app. If you allow statistical Cookies, we can use this aggregated information to improve our service and the usability of our websites for you. All information collected is aggregated and is therefore anonymous. This information may be transmitted to our partners such as Meta Platforms Ireland Limited, Google Ireland Limited, Pinterest Europe Limited, Microsoft Ireland Operations Limited (Privacy Notice) if you also agree under "Marketing". Cookie Notice
I Agree