Welcome to this week’s Blog.
Cambodia is a destination rich in history, culture and religion. It has been through turbulent times in the past, with the French occupation and the Khmer Rouge revolution however, Cambodia, has managed to retain its identity and culture. Nowhere more is this exhibited, than at Artisans de Angkor, a European Union sponsored business program, producing traditional local handicrafts for sale, across Asia and around the World. Artisans De Angkor is in Siem Riep, home to the finest examples of Khmer architecture in the country, including Angkor Wat which is the main attraction that visitors to the area come to see.
A trip to Artisans de Angkor is well worth including in your tour to the area, as it will open your eyes and provide a real-life insight, into the nature of the handicraft making business. The company employs graduates from the nearby ‘Chantiers-Écoles de formation professionnelle’ a professional training school that was set up with the aim to provide skills and training to unemployed people between the ages of 18 and 25, particularly after the reign of the Khmer Rouge, to make sure Cambodian arts and culture survived and could be showcased in the future.
Artisans de Angkor was then formed to provide the graduates with an employment opportunity, providing them with sustainable employment and income for themselves, their families and their local areas.
The best way to see Artisans de Angkor, is to take a fully guided tour, with the help of your fully knowledgeable guide, you will be shown around the whole process of producing fine local handicrafts including 100% fine Silk products, such as scarfs, bags, purses, wallets, cushion covers and excellent Silk woven paintings. Also, Artisans produces a variety of lacquer ware products including statues, ornaments and containers, and amazing stone sculptures, all which you are able to purchase and take home as a souvenir of your visit to Cambodia.
Purchasing a souvenir or two from Artisans de Angkor, contributes to the sustainable employment and income of the regions people and keeps the fine arts and cultural heritage of Cambodia continuing, for now and into the future.
Please visit our website for details of tours that include Artisans de Angkor and the Cambodian region in general. www.xplore-asia.com
6 Comments
Thomassen
I met Chhen by accident. I needed a tour guide and a friend recommended I call a guide he had used. That guide was unable to help me, but he recommended Chhen, and I am very glad he did. Chhen enjoys sharing Khmer culture and history, and this is very different from a guide that simply knows the facts. Chhen knows the stories, the history, and the artistic achievements of the temples in a vocabulary that was very welcome to me as a Westerner with no prior knowledge of Angkor and without an arts background. I particularly enjoyed the day Chhen took me to Bantey Srei, where the carvings are outstandingly preserved, and explained the culture and historical perspective behind all those intricate carvings.and then he took me to a village corner famous for its “Cambodian noodle soup.” Chhen knew the prices Khmer pay for the lunch, and he made sure that we paid only what was fair. He is a good conversationalist too, so I felt very much like I was exploring Angkor with Chhen rather than simply hiring a person to recite facts to me. He took me to his home village, too, and I met his family, which was a great experience. I’d recommend Chhen to anybody without the slightest hesitation. (www.cambodianangkortour.com)
Thomassen
I met Chhen by accident. I needed a tour guide and a friend recommended I call a guide he had used. That guide was unable to help me, but he recommended Chhen, and I am very glad he did. Chhen enjoys sharing Khmer culture and history, and this is very different from a guide that simply knows the facts. Chhen knows the stories, the history, and the artistic achievements of the temples in a vocabulary that was very welcome to me as a Westerner with no prior knowledge of Angkor and without an arts background. I particularly enjoyed the day Chhen took me to Bantey Srei, where the carvings are outstandingly preserved, and explained the culture and historical perspective behind all those intricate carvings.and then he took me to a village corner famous for its “Cambodian noodle soup.” Chhen knew the prices Khmer pay for the lunch, and he made sure that we paid only what was fair. He is a good conversationalist too, so I felt very much like I was exploring Angkor with Chhen rather than simply hiring a person to recite facts to me. He took me to his home village, too, and I met his family, which was a great experience. I’d recommend Chhen to anybody without the slightest hesitation. (www.cambodianangkortour.com)
Natalie
Sounds like a place where a tour guide is definetely the best idea. To miss out on all the arts and handicraft because you didn’t know would be a crime. I like sponsered programmes like that. Keeping in with sustainable tourism.
Natalie
Sounds like a place where a tour guide is definetely the best idea. To miss out on all the arts and handicraft because you didn’t know would be a crime. I like sponsered programmes like that. Keeping in with sustainable tourism.
RonLeyba
Artisans de Angkor is really a great help for those new graduate students. I mean, with their services, it won’t be hard enough for those new kids on the block to have or create a job for them to get some income.
RonLeyba
Artisans de Angkor is really a great help for those new graduate students. I mean, with their services, it won’t be hard enough for those new kids on the block to have or create a job for them to get some income.
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