The silk production of Artisans Angkor
Artisans Angkor is a semi-public company whose story started in 1992 with an educational project called “Les Chantiers-Ecoles de Formation Professionnelle” (CEFP) implemented by the Cambodian Ministry of Education. This project aimed at rebuilding the country after the war period by training young people in the building sector, such as masonry, plumbing, tiling, painting, etc. Hence, “Les Chantiers-Ecoles de Formation Professionnelle” developed an educational methodology to provide those skills to underprivileged young Cambodians with little education.
In the mid-1990s, this training was extended to traditional Khmer craftsmanship, as this essential part of the Khmer cultural heritage had almost disappeared. At the end of the training, there were many employment opportunities for the young people trained in the building sector but as the tourism was not yet well-developed in Cambodia at that time, it was more difficult to find a job in the field of handicrafts.
A European program called “REPLIC” provided financial support between 1998 and 2001 to create a project called “Artisans Angkor” to be a workplace for the young Cambodians trained by CEFP in the handicraft sector. In 2003, with support of the Agence Francaise de Developpement (French Agency for Development), Artisans Angkor became an autonomous and semi-public Cambodian company. The profits of the company are wholly reinvested in the new training programs or construction of new workplaces in the Siem Reap province.
Artisans Angkor is known as one of the finest silk producers in Cambodia. The company has 23 silk workshops in the Siem Reap province. One site only is open to the public: theAngkor Silk Farm in Puok district (about 20-minute drive from the center of Siem Reap). Artisans specializing in silk are still trained by a unit of the CEFP called the “National Silk Centre” where the Angkor Silk Farm is located.
Silk weaving is a tradition that traces its origins back to the 13th century, as a result of the influence of the Silk Road in South Asia. It became an exclusive vocation for the women of rural villages who produced among others, one of the most famous Cambodian fabrics called “Hol Lboeuk” thanks to the traditional technique of “Ikat”. Artisans Angkor revives this ancient technique in Cambodia in its very traditional way.
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