Smiling Gecko Campus

Our cultural building site

We are actually masters at building efficiently and quickly, but even we can’t get a project like the «House of Culture and Music» up and running overnight.

February 2, 2024

And even if we can hardly wait to finally open this place of cultural identity in Cambodia, we know that we still have to be a little patient.

But we are certain that it will be worth the wait.

To make the time until completion a little shorter for you and us, we have decided to publish regular photo updates on the progress of the construction work on this page. So it’s definitely worth checking back regularly.

School And Kindergarten

Hurray: the new ones are here!

Some of them still look a bit skeptical, but we are sure: in a very short time, our almost one hundred new school children will be happy to be at the Smiling Gecko Campus every day, where, depending on their age, they will either go to pre-school or directly to kindergarten will go.
We are very happy to have welcomed so many new children this year. After the Corona-related school enrollment stop, we still must catch up with the number of children in order to maintain school operations from preschool to middle school without interruption.
Speaking of middle school: This summer we were able to move the first fifty boys and girls into the 7th grade. It’s unbelievable how quickly time flies.

School and Kindergarten

Atelier oï visiting the campus construction site

At the end of March we welcomed two special visitors to the Smiling Gecko Campus: Aurel Aebi and Tamara Decroux from Atelier oï, the architects responsible for the Middle School and the House of Culture and Music.
Hier klicken
Aurel Aebi, Founding Partner and Tamara Decroux, Project Manager at Atelier oï with Smiling Gecko Cambodia Director Sokleap Ngon. One of many valuable conversations the team had during their stay with us.
Hier klicken
What the architects were able to examine: The basic infrastructure preparations for the Middle School building (bottom right in the picture) and for the House of Culture and Music (top left) a few weeks ago, the ground works are now more advanced. Above the Middle School you can see a circular hole, several meters deep, which is the future water reservoir, in which the immense amounts of rainwater will collect during the rainy season.
Saves costs: We use the countless truckloads of soil that we gained when excavating the reservoir for the massive landfill on which both the Middle School and the House of Culture and Music will be situated. A necessary construction measure, as otherwise the buildings would regularly fill up during the rainy season.
Hier klicken
What’s next: Equipped with the essential plans, we are confident that we can start with the actual construction of the Middle School at the beginning of May, which we want to open in the course of the next year. The completely new drawings show an exterior view and a view of the inner courtyard of the two-storey building.

The House of Culture and Music, for which we have commissioned a second local construction team, will hopefully be ready as early as January 2024. More about the project can be found here

Now it really means one thing above all: keep your fingers crossed that the upcoming rainy season doesn’t thwart our plans during the construction phase so that we can implement our ambitious goals as planned. We will keep you posted.

Farmhouse Resort

The new suites are almost finished!

Hier klicken
Hier klicken
Hier klicken
Hier klicken
Previous
Next
In our quest to make the Farmhouse Resort not only one of the most sustainable, but also one of the most beautiful hotels in Cambodia, we have achieved a lot in the last 24 months. With the ten new suites, we are currently creating a new milestone here. We are super proud and would like to take the opportunity to thank our employees as well as the local construction teams: You are great!
SCHOOL and Kindergarten

Our school expansion has begun!

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur adipiscing elit dolor
Hier klicken
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur adipiscing elit dolor
Hier klicken
Hier klicken
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.
Hier klicken
Previous
Next
Wonderful things are happening at the Smiling Gecko Campus right now. We have laid the essential groundwork for the construction of the new middle school and the House of Culture and Music! Our Cambodian geometricians have surveyed the land for the construction of the infrastructure and the building land has been prepared. We have even started digging the artificial lake, which is of central importance for the construction project. This is because we need the earth extracted here to raise the areas on which buildings will later stand. At the same time, the lake will regulate the absorption of the immense water masses during the rainy season and of course we will also do fish farming here. So much for today. The next update will be at the laying of the foundation stone!
Hannes was on the radio!

For re-listening: Hannes in the nightclub on SRF1 Radio

If you always wanted to hear an in-depth interview with our founder Hannes Schmid, now is your chance. On Tuesday, 31.1.2023, Hannes was Ralphi Wicki’s guest at the «Nightclub» on SRF1 Radio and talked for almost three hours about his life, his work and of course a lot about Smiling Gecko. Just click on the links and enjoy listening.
News from the school

The Smiling Gecko Scholarship Programme

With an annual funding requirement of currently around 1.4 million Swiss Francs, our school and kindergarten are by far our biggest expense but also our most important. Because only with a good education there is a future for our currently around 400 school children in rural Cambodia.
Therefore, we have decided to launch a scholarship programme at the beginning of 2023, through which private sponsors can cover the school fees of one of our school children or support the school financially in general.

You can find out more about the programme here.

Video message from Hannes Schmid

Things remain difficult

Before Hannes comes to Switzerland for the Holiday Season, he recorded a last short update on the current situation in rural Cambodia. The situation remains extremely tense. In a country that so much deserves to experience better times.
Watch the video.
FARMHOUSE RESORT

Cambodian cuisine for family and friends

If you’re still looking for a light alternative for the Christmas menu or just fancy some typical Cambodian cuisine: Mariya, our Executive Chef at the Farmhouse Resort, has put together three fine recipes for meals with family and friends.
Have fun with the videos and recipes. And, of course, cooking them.
Pomelo salad
Spring Rolls Khmer Stlye
Drumsticks with Kampot pepper in red wine sauce

We use cookies and tracking technologies in accordance with our privacy policy to provide you with the best web experience.

To The Dataprotection »