10 portraits for 10 years of Smiling Gecko Cambodia
10 portraits for 10 years of Smiling Gecko Cambodia
We started Smiling Gecko Cambodia ten years ago. Since then, an incredible amount has happened on the campus. For us as an organisation, but most of all for the people who live and work here. They are the ones we would like to introduce to you here. They are the soul of Smiling Gecko. And our motivation to keep the project moving forward.
We have also made portraits of the people you may already know from one place or another. Because they are our founders, the headmaster or our chef. We also enjoyed listening to their stories. But… have a look and listen for yourself.
Get to know us:
Hen Chanvannak
F&B Supervisor
«I had to go into the forest to collect firewood when I was a very little girl.»
Horn Sreymom
Head of Finance
«We always find a solution in the end.»
Keo Sinet
Procurement Supervisor
«I was a street kid without a real home.»
Kit Samy
Carpentry Manager
«During the process of learning a new job, you also learn to develop yourself.»
Ly Sam Ath
Deputy Head of School
«Our school is also a hospital.»
Pheoun Pheu
Carpenter
«We had not even rice.»
Srey Vannak
Procurement Supervisor
«We all had a very difficult life.»
Tao Sreyny
Food & Beverage Manager
«All my older siblings couldn’t go to school.»
Un Nim
Laundry Manager
«There is nothing we can’t accomplish if we try.»
Un Thorn
Security Guard
«We cry at night because our roof is so old and broken.»
Hannes Schmid
Co-Founder Smiling Gecko
«The task is enormous.»
Ngon Sokleap
Co-Founder Smiling Gecko
«My mother worked very hard for my education.»
Mariya Un Noun
Executive Chef Farmhouse Resort
«There’s always someone to train from the team.»
Barbara Beaufait
School Director
«Our students educate their siblings.»
We are Smiling Gecko
Thirty-five years after the end of the guerrilla war, Cambodia is still one of the poorest countries in Asia. It is also one of the quietest. The suffering and hopelessness of the rural population is hardly noticed here in Europe. And yet they are everywhere. We have taken care of these people and created the 150-hectare Smiling Gecko Campus, a place that will show the country a sustainable way out of poverty. We focus on four main pillars:
10 years of Smiling Gecko Cambodia:
A brief overview
A lot has happened in ten years. Click on the images to find out more about each project and see what we have achieved with the help of your donations, which we continue to rely on. Thank you for your support.
Foundation and land purchase
After providing people in the slums of Phnom Penh with essentials for survival since 2012, we founded Smiling Gecko Cambodia in April and bought 9 hectares of land. The start has been made.
The first families move in
Land development has progressed to the point where we can build and move into the first 12 farmhouses. Around 80 people are now living on the land that we will eventually develop into the Smiling Gecko Campus.
The first craft business
A timber construction company in Switzerland burns down. We get the machinery and build our own carpentry workshop around it. In the future, we will be able to offer training in a first trade.
Construction and school opening
The biggest expansion to date takes place in the autumn, when we open the first school and nursery buildings after five months of construction. 135 children finally have a future. And 50 more every year.
We have a fish farm
We started by breeding and fattening fish. It was a bit of a bumpy start, but the project is developing until we are producing over 100 tonnes of fish a year. And it will certainly be much more.
Inauguration of the clinic rooms
To mitigate the effects of the disaster, we opened clinics to provide basic everyday medical care for the school children and employees. The dental treatment room was added later.
The pandemic changes everything
The farm and the school close in February. The demand for our products is practically zero. We laid off 100 workers, and the others were kept on thanks to donations. A trauma.
Classic emergency aid
Without government support, people are at risk of starvation. Many children live without their parents, who have left to find work abroad. We support everyone with food and remain a local employer.
The restart
The country is still in a bad situation. We buy land. The campus retains its size of 150 hectares. Plenty of room for current and future projects such as the vanilla farm, the cabbage palms or the metal construction workshop.
Investment in the Farmhouse
We are increasing the appeal of the resort. We are building luxury bungalow suites, the Sanctuary Spa and the fine dining restaurant "Un". Our aim is for guests to stay longer and spend more.
The Gong starts to sound
Our latest major project is the opening of The Gong cultural centre. It provides a stage for artists and has state-of-the-art recording and podcasting studios called the Gong Studios.
An even broader education
We are currently building the secondary school building, which will initially house the high school. The project is scheduled for completion in 2025. Our university is in the evaluation phase. We are working on it.
To the next 10 years of Smiling Gecko in Cambodia
© 2023 • Verein Smiling Gecko • Am Wasser 9 • 8600 Dübendorf • Schweiz • +41 44 321 67 70 • info@smilinggecko.ch