Artisans d'AngkorApproximately two million tourists visit the temples of Angkor Park every year. Their feet take a heavy toll on the ancient steps and terraces. Fortunately, after the end of the Khmer Rouge era and the Vietnamese invasion (or liberation depending upon your politics) the Cambodian government had the prescience to set up Artisans d'Angkor, a wonderful educational and training initiative right in the middle of Siem Reap.
Under the heading of Chantiers-Ecoles de Formation Professionnelle, training and employment is currently provided to over 1300 people, providing them with a flourishing livelihood and a reason to remain in their communities, rather than drifting into the cities for work. Thus Artisans d'Angkor contributes to keeping these traditional villages vibrant. They are also maintaining some extremely valuable skills which would otherwise be lost very quickly. This has developed a pool of local talent able to contribute to the restoration and vital maintenance of those temples, which are such an important source of foreign income for this very poor country (146th out of 187 according to the IMF). |
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As well as stone and wood carving, craftsmen and women are trained in copper work, silk weaving, painting and gilding. Having walked around the workshops whilst they are working, I can attest that they pay very close attention to detail and take great pains over every tiny measurement. The callipers are the most used tool in the stone and wood carving rooms. The copies of artefacts they produce are beautiful objects in their own right and available to buy at the main workshop site as well as a few other places but they are also faithful renditions of the originals suitable for installation as the temples are laboriously restored. The fine silk dressing gowns are a fantastic buy and very easy to take home even if you're travelling light. We always stock up on tiger balm in little clay pots and generally get a lot of our Christmas presents here. Great value, good quality and perfect for those little surprises for special people back home. They will even ship one of the large stone heads at a very reasonable price should you fall in love with one. I'm still trying to figure out where I can put one though. |