CHA - Cambodian Handicraft Association for Landmine and Polio Disabled

Cambodia

CHA

Purpose

The Cambodian Handicraft Association (CHA) seeks to assist landmine and polio disabled reintegrate into society. As a result of a long-term civil war, over 40,000 individuals have stepped on landmines giving Cambodia one of the highest percentages of disabled persons anywhere in the world. The assistance the disabled receive is in the form of production workshops that prepare them for future employment.

Specifically, their objectives are:

to provide technical support to a select group of graduates with proven capabilities, enabling them to use the skills they learned at skill-training programmes more effectively
to build upon marketing potential through the use of the Internet and by emphasizing high quality and a better understanding of the requirements of foreign buyers/customers
to provide the producers who spend time in these shops/programmes with a positive and profitable work experience, one which both hones their skills and gives them options for their future
to teach the workers enough business and basic tailoring/weaving skills to help them become employable in businesses and organisations in the urban centres of Cambodia
to build the confidence and self-esteem of these young Cambodians through a positive and challenging study environment, using their basic skills, which have been trained and practised at the CHA Project
to provide the workers with the means to integrate more fully into society and dissipate the myth that the "disabled" are unable
to participate in landmine awareness and the campaign to ban landmines
to better satisfy sources of income generation for disabled graduates through skilled employment and business opportunities
to better satisfy the basic needs of disabled graduates and their families through long-term benefits from skill-training workshops, income generation and job placement programmes.

CHA achieves these objectives:

either directly by engaging in fair trade, or indirectly through activities which promote and support fair trade
by trading with concern for the social, economic and environmental wellbeing of marginalised producers in developing countries
by openly sharing financial information, management policies, business practices, product sources, production marketing and development programme plans on a regular basis
by aiming for adequate income for disabled producers to meet their basic needs, including health care, education and the capacity to save
by seeking the greatest possible efficiency at the lowest cost while involving producers in decision-making and management as is appropriate to each organisation
by opposing discrimination and ensuring equality of employment opportunities for both men and women who suffer from the exploitation of their labour and the effects of poverty and racial, cultural or gender bias
by promoting development which both improves the quality of life of, and is sustainable for and responsible to, people
by agreeing to negotiate differences through open and direct dialogue.

CHA notes it does not give the disabled person a fish to survive on for a day; rather, it trains that person to fish and sustain him or herself forever.

Producers

Cambodian Handicraft Association began operating in 1997. The primary objective was, and is, to provide employment opportunities for landmine and polio disabled by manufacturing high quality silk and leather goods AND to provide training for potential artisans.

The artisans are selected from the graduates who have completed the course at Skill Training Programs in Phnom Penh. Generally women remain at the Centre for 3 months - a year for training, and then return to their villages. They are capable of achieving, not just by making quality handicrafts, but by being actively involved in marketing, policy making and management.

In 2009 CHA had 6 staff in Phnom Penh. Many volunteers help. There were 15 women iving in the Centre, training and sewing. Fifteen men are employed weaving in the villages. In addition, graduates from the CHA training programme who set up local businesses have continued to work with CHA over the years.

the crafts Trade Aid buys are made on site by the trainees and producers who live and work at CHA

Benefits

The Cambodian Handicraft Association builds the self-esteem of the disabled, and generates public awareness that the disabled are, in fact, able. The participants in the training programme improve their tailoring and weaving skills, and gain additional management experience to run a small business. The producers/trainees are helped to make a sustainable small business plan for when they go back to their villages. CHA employees themselves receive an annual trip to a special location, and are often offered English lessons. There are also monthly meetings covering social and health topics such as AIDS. In addition, CHA helps to locate jobs for trainees near their home villages, but if there is not a lot of work they are forced to come to bigger villages or cities.

Employees earn between $30-$40 per month which is slightly higher than government pay. A further payment of a month's salary is paid to cover festivals, and sometimes a production bonus is paid. All profits from the purchases made at Siem Reap Tailoring and Weaving Shops are shared by artisans.