Wedding Outfitting in Cambodia

As agricultural productivity increases, villagers have more money to spend on the important celebrations of Commune life. Opportunities are created for out of school youth.

Miss Sup Ra is 24 years old and finished grade 7. Her family had few resources and so further schooling was not an option. With only basic literacy, she tried but could not learn new skills from books. She needed a chance to work on the job so she could imitate work activities from someone already skilled…and learn a basic competence which would start her up the National Qualifications Framework ladder.

Ra had an understanding of make-up and had been looking through fashion magazines for years, so when she saw a chance to learn wedding outfitting, she jumped! Wedding outfitting combines dress making, hair dressing and make up…a complete support package for the many dress changes needed in a Khmer wedding.

The Community Development Specialist from the PTC lined her up with an employer who could provide on-the-job training through the VSTP and within 9 months, she had her own business, wedding outfitting. The best part of her training was actually working with her trainer at Cambodian weddings getting practical experience every day as she learned.

VSTP has three training options for Communes: Commune based training, Center based training (at the PTC) and Enterprise based training, a style of informal apprenticeship. By for the most popular is the Commune based activities because it is so accessible and trainees can apply what they are learning everyday…to make sure it works. However working directly with an employer in the Enterprise based training is a cost effective way of providing skills when expensive training equipment is needed

The Sup family now has a reliable income source once again and they are already thinking of when they can get back to vegetable growing. Ra often earns over $8 per day, more than double the average family income in the village. The Commune has asked the PTC for a vegetable drying course next year and a Seng sister has put her name into the Council as a trainee.

Ra’s dream now is to move her business closer to the village market in Ra Village, Moung Ruessei Commune, Moung Ruessei District .. where she thinks she can double her revenue…even after paying rent. And she will hire her sister as a trainee…and also to sell the dried vegetables out front!