Company Info

Khmer Krafts, a Lydia Project, is a Social Entrepreneurship Business established in 2005 to help at-risk young women in Cambodia. Today in Cambodia the sex trade is a billion dollar business. Eighty per cent of the population lives in rural villages with limited educational and employment opportunities. As a result, they have little hope. Some parents are willing sell their daughters to business men offering good paying jobs in the restaurants and hotels in the Capital, Phnom Penh. Others are enticed on their own to escape the poverty and village life for opportunities in the big city or in Thailand. Most often these promoters are merely a front for the pimps who run the brothels and the young women end up being forced into prostitution.

Khmer Krafts seeks out these at-risk young women and provides them the opportunity to learn the sewing trade and become employable after training. Khmer Krafts makes handmade purses and accessories. These are imported and sold in the U.S. with the money returned to Cambodia to support these young women giving them an opportunity to become productive members of society. The money they earn from this project provides them with a living wage for themselves and their families.

The sale of these beautifully handcrafted purses gives women and opportunity to ‘help women’ in this Third World country! The purses are available through fund raising activities and at some boutiques and gift stores. Also, Khmer Krafts produces items for special projects such as conferences, clubs, and the retail market.

Today Khmer Krafts is providing training and opportunity for more than 50 women. With your support we will gain the resources to provide continued support and growth to help those in need of a better life. Partnering with this Socially Responsible Business is an opportunity to provide a helping hand and make a big difference in the lives of some of the poorest and underprivileged women in the world. Khmer Krafts operates in accordance with Fair Trade guidelines providing excellent working conditions and wages at or above those available in their culture. In 2009 over 40,000 purses were made and sold throughout the United States (see our customers).