Our Project 

A good cake for a good cause

Created in 2014, the Bayon Bakery and Pastry School offers a complete and entirely free vocational training for about 20 young women in very precarious situations each year.

They are taken care of for 12 months and follow a theoretical and practical training with 4 months of internship in the hotels of Siem Reap.

With the objective of contributing to the funding of the training, the Coffee Shop opened its doors in 2015.

It is a real educational support for the students who learn how to make pastries and bakery and learn about the service profession.

Pastry student making croissant
 
 
 
 
 
Delicious lime meringue pie and coffee
Pastry student making chocolate eclairs
 
 
Soft skills class
 

Our goal : Give a complete training and a job to our students

  1. Students spend 5 afternoons a week in the pastry lab to learn theory and practice:
    • Professional environment equipped with quality tools
    • Quarterly cake and bread making exams evaluated by the teachers
    • End-of-year exam evaluated by the chefs of the partner hotels where the students do their internship

  2. They follow complementary courses 5 mornings per week

    • Intensive English at the school and with our partner Australian Center of English

    • Personal development and soft skills

    • Entrepreneurship, business and sales

    • IT classes

  3. Students practice during 2 internships of 2 months

    During 4 months of the year, the students go to the most famous hotels in Siem Reap to do their internship. This is the opportunity for them to be confronted with a real workplace with its constraints.

Key Figures

  • Students trained and employed

    + 100

    Students trained and employed

  • Students 2022 class

    50 %

    Self-financing of the training thanks to the revenues generated by the Coffee Shop

  • Students with lemon meringue eclairs

    + 15

    Partner hotels and restaurants supplied with our products

Developing young women’s resilience

Our students often come from a challenging background and are more likely to encounter obstacles. Our NGO strives to give them opportunities and knowledge to overcome these difficulties. By living together for one year, they help each other and create a team spirit that will continue with the alumni network.

  • Learning English and computer skills enables them to meet the requirements of their new workplace. They will also be able to use these skills if they need to change to a job less related to baking.

  • Soft skills courses (learning how to settle into a new environment, morality, how to run a small business...) give them confidence and allow them to adapt.

Students during pastry class
Students selling breads

Student selection criteria

Criteria

• Motivation and team spirit
• Interest in the bakery theme
• Min level of education: grade 7. • A difficult social situation
• Being between 17 and 25 years old

Selection Process :
• Student Application
• Written exam to evaluate the general level of the student (Khmer, mathematics, English)
• Oral motivational interview
• Visit of the family to assess the social situation

 Sponsor a pastry student : $3 000/year

Women in Cambodia, as in many countries, are most often deprived of access to education. One year for a young student at the Bayon pastry school is equivalent to 3 000$.

This amount includes :

  • Accommodation and food

  • All courses during the year and expenses related to their internship

  • School supplies and uniforms

  • A bike (to get to their course)

  • Monthly allowances

 

“We take in young girls who are very shy and insecure, but we graduate proud and adaptable women who are prepared to be resilient and ready to face the complexities of the job market.”