Photo: Florian Hahn | Unsplash
Shinta Mani Angkor is more than just a five-star luxury hotel in Cambodia’s Temple Town. It’s also a social enterprise that’s empowering local communities. Five percent of revenue from the hotel — along with its two sibling properties in Cambodia’s Cardamom Forest and Nepal — goes to the Shinta Mani Foundation, an NGO that started in 2004 with the opening of the Shinta Mani Hospitality Training School. Now, 20 years after its founding, the School hosts a class of around 34 young adults each year for a 10-month program. Students — who are 17-24 years old and come from underprivileged backgrounds — learn English, computer skills and life skills. They also choose areas of specialization: finance, front office, housekeeping, maintenance, food and beverage, and spa therapy. $3,000 supports a student for one year, giving them access to room and board as well as a small stipend of rice and cash they can use to support their families. The Foundation gives locals the tools they need to escape the cycle of poverty. Projects like the hospitality school are helping to usher Cambodia into a new era.
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