Sala Bai Hotel & Restaurant School

Business Overview

P.O Box 93071, 155 Phoum Tapoul - Siem Reap, Cambodia.

Sala Bai Hotel & Restaurant School was founded in 2002 by the French NGO Agir pour le Cambodge. Entirely and exclusively meant for young Cambodians coming from underprivileged families. More than 800 young people with a 70% priority to girls, have been trained. They have all found a job within their one-year training. A few years later, their average salary goes from $200 to $300.

About Sala Bai Hotel & Restaurant School

"Without Sala Baï training, I would never have found this job nor reached this salary. Sala Baï has not only trained me in the hotel and Tourism industry but they taught me how to struggle and be patient in my work. ... With my salary, I can pay for the rent, I save some money to go on to University and I help my family up to half of what I earn."

The vocational training taught at Sala Baï is definitely the fastest and most efficient way of fighting poverty and human trafficking.

But without your support, nothing would be possible. Give wings to young Cambodians full of hope and potential to contribute to their training through sponsorship, donation or even booking a holiday or going to lunch at our Hotel and Restaurant School.

School and Project of Sala Bai Hotel & Restaurant School

Created in 2002 by the French NGO Agir Pour Le Cambodge, Sala Baï is a free hotel school based in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Each year, the school, trains 100 young disadvantaged Cambodians to the four main professions of the hospitality industry: restaurant waiter/waitress, cook, receptionist & housekeeping attendants.

During the 12-month training, the school covers all the training fees (lessons, school supplies, books, uniforms), and daily expenses (accommodations, food, bicycle, insurance and medical expenses) for the students.

The training lasts 11 months from September to July. The 12th month, August, is dedicated to assist the students to find their first employment.

Origin of the project

In 2002, Agir Pour Le Cambodge set up Sala Baï program, due to the following reasons:

Very low school attendance rate in a country where 60% of the population is under 20 (54% for girls and 68% for boys). Many young people leave school to contribute to the family income, thus obtaining precarious and seasonal jobs with no future.

Few vocational training programs exist in the country, even less for those who have not reached grade 9.

Girls mainly drop out of school younger than boys, to help at home, work or get married. Very few vocational training opportunities are offered to young women, even less when they have a low education level.

At the same time, the number of hotels in Siem Reap, town of Angkor temples, is increasing very fast and requires more and more qualified trained workforce.

The profits from the tourism development in the area are badly distributed, especially among the poorest (35% of the population live under the poverty level with less than US$1 per day).

Our goals:

Contribute to reduce poverty in Cambodia through social and professional insertion of young under-privileged Cambodians.

Each year 100 young are trained and employed in the hospitality industry which is the fastest growing economic sector of the country (in 2009 tourism accounted for 16% of GNP with 2.1 million visitors).

Priority is given to girls (70%), due to the fact that they are more vulnerable and have less training opportunities.

To provide work skills development & capacity building to the local team for a future autonomization of the program.

Last but not least, to contribute to the development of responsible tourism and the setting up and development of vocational training in Cambodia.