After a bit of a hiatus the Open Workshop is back with an amazing opportunity: Working Across Cultures with veteran trainer John Jablonka, June 6th at 2pm. Our last cross-cultural workshop packed out so make sure you get in early!

What is it about?

This workshop is both for Khmer people and foreigners working in Battambang in the social enterprise and development sectors. It aims to bring people together to discuss the issues faced in working with people from diverse cultures eg. How can we best …

• Form relationships?
• Communicate?
• Manage time?
• Plan?
• Get things done?
• Create Change?
• Sustain change?

The workshop is not about do’s and don’ts that oversimplify cultures. It will encourage dialogue using participatory approaches. It will enable you to explore ideas and myths about culture and generate some unique ideas relevant to your communities and people.

About the Presenter

John is a cross cultural trainer based in Australia who works with developing communities. He has been travelling to work in Cambodia since 2000 as well as many other countries in the Asia Pacific where he has explored principles for working well across cultures.

Who’s it for?

Workshop will be in English and Khmer (volunteer translators welcome). The workshop will work best with a mix of participants so please invite both your expat and Khmer colleagues.

How to register?

Workshop places are limited so please register your interest to ensure a place.

Please email workshop@kinyei.org with:

Your name: Number of people participating: Organisation (if applicable): What do you want to achieve in this workshop:

When

Tuesday June 5, 2pm – 5pm. (update: previous date was incorrect, this is now the correct date)

Where

Kinyei Cafe St 1.5 Battambang Town

As always, participation in Kinyei Open Workshops is free of charge. Look forward to seeing you there!

—

ធ្វើការជាមួយវប្បធម៍ចំរុះ

បន្ទាប់ពីបានសរាក់បន្តិច ពីការសិក្ខាសាលា ត្រឡប់មកនេះគឺជាឳកាសដ៏អស្ចារ្យ៖ គឺការធ្វើការ ចំរុះវប្បធម៍ជាមួយអ្នកបណ្តុះបណ្តាល ចន ចាបលូកា (John Jablonka) នៅថ្ងៃទី ៦ ខែ មិថុនា នៅវេលាម៉ោង ២រសៀល។ សិក្ខាសាលាអំពី ការចំរុះវប្បធម៍ និងមានអ្នកចូលរូមច្រើន ហើយ ចំនួនមានកំណត់ ប្រាដកថាអ្នកមកចូលរូមបានមុនពេលចាប់ផ្តើម។ តើគេនិយាយអំពីអ្វី?

សិក្ខាសាលានេះ អ្នកចូលរូមគឺមានទាំងខ្មែរនិងបរទេស ដែលពូកគេធ្វើការក្នុងខេត្តបាត់ដំបងនិង ជាភ្នាក់ងារជាអភិវឌ្ឃសង្គម។ យើងមានគោលបំណង ប្រមូលផ្តុំមនុស្សទាំងនោះមកធ្វើការ ពិភាក្សាទៅបញ្ហាដែលធ្វើការជាមួយមនុស្សដែលមានវប្បធម៍ខុសៗគ្នា។ ជាឧទាហរណ៍ដូចជា៖ តើយើងអាចធ្វើយ៉ាងណា…. ទំរង់នៃការទាក់ទង? ការទំនាក់ទំនង? ការគ្រប់គ្រង់ពេលវេលា? គំរោងការ? ធ្វើការផ្លាស់ប្តូរ? គំាទ្រការផ្លាស់ប្តូរ? សិក្ខាសាលានេះគឺមិនអំពី មិនមែនធ្វើអ្វីឲ្យខុសឆ្ងាយពីភាពសមញ្ញនៃវប្បធម៍។ យើងនិង លើកទឹកចិត្តចំពោះការចូលរួមធ្វើការសន្ទនា។ យើងនិងធ្វើឲ្យអ្នកអាច ស្វែងរកគំនិត និង ជំនឿដែលមិនគួជឿអំពីវប្បធម៍ និងធ្វើការបង្កើតនូវគំនិតដែលពាក់ពន្ធ័ទៅនិង សហគមន៍ និង មនុស្ស។ អំពី វាគ្មិន លោក ចន គឺជាអ្នកបណ្តុំបណ្តាល់អំពីវប្បធម៍ចំរុះមួយនៅ អូស្រ្តលី ដែលគាត់ធ្វើការជាមួយការ អភិវឌ្ឃសហគមន៍។ គាត់បានធ្វើដំណើរមកប្រទេសកម្ពុជា ចាប់តាំងពីឆ្នាំ ២០០០ មកម្ល៉េះ ហើយ គាត់ក៏បានធ្វើដំណើរទៅប្រទេសផ្សេងៗទៀតជាច្រើន នៅអាស៊ីប៉ាស៊ីភិចនេះ ដែលគាត់បាន ស្វែងរកនូវគោលការណ៍ សំរាប់ការធ្វើការងារចំរុះវប្បធម៍នេះ។

តើសិក្ខាសិលានេះសំរាប់អ្នកណា?​ សិក្ខាសាលានេះចាប់ធ្វើរូមគ្នាជាមួយជនជាតិខ្មែរ និងបរទេស (អ្នកស្មាគ្រ័ចិត្តបកប្រែទាំងអស់ សូមស្វាគមន៍)។ សិក្ខាសាលានេះ និងដំណើរការទៅបានល្អប្រសើរលុះត្រាតែមានការចូលរូមចំរុះ ដូចច្នោះ សូមអញ្ជើញទាំងបរទេស និងបុគ្គលឹកខ្មែរ។

តើអ្នកចុះឈ្មោះដោយរបៀបណា? ទីកន្លែងសំរាប់សិក្ខាសាលា គឺមានកំណត់ដូចច្នោះសូមប្រញាប់រួសរាន់ចុះឈ្មោះឡើង ដើម្បី ធានាបាននៅទីកន្លែងសំរាប់អ្នក។

សូមទំនាក់ទំនងមក អ៊ីម៉ែលរបស់ខ្ញី៖ អ៊ីម៉ែល៖ workshop@kinyei.org ឈ្មោះ ចំនួនអ្នកចូលរូម អង្គការ (ប្រសិនបើអាច) តើអ្នកចង់បានអ្វីពីសិក្ខាសាលានេះ? នៅពេលណា? ថ្ងៃទី ០៦/ មិថុនា/ ២០១២ ពីម៉ោង ២ល្ងាច ដល់ម៉ោង ៥​ល្ងាច។ នៅឯណា? ធ្វើនៅ ខ្ញី នៅផ្លូវលេខ ១ កន្លះ ក្នុង ក្រុងបាត់ដំបង។

The response to our campaign for local self-sufficiency has already been overhwhelming both online and off. At time of writing we’ve raised $3005 with the help of 14 phenomenal backers, and received some really exciting offers of help with training which I’ll tell you more about when plans firm up.

All of our contributors are critical to the succcess of this initiative but this week we wanted to give a special shout-out to four of the first to jump on board (and agree to be profiled!). These guys along with other early-birds really started the ball rolling, so without further ado, here are some of our amazing supporters:

Larry & Run

We are honored to be a small part of this worthy project. We are Cham Run and Larry Madison in Tennessee, USA. We are retired from Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida

Our support for this project is to show our gratitude to Phalla Yai for her help in locating family members out of touch for 30 years. Phalla is attending Battambang University and is involved in the Kinyei project. We hope to be able to provide more support in the near future and applaud the staff for what they have accomplished so far.

Good luck and best wishes.

Lily Henderson

What do you do? Filmmaker

Why support Kinyei? It’s such a creative and simple idea that it has to work. Creating a space where people can work or hang out over some quality espresso, home baked goods and local artwork is one good community builder but then adding the bike program, which enables people to really branch out into their community and to see it from a different vantage point, makes the Kinyei model brilliant.

Pat Allan

What do you do? Itinerant freelance web developer and event organiser _ Why support Kinyei? _Because I love what the Kinyei team are doing, you’re all wonderful people, and you’re making a clear and positive difference in the lives of your employees and future business owners.

Ariana & Mike

What do you do? At the moment we work to travel.

Why support Kinyei? We love the staff and their ideas and want to support them in making change within their community in Battambang. We hope Kinyei continues to grow and all those involved grow with it.

Love from Paris, Ari and Mike

Thanks to all our backers so far for helping us kick off to a great start, you guys are making amazing things possible!

In case you’re new to this blog, Kinyei is a grassroots initiative to develop social entrepreneurship in Battambang, Cambodia, by collaborating with young Cambodians day to day on social enterprises. (Basically. We also find ourselves getting caught up in open culture events, peer-learning projects and youth entrepreneurship throughout Cambodia.) You can read more about what we do right here.

This week however we are starting a fundraising campaign to support arguably Kinyei’s most critical and exciting initiative yet. We will be training the team to manage their own projects, making them entirely locally sustained and run.

Kinyei has only raised funds once before, to the cafe’s set up costs. We’re proud of what’s been achieved by the team with this – a bare fraction of the funding of many large NGO programs here – and their own sweat and creativity.

It’s fun to see what our numbers can tell about our story, have a look:

Project: Cafe

4 – cafe staff moved into other Kinyei projects
20 – volunteers engaged for help or training
2 – trainings given by Kinyei baristas to outside baristas
18 – events hosted
18 – staff received training
30 – % revenue spent on staff
94 – % recommended on TripAdvisor (rating excellent or very good)
7 –  staff trained in financial, communications, technology office processes
15 – open workshops held
150 – open workshop participants
148 – facebook likes
4,100 – coffees served

 Project: Soksabike

2 – industry partnerships
6 – number of volunteers engaged
16 – number of staff trained
90 – facebook likes
419 – customers taken to the countryside
100 – % excellent or very good TripAdvisor rating

Project: Sammaki

6 – Local artist exhibitions
8 – workshops held on various creative processes
(block printing, photography, composting, portraiture, image transfer)
10 – events held in the space
(film festival, art walk venue, graphic novel presentation, noise art performance)
35 – volunteers engaged
800 – visitors to the space
$2,000 – commission of artwork sold to run Sammaki
$6,000  – value of artwork sold

Have a look at the latest Kickstarter update for our backers! We thought we’d share the good news from here on our site with everyone. Stay tuned for more images and updates on goings on in Battambang soon.  P.S. It’s really hot right now. Really.

About the Workshop

Come to learn about an affliction that affects a high number of amputee victims in Cambodia. Stephen will introduce an innovative approach to healing Phantom Limb Pain, or the pain amputees experience in the limbs they no longer have, with a simple technique called Mirror Therapy. He’ll also give a personal account of his experience with phantom pain, as he is an above-the-knee unilateral amputee.

Learn exactly what phantom pain is, where it stems from and see a hands-on demonstration about Mirror Therapy in action, and the short and simple protocol of what amputees or caregivers must do to ensure success. Participants will gain exposure to the excruciating existence of phantom limb pain (over 90% of trauma-based amputees – ie: landmines and traffic accidents) and to the availability of an incredibly simple, effective, non-narcotic cure that requires no clinics, hospitals, doctors, drugs; a cure that’s virtually free and doesn’t carry the danger of addiction (unless you really, really, like to look at yourself in the mirror).

About Stephen

Stephen hails from Vancouver, a logger, fisherman, photo model, fisherman again and hobo-drifter for life. First a ski racer and then a road cyclist, where he developed his life-long passion. Stephen lost his left leg above the knee in a hit-and-run motorbike accident about 8 years ago near Siena, Italy. His injuries were manifold and he spent some time in a coma. Shortly after the amputation and various other procedures, he began to experience a harrowing intensity and frequency of Phantom Limb Pain bouts. This continued, more or less unabated, for a full four years until he finally took a tiny gamble and bought a mirror to begin Mirror Therapy. After five easy weeks of self-treatment he’s been pain-free ever since. Over 10,000 limb amputations have been done in Cambodia since 1979 – and who knows how many before that. Many of these people are suffering today and Stephen, with his experience and his breakthrough treatment is in a unique position to help them.

He is so grateful that he has taken it on as his duty, and is his great and priceless pleasure to bring this technique to others that might have have little hope of discovering it otherwise. He’s since lived in Vancouver, Afghanistan, Southern California, Berlin, Baja, Saudi Arabia and is now working with various NGOs and caregivers in Cambodia. He also had the ultra-rare experience of being involved in the making of a movie based on my own life. It was a Warner Bros Germany film (thus in the German language) and is called Phantomschmerz or ‘Phantom Pain’. Here’s an English subtitled clip: Phantomschmerz (English Subtitles). He is hoping that his having been so many places and done so much since his accident will inspire energy and motivation in at least a few of the amputees that he has met on this ‘mission’.

When is the workshop?

Monday February 27th at 6 – 7 pm; about one hour plus question and answer.

Who should attend the workshop?

Anyone and everyone including local Khmer amputees. This is a unique and valuable opportunity for information about phantom limb pain and mirror therapy techniques to reach the local NGO community, ex-pats and Khmers alike. The talk is for a broad audience and we’re hoping to have a variety of people with different backgrounds in the room – everyone is welcome and encouraged!

What languages?

English with Khmer translation provided

Register now!

**Workshop places are limited so please register your interest to ensure a place. Please email katie_at_kinyei_dot_org with:</p>

Your name: Organisation (if applicable): What do you want to achieve in this workshop:</strong>

Where?

Kinyei Cafe

St 1.5 Battambang Town Look forward to seeing you there!

On December 20th 2011 Kinyei welcomed a new friend, Jan Cornall, who is from Sydney, Australia. She came and visited Battambang and Kinyei cafe’. During her visit to Battambang, she opened two different workshops. The first one was in the afternoon which was about the creative ways of making zines, crafts from paper. The other one was about creative writing. The workshops mostly encouraged people to think and be creative by making things and making decorations. It reduces stress and is also fun to see other people’s creative ideas. We got different people attending from a different organisations who attended like GEMS International School, Children’s Future International and Kinyei members and other friends. Katie who is one of Kinyei’s Facilitators joined the Zine craft and expressed that the workshop is mostly a relaxed way, great and fun to do something creative with friends and others. She loves and enjoys finding beauty from normal things. It helps her to have more creative ideas with her project. And she’d love to do more crafting with group in the future.

Elizabeth who is a psychologist from Switzerland and now working freelance in Cambodia, joined the creative writing workshop and said that she really liked how the teacher balanced directiveness and letting all participant to find their own way of creativity. “It was inspiring to see and exchange with other people’s ideas.”

Kinyei thanks to Jan Cornall who ran these workshops and hopefully we’ll enjoy seeing and working with her on some more creative things again in January.

Kinyei is looking for a volunteer to hang out with us, experience Battambang, and work alongside a Khmer team from January to March, to plan, organize, and host the first ever Trampoline Unconference in Battambang, Cambodia.

What is Trampoline?

Established in Melbourne, Australia three years ago, Trampoline is an unconference driven by participants who share what they find amazing. There is no specific topic – indeed, the goal is to share ideas from all different disciplines, industries and walks of life.

Cambodia is just beginning to explore the benefits of unconference type gatherings. Young changemakers in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap have facilitated and participated in a range of idea exchange forums the likes of TedxPP, BarCamp, and smaller break off gatherings. It’s an exciting time here, there is an energy and a charge that is palpable. As a catalyst for Trampoline Battambang, you’d get to witness the first of these idea exchanges in a community full of potential.

Thus you’ll have the opportunity to play a key role in getting this new event happening in Battambang, and encourage the spirit of social innovation, sharing and community in Cambodia. And because we need you located here with us, you’ll also get to experience the relaxed charm of Battambang while the weather’s at its best.

So what exactly will I be doing?

You will be working with a Khmer team to translate the Trampoline idea into something that fits the local context, and providing event planning and communications support. You’ll be putting your skills and talents to use for other Kinyei projects as well. We’ve got Trampoline pencilled in for late February or early March 2012.

Language training, mentorship and guidance will be provided by the Kinyei team – who don’t lack for experience in both attending and running Trampolines – so will you have plenty of support as you hit the ground running.

Ideally, you should excel in the following areas:

• proven ability to thrive in new, challenging environments
• excellent communication skills
• creative problem solving skills
• initiative taker
• desire to be helpful and work well with others across cultures

And for bonus points, you should also have some experience with:

• running events
• video production and/or social media tools such as Twitter and Facebook
• leveraging networks

This is a volunteer position and thus there is no wage.

What’s next?

Send an email to Pat (pat at freelancing-gods dot com) for more details about why you should come to Battambang.

Latest from the Cafe front: Barista trainings and Championships

We’re fast approaching our one year anniversary at Kinyei’s St 1.5 Cafe! Incredible to think that it’s been one year since we launched our Kickstarter campaign to get this whole thing off the ground, ran a remote training with our green staff and the Jasper folks, and opened our doors in Battambang.

There hasn’t been a minute to sit still so far; looking back at the past two months, it’s been a frenzied push to expand our team and into our upstairs space. We’d like to think these last several months have been a testament to the team’s hard work and endless energy for fulfilling Kinyei’s collaborative spaces a making the most of every opportunity that presents itself.

Barista Training in and out

We kicked off October with another round of hiring to ready ourselves for the tourist season, nearly upon us. Theavy, Sopheap, Seyla and Chouert, the cafe newcomers, are quickly acclimating to cafe life. Fortuitously, Kinyei was hosting volunteers James and Joel, pals from Australia, on site for 2 weeks around the same time (see post below for their blog). James, a coffee connoisseur with years of experience in the coffee industry back in Brisbane, used the two weeks to pass on his expertise.

Sopheap's first latte

James, with help from Katie and the Cafe team, developed a comprehensive Barista training manual and accreditation course, with a coffee appreciation component, covering coffee concepts from crop to cup.

This newly minted Barista Course has jumpstarted a new service for Kinyei’s cafe team – professional espresso machine training. So far the Kinyei team has facilitated our training for one barista from Art Deli in Siem Reap, and two baristas from a new cafe near Banteay Preab, Phnom Penh. The Cafe team did a fantastic job of delivering this training and received stellar feedback from the trainees. Sorn Sreyna commented about the benefits of the training,

“I feel excited that I can make a nice coffee now, I know clearly how to make many kinds of coffee and hot to steam a very nice milk.”

She then asked, “Can I come back to train again?”

Similarly the cafe team was excited to be able to share (and show off) their skills. Untac also noted that “the training was great but quite short. I would want at least a week if I were a trainee I would feel confused!”

Srey Na and Sopheap, barista trainees from Phnom Penh

Untac also incorporated YouTube instructables into the training himself, citing how helpful it was for him when he was learning to use YouTube to watch different milk steaming techniques. To be sure, making delicious espresso takes persistence and passion!

TOT for P2P

Kinyei’s senior Cafe staff also attended a train the trainer workshop led by the Women’s Reproductive Team from the Catholic Centre in Battambang at Kinyei. Perfect timing for the team to use their new training skills as we rolled out the Barista training curriculum to staff from cafes around Cambodia.

TOT P2P it's all happening

Soksabike tour guide Moth Pheap was happy for the chance to view experienced trainers to get ideas for leadership style and setting clear direction and focus to a task. Sopheap Khou appreciated that the trainers spent time to understand their audience, and become familiar with those they were going to train, including cultivating a friendly feeling between instructor and student. Phalla Yai pointed out that the training was just a first step, and that with limited time, there was limited potential for learning – she’d like to see more trainings like this in the future.

It was fun to see Kinyei’s different project teams come together to learn a general skill like leadership and training that they can bring back to their specific jobs, and use in peer to peer education whether that’s training new baristas in the cafe, new tour guides on the route, or any other hobby, interest or skill that they have.

Thanks again to Meg Battle, Theary and the team from the Catholic Church for putting together a super workshop!

Kinyei’s first entry into the Cambodian National Barista Champs

On the 20th of October Katie, Sean and Sakana crowded into a shared taxi to Phnom Penh to cheer on Untac in the 2011 Barista Championships at the Sofitel.

On the 21st of October Untac had 15 minutes to make and serve 12 coffees. He made four espressos, four Cappuccinos and four signature drinks. With help from fellow cafe staff, Untac concocted the ‘Kinyei’; a shot of espresso, a shot of ginger sugar syrup, latte milk and cinnamon sprinkled on top. The ‘Kinyei’ was served in a piccolo latte glass. Delicious…and innovative! Katie, Mel, Justin and I got the pleasure of tasting the ‘Kinyei’ during Untac’s practice round the day before the competition at St 1.5.

Untac brought his coffee making flare and charming personality to the floor to produce some stunning coffees. Have a look for yourself – Untac competes in National Barista Competition

“The three who won were very skillful, all the competitors have skills, but did worse during the competition, even me”, Untac noted. He attributed this to the nervousness all contestants felt, as none had been judged before. He also noted that there were two different machines and that the contenstents were randomly assigned to compete on; the participants all agreed the larger 2 Group Saaco machine was more optimal than the smaller single group machine. It was luck of the draw.

The crowned barista was from The Shop in Phnom Penh. Talk about steep competition, most of these baristas are churning out hundreds of espressos daily. We’re terribly stoked for Untac, he did us all proud in Phnom Penh!

Untac and Sakana scoping out the competition

The small Kinyei contingency was delighted to witness the pomp at the Cambodian Restaurant Association’s (CRA) barista competition. Sakana noted that she loved to watch the cooking competition “since cooking is something I’ve loved since I was little.” On Phnom Penh, she added “Romdeng restaurant was my  and the pumpkin cake at Living Room cafe.”

“The cafes in Phnom Penh are similar to Kinyei, but I got some new ideas about specials. At Kinyei we could have something like Banana Cappuccino”, Sean reported.

As for watching Untac compete, Sakana remarked “I was very scared for Untac!”

Untac just before his turn at the machine

“I was very happy when I watched Untac to make coffee, some time I want to help but this is a competition so I cannot”, lamented Sean.

Untac interjected that one of his favorite things was getting to know the other contestants from different places in Cambodia. Everyone was really friendly, and happy to share about their experiences. “While we played on the machines, people would come and share what they know. We’re still talking together on facebook.”

“I think next year Kinyei should send two baristas to compete” Sakana concluded. We couldn’t agree more.

An aside: Lucky for the team, the event was held as part of the CRA hospitality competition. You can imagine our elation as we witnessed competitors in the bedmaking, fruit carving, and bartending competitions.

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Jan Cornall travels the world teaching creative writing workshops. We’re happy to have the chance to host her at the Open Workshop for two sessions on Tuesday, December 20, one on creative writing and another on zine production. Here are the details:

The Zen of Zine Making – 11am-3pm, 20 Dec

Get some pointers on the Japanese art of haiku (three line poem) and haibun (descriptive haiku like prose)  then learn how to make a simple zine (small hand made book) to put them in. Working with handmade papers,fabric and found materials learn how to use folding and oriental stitching to create different kinds of zines and mini artist books. No experience necessary – just a creative spirit and desire to play with words and paper.

Workshop schedule includes time for lunch.

Seize the Moment Creative Writing Workshop – 6.30pm-8.30pm, 20 Dec

Have you always wanted to write a collection of stories or poems, travel memoir, life story or play around with fiction or non-fiction? Are you already writing but need a shot of inspiration to keep you going? In a creative and supportive atmosphere find out where to start, how to progress and set realistic goals for finishing. Revise the essential elements of writing; learn how to find your writers voice, develop descriptive detail, create interesting characters and find the structure that will bring your story to life. Using meditative techniques discover how easy it is to access your creative source on a daily basis and leave the workshop with a plan that will see you completing your writing project within months. All genres, all levels of experience welcome.

About Jan

Jan Cornall is a Sydney based writer, performer and teacher who supports writers through the long process of realising their creative work. The author of fifteen plays and musicals, a feature film, three CDs of songs and a novel, Jan teaches creative writing at writer’s centres, community colleges and universities in Australia and the Asia Pacific. Jan also leads writing retreats in inspirational locations: Bali, Fiji, Laos, Cambodia and the Australian desert. Dedicated to nurturing the unique attributes of each writer, each year a number of her students go on to publish with major publishing houses. www.writersjourney.com.au www.myspace.com/jancornall

Who’s it for?

Any age, genre, experience level welcome. Workshop will be in English (volunteer translators welcome), participants are welcome to write in their own language.

How to register?

Workshop places are limited so please register your interest to ensure a place.

Please email workshop@kinyei.org with:

Your name: Organisation (if applicable): What do you want to achieve in this workshop:

Where

Kinyei Cafe St 1.5 Battambang Town

As always, participation in Kinyei Open Workshops is free of charge. Look forward to seeing you there!