Kravan House is a very small store in Phnom Pehn, Cambodia run by Thanan Hok. Thanan designs many of the products she sells in the store. She has developed a model where she trained a few women, mostly disabled like her to do some of the designs. She would have about 5 to 10 women working in one village. She has several of these groups in tiny villages close to Phnom Pehn and the women would come with their cloth tied packages of finished products. When you visit the store, you will chance upon some of these women bringing their finished products and with Thanan patiently go over each of these for quality control.
Once, an older lady was there with Thanan unloading silk flowers that the old lady sewed for Thanan. With the old lady is her grand daughter whose parents died of HIV so she ended up taking care of her. Apparently, the other grand daughters also died of HIV except for this particular one. Another time, a middle aged woman was there bringing the silk cloth she finished weaving. One could only surmise the stories these women would be able to share if we shared a common language. Still the smiles and gestures communicated our appreciation for the beautifully woven cloth.
At still another time, we saw two boxes filled with beautiful silk purses and bags being shipped to the United States. Sometimes, there are not much left on display as most of the finished products have been sold. Thanan’s dream is to have one day a place just outside of Phnom Pehn where she could have some of the unemployed women from the villages and train them to do some of her designs. As she is now selling many of her products, this dream could happen. It will take some time with real estate increasing so fast in Phnom Pehn but with Thanan’s talent and determination, she could pull it off. With a little more capital, she would do better but her designs are selling and this is the key for now.
Once, an older lady was there with Thanan unloading silk flowers that the old lady sewed for Thanan. With the old lady is her grand daughter whose parents died of HIV so she ended up taking care of her. Apparently, the other grand daughters also died of HIV except for this particular one. Another time, a middle aged woman was there bringing the silk cloth she finished weaving. One could only surmise the stories these women would be able to share if we shared a common language. Still the smiles and gestures communicated our appreciation for the beautifully woven cloth.
At still another time, we saw two boxes filled with beautiful silk purses and bags being shipped to the United States. Sometimes, there are not much left on display as most of the finished products have been sold. Thanan’s dream is to have one day a place just outside of Phnom Pehn where she could have some of the unemployed women from the villages and train them to do some of her designs. As she is now selling many of her products, this dream could happen. It will take some time with real estate increasing so fast in Phnom Pehn but with Thanan’s talent and determination, she could pull it off. With a little more capital, she would do better but her designs are selling and this is the key for now.
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