OUR STORY
ABOUT MANAVA
Translated from Sanskrit, MANAVA means humankind. MANAVA believes in love, people and culture being at the heart of all our designs. We are here to support female artisans by creating exclusive, artisanal rattan products that strengthen the international reputation of Cambodia's creative industries. Bringing people together to preserve an important part of Cambodia's cultural legacy, while also providing education and empowerment training to Cambodian women.
MANAVA provides our artisans with a sustainable income, empowers their creativity and offers them a safe working environment, where their views and opinions matter.
SOCIAL IMPACT
A large number of Cambodian women living in villages are unemployed and even if they do have a job, the average income is between $55 to $75 per month. This works out to be approximately $2,30 dollars per day. With most of the families having between 3-5 children, it makes it almost impossible for them to survive.
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MANAVA is currently providing 24 female artisans a fair income. Since the female artisans joined MANAVA, their family contribution has increased significantly by more than 100%. MANAVA intends continues income growth.
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Furthermore, MANAVA empowers the creativity of the artisans by offering high quality level training and promoting personal development. The social enterprise is conducting a life skill program in partnership with a Women’s Resource Center NGO, which is including trainings such as financial management, family planning, healthcare, domestic violence, positive parenting, women’s right and English.
With MANAVA, the women know their opinion matters and that they can work in a fair environment where companionship, crafts, and happiness flourish.
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ENVIRONMENTAL
IMPACT
We work with a rattan palm material called "pdau" and willow grass called "la paek". This palm and grass are fast growing and found throughout Cambodia. Because we believe in sustainable harvests, we carefully limit what we reap in order to provide for continued future growth season after season. We use the kind of rattan which flourishes in the lakes and rivers. Compared to the thicker rattan that grows in forests and mountains, our rattan is a more flexible and a thinner rattan which easily grows back year after year.
