Cambodia Calling: Pub Street on Pchum Ben

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Pub Street on Pchum Ben

I took these photos close to 1pm yesterday, the most important day of Pchum Ben. I was amazed. This is the only time I have ever seen Pub Street so quiet. There was absolutely no one around and most shops were closed in Pub Street and the Alley south of it. This was at 1pm. By 8pm of course the street was bustling once again.

Pchum Ben is one of the three most important festivals in Cambodia, the others being Khmer New Year in April and the Water Festival in November.

Pchum Ben ("Ancestors' Day") is when Cambodians pay their respects to deceased relatives. Khmers, if they can, will leave their jobs at the cities to return to their hometown to pray for their relatives at their local pagoda. The Bloom sewers were off from Thursday so they can return to their hometowns, in Svey Rieng, Prey Veng, Kampong Cham, Kampong Thom, Kandal etc. Chhun Hy has also returned to be with his family in Kampong Cham, which is why I am here working in the shop, in the hopes of selling some bags even though the place is so quiet. Everyone will be back at work only on Tuesday.

Phnom Penh must be the same. I loved the peace and quiet during Pchum Ben when the streets are empty of cars and motocycles. I lived round the corner from Tuol Sleng Museum or S21 in Phnom Penh, and I remember in 2007 there was a big "bon" (celebration/festivities) at Toul Sleng as Cambodians paid their respects to those who died in that former schoolhouse. The people who came to pay their respects included some "m'nu thom" (important people) and the access to the museum was blocked by huge Lexus's (Lexi? haha).

Pchum Ben 2006 was spent with my friend Sophon and we visited a pagoda with him where he gave food to the monks. Later we went to his house for a meal, which I remember to be delicious. Yesterday Pheon, my tuktuk driver here in Siem Reap, came to the shop to pass me four big rolls of glutinous rice cake stuffed with yellow beans made into a paste (I think they are mung beans). I love that Khmer cake. More expensive versions have some fatty pork in the centre, which is also delicious.

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Some argue that "Shopping is more important than voting", and that the disposition of money is the most basic role we play in any system of economics. Some theorists believe that it is the clearest way that we express our actual moral choices, i.e., if we say we care about something but continue to buy from parties that have a high probability of risk of harm or destruction of that thing, we really don't care about it; we are practicing a form of simple hypocrisy." - Ethical Consumerism, Wikipedia

THE BLOOM MANIFESTO

1. We believe in the right of all people to a decent life, free of poverty and with access to education

2. We believe you will be enriched helping the poor

3. We believe women hold up half the sky

4. We believe workers should always be paid a fair wage

5. We believe if you knew the truth, you would not be an accessory to the exploitation of workers

6. We believe exploitation is evil

7. We believe in the power of good over evil

8. We believe in the power of the individual to bring about change

9. We believe your bag is a reflection of you - are you really a sheep?

10. We believe quality is worth paying for

11. We believe in love at first sight - at least where our bags are concerned!

12. We believe in life, liberty and the pursuit of handbags!

WHAT IS A SOCIAL ENTERPRISE?

A social enterprise has as its central objective, a social or environmental purpose, and not the obsession with profits. Yes, of course we want to be profitable, but it is so we can hire even more people in unfortunate circumstances, and offer them a shot at a better life, and not because we want to "increase shareholder value" or for the sake of lining our personal pockets. In fact, the only foreign staff (and founder/funder) does not get a salary from Bloom.

At Bloom, our mission is to alleviate poverty and save the environment at the same time, through our recycled bags.

As a social enterprise in Cambodia, we are competing with many NGOs on the one hand (which get donations) and for want of a better word, capitalistic businesses (which drive down costs in an effort to maximise profits). We recognise and accept the challenges that face all business, but are committed to principles of Fair Play, and will NEVER sacrifice those principles in order to be competitive. This means, for instance, we will never sacrifice workers' pay just so our bags will be cheaper. The average pay at Bloom today is 2.13 times the market rate.

So please, before you ask us to discount our bags, remember that we are not a minimum wage factory; we are a social enterprise. If you want a cheap factory-made bag, Bloom is not what you are looking for. If you agree that workers (where-ever they are--Singapore, Germany, France, the US) should always be paid fairly and are not here to produce goods and services at low wages for the profit of big business, then please consider Bloom. Bloom bags are all hand-made by our small team who spend our working hours dreaming up and making bags.

All Bloom profits go to our Khmer staff and to growing Bloom. Ultimately the aim is for Bloom to be a workers' cooperative, where workers own, manage, grow the business and share the profits.

WHO WE ARE

Bloom is a social enterprise established in Sept 2006 with the intention of providing fair-paying jobs to abandoned, widowed and divorced Cambodian women. Bloom is not a factory. We are a small workshop of nine people who work closely as a team to produce original, quality handmade bags made from recycled rice and fish feed bags.

Every Bloom Bag is meticulously designed, cut, glued and sewn by the Bloom team in our workshop in Phnom Penh. Each bag is handmade with love and attention to detail (the Bloom team really enjoys making bags!), resulting in beautiful, unique bags we are sure you will love and your friends will want!

All Bloom Bags are handmade by our team. We do not outsource to other sewers because we want to be in control of the supply chain, to ensure that everyone involved in making a Bloom Bag is paid fairly. There is no middleman taking a cut and passing on the work to another.

Please Visit Bloom's new workshop off Norodom Boulevard in Phnom Penh and our retail outlets. Bloom is next to Warehouse Pub in the Old Market Area in Siem Reap and at No.808 Russian Market, Phnom Penh.