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One of the gaps which concerns those of us in the
big cities and rich countries who are experiencing the
digitalization of our lives, who are witnessing the rapid
development of the Internet along with its ability to bring us
greater knowledge, freedom and economic benefits, is the pitfall
that little of this may be benefiting the developing world.
Villages like Robib, unless we do something, are destined never to
catch up.
The Internet, however, can bridge this gap.
Cyber commerce, for one, can penetrate to Robib and we'd
like to take a stab at it.
| Thus far, Robib, situated in one of
Cambodia's most remote provinces, lacking electricity and
telephone lines, has no reliable communication links to even
the nearest city, Kampong Thom, two hours away. It has not
been able to sell many of its agricultural crops
due to lack of good roads and no means of inter-city
transport, except for one vehicle in the village,
a taxi that |
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| makes one daily run, cramped with
a dozen passengers. Robib's has been an economy
basically reliant on its crops--mainly rice, harvested
once a year, just sufficient to feed its residents. There is
no surplus. Others, vegetables and corn, are sold in the
village market. |
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Decades ago, before the Khmer Rouge occupied
Robib (from 1975 to 1979), some villagers wove silk
but the skills have basically vanished except for a few
elderly inhabitants who stopped weaving. We are now
reviving the skill in the hope that the output of this
revived home-grown industry will bring some level of
modest prosperity to the village through cyber commerce if
you will consider sending your orders. |
| Later we hope to add other
products such as hand made paper and coffee. But it may take
time. |
In creating this industry another village where
silk weaving has developed was approached to establish a
cooperative effort. Robib villagers would be trained there and the
products of both villages would; be jointly sold through this Web
site located in Robib.
Seven Robib villagers were recruited to volunteer to leave
their homes to travel to Tbeng Meanchey, the provincial capital of
Preah Vihear, and learn the art of silk weaving. Their
families agreed to let them leave the farm temporarily in the hope
they would return with newly gained ability to weave silk
and supplement their meager incomes. Beyond that is the
expectation that is an effort to restore the lost Khmer tradition
of producing silk products, once regarded to be of the highest
quality in the world.
Long before the societal upheaval
of the Khmer Rouge and the ensuing civil war, Robib was home
for many traditional silk weavers. While Robib's entry into
cyber commerce is aimed at bringing greater economic
opportunities to the villagers, it is also
preserving the rich, ancient culture of Cambodia.
The seven Robib villagers are studying at
the |
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Preah Vihear Silk Weaving and
Production Project. This project was established in 1997 by
the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation (VVAF), the group
which founded the International Campaign to Ban Land Mines
for which it was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Since
its inception, the project has targeted the large population
of disabled Cambodians for silk weaving training. With
a team ranging from land mine amputees to polio victims, its
"Farm" has perfected the art of silk production
while providing an often neglected segment of Cambodian
society a new skill and sense of dignity. Robib's
villagers are the first able-bodied people to be trained
there.
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Learning to weave silk is not just
pushing a pedal on a loom. The Robib villagers are
taught all aspects of weaving. They learn how to
construct and maintain a loom along with the tedious
process of setting the hettles to achieve the desired
pattern in the silk. They furthermore are taught how
to raise and care for silk worms, the tiny insects that
produce the raw silk, and they study the process of
treating, dying, and rolling the silk in preparation for
weaving. |
| Other tasks include the growing
of mulberry plants (food for the silkworms) and the
stitching of the final product. |
Once they have absorbed all the training they will
return to Robib to produce a variety of products we are offering
you. The selection, listed on our order
form, combines the products made by Robib villagers along with
those by the handicapped workers of The Farm.
Proceeds of the sales will be distributed among the producers of
the goods, and part of the fund will remain in a cooperative
account to pay for the transport, training and living costs of
other villagers who will be trained at The Farm. Orders may
be paid for by check, international money order or by credit
card.
The EMS (Express Mail Service) of the Cambodian postal service,
which offers the lowest and most efficient courier service through
the universal postal service, has agreed to send a truck to
Robib whenever overseas orders total above $400 in postal fees and
will ship out the packages, which are packed and addressed in
Robib, to customers from the capital in Phnom Penh the next day.
Thus, if this experiment in cyber commerce succeeds, customers may
receive their orders as quickly as within one or two weeks. In the
early stages it might take a few weeks. Join us in succeeding to
bring cyber commerce through the Internet to remote villages like
Robib everywhere in the world.
The funds are monitored by
American Assistance for Cambodia, a non profit organization,
registered as a 501(c)3 foundation by the U.S. Internal
Revenue Service and persons placing orders may be assured of
the credibility and transparency of this project.
Order Now
Robib Products
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