CRDT takes over training centre

KRATIE, 30 October 2012: Cambodian Rural Development Team has taken over Le Tonle, this month, a tourism training centre in Stung Treng from Geneva-based Tourism for Help and plans to move it to Kratie.

TTR Weekly’ is “on location” this week covering tourism developments in Kratie Cambodia mainly focused on communities.

CRDT executive director, Sun Mao told TTR Weekly that the agency was doing a feasibility study on moving the centre to Kratie in the future.

“Kratie has more tourism potential compared to Stung Treng. Now Stung Treng is only a transit point from the border (with Laos) to Kratie or Rattanakhiri.

“At most, tourists stay overnight. Students will have more chance to practice what they are taught at Kratie as tourism is relatively better developed. It is not that Stung Treng has no tourism potential, but it is still under developed,” said Mr Mao.

He also plans to provide training opportunities for poor students in surrounding provinces as well. Currently almost all are from Stung Treng.

Students are given a training opportunity to get a better job in the future, but they are poor and some of them have to drop out half way through the course because their parents could not afford to pay living expenses.

“We support tuition and providing housing,  but we can only give them an allowance of US$15 a month for food and that is not enough. Hopefully we could raise more funds to support them.”

The number of students has grown from eight five years ago when the project started to 20 at present. They are taught English, use of computers, accounting, cooking and housekeeping. The courses are certified by the Ministry of Tourism.

Le Tonle also offers four rooms and a restaurant  and gives students an opportunity to practice hospitalityskills.

“90% of graduate students can get a job right away. They work at tourism companies or even set up their own small business,” Mr Mao added.

Tourism for Help director of the board Jacques Robert-Nicoud, said in a separate interview, that despite the centre being transferred to CRDT, Tourism for Help will continue to fund the centre for another three years. The transfer was because the donor has a condition that the centre should be 100% locally operated.

The scholarships are unconditional, he said, but the students and parents have to sign an agreement that they would not drop out half way through; otherwise, they have to return all materials.

“We are satisfied with the project. Almost all students got a job right away…They do not need to work in hospitality. Our aim is that they can find a job. There’s a student who got a job in telecommunications and another became an English teacher,”

CRDT also operates CRDTours that provides ecotourism and community-based tourism services in Stung Treng and Kratie to facilitate tourists, to communicate with locals and help tourism flow to the local economy.

However, Mr Mao said currently there were not enough tourists to cover the administration costs of CRDTours. It plans to register as a tour operator with the Ministry of Tourism enabling them to operate a proper business and then it will work in partnership with tour operators in order to attract more tourists.

If they can earn more money, the profit will also go to help fund other projects as well as the students at Le Tonle can also practice guiding and tour operations under the supervision of CRDTours.

Sourced: ttrweekly