Sustainability at Amansara

 Agriculture is the foundation of Cambodia's economy, where subsistence farming has dominated the 17-million-population country. As with many Asian agrarian societies, pesticides and monocrops are a concern, alongside how much a diverse diet relies on imports. To support and diversify the diets of local communities, Amansara has committed a large garden to the agroecological work of Camborea, a young NGO located in Cambodia with the aim to help the most deprived citizens.

Villagers are employed through the partnership and awareness is raised around the need for better seed and soil health. Camborea helps provide drinking water for the wider community and gives training around food self-sufficiency and permaculture, which promotes better respect for nature and biodiversity.  

 Historically, disability stigmas exist in Southeast Asia due to the perceived financial burden of less able people. In a country with a prevailing reincarnation belief system, a misconception can be that being born with significant impairments represents sins committed in a previous life. As an equal opportunities employer, several of Amansara’s valued team members are local citizens who would perhaps otherwise be challenged to find employment as a result of their limited mobility or literacy skills.  

 In addition to Amansara’s composting site at Khmer Village House which turns food waste generated by the hotel into precious, plantable soil, the resort’s housekeeping and human resources team help give new life to decommissioned staff uniforms by donating to those who can extend their life span. Other initiatives include a combined effort with other businesses around Siem Reap pledged to plant over 10,000 trees in the Bantay Srei district to help keep Cambodia green.   

 Amansara partners with Sala Baï Hotel & Restaurant School, which has a 100% success rate through their hospitality training, and many of the resort’s team members came to Amansara via this programme. The students are young adults aged 17 to 25 from disadvantaged backgrounds. During the pandemic, Amansara’s dining room was converted into a classroom, and local team members conducted courses for the students.  Founded in 2002 by the French NGO, Agir pour le Cambodge; the vocational training taught at Sala Baï Hotel & Restaurant School is one of the most cost-efficient ways to fight poverty and human trafficking at the grassroots level.  

 Amansara supports Siem Reap Provincial Orphanage by providing lunch and educational materials. Established in 1979 after the end of the Khmer Rouge regime, the orphanage works with Pour un Sourire d'Enfant (PSE) to support scholarships for those who wish to study at the university and seek training to work in hospitality.  

The Nginn Karet Foundation for Cambodia (NKFC) teaches village children to value their unique cultural legacy, while the conservatoire's rigorous but egalitarian curriculum imparts the skills to support their success. Amansara is proud to host temple dinners, integrating Khmer folk dances into its programmes and special private events. The resort arranges professional performers through royal representatives and in doing so, supports the wider initiatives of the NKFC, which has worked tirelessly for more than 15 years to empower nearly 3,000 impoverished families in more than a dozen villages in Banteay Srey. This respect for the dance recitals and the profound esteem for their cultural heritage allows guests of Amansara to exclusively experience these extraordinary performances.  

 Khmer Village House, Amansara’s off-property restaurant, provides an authentic immersion in local culture and cuisine. Here, guests are invited to visit this traditional stilted venue within the Angkor Archeological Park and learn to make noodles. Eating together with the indigenous culinary team also provides the opportunity to learn more about the significance of farming in this nation.