Items made at the Khmer Krafts facility in Cambodia carry tags identifying the person who made the bag or other garment. (Photo: Baker City Herald/S. John Collins)By LISA BRITTON
lbritton@bakercityherald.com
Baker City Herald (Baker City, Oregon, USA)
Bob and Kay Petrik live and work in Baker City, but their thoughts are often in Cambodia.
The Petriks first visited the Asian country in 2004 with Musicianaries International, and that's when they met the Rev. Setan Lee, founder of Kampuchea for Christ (KFC).
Lee is a survivor of The Killing Fields, when more than three million Cambodians were killed from 1975-1979 when the Communist guerilla group Khmer Rouge swept through the country and forced city dwellers into labor camps.
While in Cambodia that first time, the Petriks learned about KFC's projects, including the Battambang Trade School. The school admits women who are in the most dire situations and trains them in either computers or sewing.
Bob Petrik said this education saves the women from their only other choice — prostitution.
The school had been funded by Rotary Clubs in Colorado (that's where Lee lives six months out of the year), but that funding stopped in January 2005.
That's when the Petriks stepped in, and their company Ag Insurance began supporting the trade school.
Then the Petriks had an idea — what if there was some way to create a business in Cambodia that earned enough profits to fund the school?
The women who learn computers have no trouble finding work, Petrik said.
"They're able to get out and get jobs in the tourist industry," he said.
The seamstresses aren't so lucky, especially since the United Nations discontinued the quota system on the garment industry on Jan. 1, 2005, he said. The system, which began in the 1970s, ensured that Third World countries received benefit from the textile business.
"The girls could graduate, go to the garment industry and get a job," Petrik said.
It isn't so easy now.
"Within three months, 60,000 jobs moved to China," he said. "The companies could get clothes made for 10 cents less, or something. The girls who graduated in 2005 had no jobs, and now it's even worse."
So the Petriks decided to form Khmer Krafts, which employs 20 seamstresses — the top graduates from Battambang Trade School — who create purses, wallets, aprons, Bible covers and pillow cases in the exotic fabrics of Cambodia.
Employees at Khmer Krafts earn $40 a month — twice the average monthly wage in Cambodia.
Purses with a purpose
The product tagline is Purses with a Purpose. Each piece is handmade using a treadle sewing machine.
Lee's sister-in-law, Chhevan Yos, was instrumental in forming the business.
"She said they could make things if we could sell them over here," Petrik said.
They had a few sales in 2005, and then Khmer Krafts received help from a high school student business club at Gem State Academy in Caldwell. The teenagers had heard about Kampuchea for Christ and were seeking an international project.
"We had some product but no marketing plan," Petrik said.
In February 2006, the Gem State youth joined the Petriks in Cambodia and helped write a business plan and marketing plan and set up an inventory system.
"They were a big help — there's a lot of energy with high school kids," Petrik said.
Back in the Treasure Valley, the Gem State students began seeking outlets for the purses. There's currently 10 places in Boise that carry the products.
The Petriks then received more help from Deb McCarver, who was the Gem State business club sponsor. The funding for her school position ended, and McCarver is now working with Jeremiah's Hope, which deals with medical issues in Cambodia and partners with Kampuchea for Christ.
McCarver is also now the marketing consultant for Khmer Krafts. She has managed to get the purses into bookstores in New York, Wisconsin, Texas and California thanks to Pacific Press Publishing in Nampa, Idaho.
The purses are also available locally at Ag Insurance, 2119 Seventh St., and at The Open Door, 1805 Main St.
The wholesale price of the purses goes back to the Battambang Trade School.
"Our goal is that Khmer Krafts makes enough profits to support the trade school," Petrik said.
The Petriks will return to Cambodia in February to discuss more ideas and designs with Chhevan, whose name is stitched on every purse she's designed.
"A lot of women have some good ideas," Kay Petrik said.
They also are looking for more retail outlets willing to sell the purses. For information, call the Petriks at 523-2414.
The business is also online at www.khmerkrafts.com.
Helping women
Soroptimist International of Baker County has decided to sell Khmer Krafts products as a project to support women.
First, Soroptimist buys the purses. The proceeds going back to Cambodia.
Then, the products are sold for a retail price, and profits are divided between MayDay, the Baker County support service for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, and a Soroptimist Women to Women project that helps women in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Rwanda become self-sufficient.
Soroptimist will hold a Purse Party on Wednesday, Nov. 29, at the Sunridge Restaurant banquet room, to offer a variety of styles — purses of assorted sizes and designs, passport holders, wallets, eye glass cases, aprons, pillow cases and Bible covers.
There will be an open house from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m., or people can attend a no-host lunch ($7.75) from noon to 1 p.m. Seating is limited at lunch, so please reserve a seat by Monday by calling 519-5653.
The Petriks first visited the Asian country in 2004 with Musicianaries International, and that's when they met the Rev. Setan Lee, founder of Kampuchea for Christ (KFC).
Lee is a survivor of The Killing Fields, when more than three million Cambodians were killed from 1975-1979 when the Communist guerilla group Khmer Rouge swept through the country and forced city dwellers into labor camps.
While in Cambodia that first time, the Petriks learned about KFC's projects, including the Battambang Trade School. The school admits women who are in the most dire situations and trains them in either computers or sewing.
Bob Petrik said this education saves the women from their only other choice — prostitution.
The school had been funded by Rotary Clubs in Colorado (that's where Lee lives six months out of the year), but that funding stopped in January 2005.
That's when the Petriks stepped in, and their company Ag Insurance began supporting the trade school.
Then the Petriks had an idea — what if there was some way to create a business in Cambodia that earned enough profits to fund the school?
The women who learn computers have no trouble finding work, Petrik said.
"They're able to get out and get jobs in the tourist industry," he said.
The seamstresses aren't so lucky, especially since the United Nations discontinued the quota system on the garment industry on Jan. 1, 2005, he said. The system, which began in the 1970s, ensured that Third World countries received benefit from the textile business.
"The girls could graduate, go to the garment industry and get a job," Petrik said.
It isn't so easy now.
"Within three months, 60,000 jobs moved to China," he said. "The companies could get clothes made for 10 cents less, or something. The girls who graduated in 2005 had no jobs, and now it's even worse."
So the Petriks decided to form Khmer Krafts, which employs 20 seamstresses — the top graduates from Battambang Trade School — who create purses, wallets, aprons, Bible covers and pillow cases in the exotic fabrics of Cambodia.
Employees at Khmer Krafts earn $40 a month — twice the average monthly wage in Cambodia.
Purses with a purpose
The product tagline is Purses with a Purpose. Each piece is handmade using a treadle sewing machine.
Lee's sister-in-law, Chhevan Yos, was instrumental in forming the business.
"She said they could make things if we could sell them over here," Petrik said.
They had a few sales in 2005, and then Khmer Krafts received help from a high school student business club at Gem State Academy in Caldwell. The teenagers had heard about Kampuchea for Christ and were seeking an international project.
"We had some product but no marketing plan," Petrik said.
In February 2006, the Gem State youth joined the Petriks in Cambodia and helped write a business plan and marketing plan and set up an inventory system.
"They were a big help — there's a lot of energy with high school kids," Petrik said.
Back in the Treasure Valley, the Gem State students began seeking outlets for the purses. There's currently 10 places in Boise that carry the products.
The Petriks then received more help from Deb McCarver, who was the Gem State business club sponsor. The funding for her school position ended, and McCarver is now working with Jeremiah's Hope, which deals with medical issues in Cambodia and partners with Kampuchea for Christ.
McCarver is also now the marketing consultant for Khmer Krafts. She has managed to get the purses into bookstores in New York, Wisconsin, Texas and California thanks to Pacific Press Publishing in Nampa, Idaho.
The purses are also available locally at Ag Insurance, 2119 Seventh St., and at The Open Door, 1805 Main St.
The wholesale price of the purses goes back to the Battambang Trade School.
"Our goal is that Khmer Krafts makes enough profits to support the trade school," Petrik said.
The Petriks will return to Cambodia in February to discuss more ideas and designs with Chhevan, whose name is stitched on every purse she's designed.
"A lot of women have some good ideas," Kay Petrik said.
They also are looking for more retail outlets willing to sell the purses. For information, call the Petriks at 523-2414.
The business is also online at www.khmerkrafts.com.
Helping women
Soroptimist International of Baker County has decided to sell Khmer Krafts products as a project to support women.
First, Soroptimist buys the purses. The proceeds going back to Cambodia.
Then, the products are sold for a retail price, and profits are divided between MayDay, the Baker County support service for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, and a Soroptimist Women to Women project that helps women in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Rwanda become self-sufficient.
Soroptimist will hold a Purse Party on Wednesday, Nov. 29, at the Sunridge Restaurant banquet room, to offer a variety of styles — purses of assorted sizes and designs, passport holders, wallets, eye glass cases, aprons, pillow cases and Bible covers.
There will be an open house from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m., or people can attend a no-host lunch ($7.75) from noon to 1 p.m. Seating is limited at lunch, so please reserve a seat by Monday by calling 519-5653.
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