by Martine Vermeulen
Dates of trip: January 2008
In January 2008 I realized a dream that began years ago. I travelled to Cambodia to set up a ceramics and art studio at the Palm Tree Orphanage and to give the children their first lessons using clay and a wheel. Because the lives of the Cambodians were so severely disrupted during the war, and so many of the older generation were killed, there is a great need for knowledge, education and everyday things that so many of us take for granted. Finding clay, a wheel and a kiln in Phnom Penh turned out to be quite an adventure.
At first I felt frustrated because I simply could not find anyone who had access to the equipment. But as I was roaming around Phnom Penh, feeling like this was part of a very long list of needs, I smelled something familiar, something only a potter would recognize – the smell of clay being fired in a kiln! I spotted a chimney and a sign that said “Art School,” and saw that, YES, it was a kiln and a pottery studio! It looked a bit abandoned and run-down, but functional. Kang Proeung, the man in charge, was a master potter, originally sponsored by the Japanese government. But because he lost his funding, he no longer had money to pay for gas to fire the kilns.
Using a translator, we made a plan. With donations, Palm Tree could hire him to teach the children once a week, which in turn, would give him the funds to pay for clay and gas to fire his kilns. This seemed to be a great arrangement for everyone. Kang was happy to share his craft with the orphans of Palm Tree, and I was happy to set the ceramics project in motion.
I gathered the children in the arts and crafts room to give them their first lesson, and when I put a ball of clay on the wheel and spun it around, the children were like a swarm of bees around me and on top of each other. Their curiosity was amazing as they pushed towards me, eager to see how to form the clay into a shape. Like all children, they thought the wheel was a toy, and so I had to teach them to be gentle with it, to take turns and to control it carefully. They all wanted to play with the clay, and quickly made elephants and curled snakes and small bowls.
After spending more time in the studio, the children will grow more familiar with their craft. For those who truly love working with clay – and I saw the beginnings of such a love in some of the children, even during their first lesson – it can become their trade, and they will be able to sell what they make.
I am still amazed that I could set this major project in motion; that I came upon a local potter who can work with the children, and that this potter also needed us. It was a wonderful experience for me to introduce my craft to the children and to set up the ceramics project for them. There was a lot of persistence and random luck involved, but it was also due to generous donations to Cambodia’s Hope, by people who have faith in the ability to make change in the world, by supporting these types of projects, which can have even more far reaching effect than we could ever have imagined.
- A Journal of Visitors to Cambodia's Hope Palm Tree Orphanage
- These are the words of those who have given their time to Cambodia's Hope, who have shared their time and talents with the Palm Tree Orphanage and Farm. We hope that these words will illuminate and inspire. If you have visited the Palm Tree Orphanage, have volunteered, or spent time with the projects of Cambodia’s Hope, and would like to share your experience on our blog, please email your story to cheryl@cambodiashope.org, and she will add it to the blog.
