Hugo and Morgane committed to education

by | 14 May 2025 | Agroecology training, General education, Secondary school support, Sustainable agriculture and environment

At the beginning of May, The Bayon family welcomed Morgane and Hugo, both on a one-year civic service assignment.

Morgane, originally from the Cantal region of France, joins the communications department. Curious, motivated and full of creativity, she will be helping to promote the organization’s actions by creating content for social networks and the website. She will use her commitment to highlight those who work in the field every day.

Hugo, for his part, will be supporting the agroecology school, taking an active part in its development.

A recent graduate in sustainable agricultural and agri-food systems engineering, Hugo is starting a new adventure with us in Cambodia!

Passionate about access to fair and sustainable food for all, he joins our team to contribute to the development of innovative projects within our School of Agroecology.

Welcome Hugo, Welcome Morgane!

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8 Months: A year in review for our apprentice pastry chef and agroecology experts

by | 11 Sep 2024 | Agroecology training, Bakery and pastry school, Coffee Shop, Sustainable agriculture and environment, Vocational training

As the school year draws to a close, it’s time to take a look of the past 8 months for our apprentice pastry chefs and agro-ecology experts. This period has been marked by enriching experiences, challenges met with flying colors, and impressive progress in their respective fields.

The apprentice Pastry Chefs

Our pastry students have had a year full of highlights and learning.

Their journey began with in-depth theoretical training in baking and pastry-making for the first four months. This theoretical training was then complemented by four months of intensive hands-on experience in our kitchens, where they learned how to make classic pastries. In this way, they were able to consolidate their knowledge and perfect their skills. In addition, they were trained to serve in our coffee shop, adding a valuable practical dimension to their learning.

At the same time, numerous events enriched their year, boosting their self-confidence and broadening their horizons. Key moments included their participation in the “Francophonie Market”, open days at partner universities, and a workshop they ran for a class at our elementary school.

Beyond the skills specific to their degree, we firmly believe that art and culture play an essential role in their personal development. As a result, our students have benefited from numerous extracurricular activities, such as visits to museums and participation in one of the famous Phare circus shows in Siem Reap.

As their internship period approaches, they have had the opportunity to project themselves into their future careers thanks to hotel visits and the alumni ceremony last June, where they drew inspiration from the careers of their predecessors.

This year concludes with theory exams in their baking and pastry-making subjects, as well as soft skills, computer and english assessments, delivered by the Teacher Development Support Organization (TDSO). More recently, they received their English certification in a beautiful ceremony.

The final exams will take place when they return from their internships in December. We are proud to have witnessed their evolution over the weeks, a success made possible by the dedication and commitment of their teaching staff.

 

Expert apprentices in agro-ecology and food processing

Our agro-ecology expert apprentices enjoyed a year rich in discovery and practical learning, marked by concrete projects and innovative initiatives.

Their training began with an in-depth immersion in the fundamental principles of agroecology. This initial phase was followed by a series of practical projects that enabled students to apply their knowledge in the field.

Among this year’s outstanding projects, we saw:

Garden: Our apprentices actively participated in the creation and maintenance of the agro school garden, an essential space for experimenting with sustainable agricultural practices and reinforcing their understanding of local ecosystems.

Crickets : They explored locust farming, an innovative method for promoting alternative proteins and sustainable agriculture.

Mushrooms : Mushroom cultivation was a key project, offering an opportunity to learn cultivation techniques in a controlled environment and understand their role in the food chain.

Surface pond creation : Pond fish farming was another important facet of their training, illustrating the importance of integrated aquaculture systems in agroecology.

Tree planting: reinforced their commitment to reforestation and the fight against deforestation.

Like the bakery and patisserie promotion, the students were able to discover an artistic and cultural horizon in the town of Siem Reap.

This year has been a real learning adventure for our students, marked by their commitment and passion for sustainable agriculture. We look forward to following their journey and seeing how they continue to contribute to a greener, more sustainable future.

We wish them every success during their internship, which will end in December, when we will see them again for their final practical exams!

 

Discover how the Bayon School integrates art and culture into the heart of its educational program !

Discover how the Bayon School integrates art and culture into the heart of its educational program !

by | 11 Apr 2024 | Agroecology training, Bakery and pastry school, General education, Primary school

For 7 years now, our school has had the pleasure of welcoming Gilles, a talented artist specializing in creation using recycled materials. Every year, he travels to Siem Reap to propose unique artistic projects to our Pastry School and Primary School students. For three weeks, in collaboration with our teachers, he imagines and realizes artistic installations designed to improve the daily life of our school community.

Two years ago, Nathalie, an artist specializing in driftwood creations, joined this initiative to enrich our joint project.

The previous year, their creativity transformed our café’s environment, adorning its walls with magnificent paintings.

This year, their vision focused on creating a warm reading space for our pastry students, both in their classrooms and in their dormitories. Their project includes building a library and furnishing the space with mats and cushions, inviting relaxation and literary discovery.

As for the Primary School, our director Vanta has come up with an equally inspiring project: a giant KHMER alphabet created from unused tires, offering a playful and innovative approach to language learning.

At the Bayon School, we firmly believe that art and culture are essential elements of education, and we’re proud to see our students flourish through these creative initiatives.

Offering these artistic activities to our students every year allows them to open up to new horizons, to discover their talents and to develop their skills.

We look forward to seeing them again next year !

Welcome to the Bayon family !

by | 10 Apr 2024 | Agroecology training, Bakery and pastry school, Coffee Shop, General education, Primary school

Marie returns : Agroecology expertise for new horizons

Back in France to complete her studies after a year spent at the Agroecology School, Marie returns to us with her agronomy engineering diploma in hand, specializing in agroecology. Drawing on this experience, she brings a holistic approach to agricultural development, enriched by a network of agroecology players in Southeast Asia that she has built up through her travels and encounters.

A true enthusiast, Marie loves to pass on her knowledge of agroecology. She does this enthusiastically through participatory workshops, study tours, experiments and demonstrations, as well as various communication media. We look forward to sharing with you the many projects she is planning for the coming months!

Welcome back Marie ! 

 

After working for an organic certification body in Latin America, Juliette is continuing her exploration of the world of agroecology by joining us in Cambodia.

With a degree in agri-food engineering, Juliette began her career working for major agri-food groups. In search of a mission combining agroecology and social commitment, she wanted to participate in a sustainable, healthy and safe food system for consumers. That’s how she came to join the Bayon School family.

Agroecology quickly became an obvious choice for her. Juliette works with us to develop local, healthy and safe food products for the elementary school canteen and our solidarity coffee shop.

From producer to consumer, she aims to control food safety.

A warm welcome to Juliette!

Jean Pierre & Michèle

Jean Pierre & Michèle

by | 10 Apr 2024 | Agroecology training, Bakery and pastry school, General education, Health, hygiene and food, Primary school, Social and families support

Michèle, an executive at Danone Eaux (Evian), discovered the Bayon School when it was created in 1997 by Marcel Bertaud, Director of Danone Japan and co-founder of the Bayon, with whom she works. In 2006, Michèle and her husband Jean-Pierre, a doctor by profession, came to Siem Reap with Marcel Bertaud to visit the Bayon School. It was an unforgettable experience, as close as possible to our beneficiaries.

In 2016, they decided to invest in the Bayon School by supporting the education and health of young people. Touched by our pupils, sensitive to the need to ensure their long-term quality education, and aware that good health is an essential condition for their development, Jean-Pierre became the NGO’s medical referent, assisted by Michèle. The Bayon School has become like a second home for them. In Siem Reap 6 months a year, they take care of the annual medical check-up of all our beneficiaries, namely :

  • 184 elementary school pupils
  • 20 female pastry-making students
  • 20 agroecology students
  • The program team

The health and well-being of individuals are fundamental to their personal development and their ability to lead active, productive lives. As part of our mission within the organization, we have undertaken a series of actions to promote health and provide social assistance to those in need. This report details our efforts in these areas over the recent period.

Health

The introduction of health check-ups for all students and beneficiaries is one of the pillars of Jean-Pierre’s health initiatives for the Bayon school. This initiative aims to detect potential health problems at an early stage and provide the necessary interventions to ensure students’ well-being. He has been running a dental follow-up program for all students for several years. It has also provided complex medical follow-up for several students with specific health conditions:

  • Colostomy for an elementary school pupil
  • Medical care for an agro-ecology school pupil suffering from a spinal injury following a traffic accident
  • Medical care for a student from the pastry school with a leg injury requiring surgery
  • Medical care for a university student suffering from tuberculosis

Thanks to its network of competent doctors built up over the years, it is able to offer comprehensive medical care and recommendations tailored to each individual case.

 

Social

In parallel with their healthcare initiatives, Jean-Pierre and Michèle conducted an in-depth survey of the needs of the students’ families. Working with our social team, in particular Romain, they identified the challenges these families face and implemented concrete solutions. Among notable achievements, they facilitated the installation of sand filters and latrines for 160 families, improving their living conditions and environmental health. In addition, they assisted social workers to strengthen their skills in responding to families’ needs in an emphatic way.

Administrative management

As part of their activities, Jean-Pierre and Michèle also collaborated on the implementation of the “Team Desk” management tool, which facilitates the coordination and monitoring of our actions (social, educational, health). This platform enables us to manage our resources efficiently and ensure better communication within our organization.

Specific intervention: “Run Ta Ek

Jean-Pierre and Michèle know our families well and visit our students’ villages every year. Deeply concerned by the recent displacement of several families in Run Ta Ek, they decided to monitor the families’ conditions of displacement, in order to assess with the NGO’s social teams their needs and provide the necessary solutions in terms of housing, health, social and educational support.

The aim was to help them achieve sustainable autonomy by strengthening their resilience and providing them with the resources they needed to improve their quality of life. Thanks to this work, the École du Bayon teams, together with Jean-Pierre and Michèle, identified the help these “former” families needed (assessment of assistance, identification of partners, action plan and budget). All this was done with the aim of giving the students and their families the means to get out of this precarious situation, an essential anchor to be able to study in good conditions and give birth or rebirth to their future projects.

  • Every 6 months, we come back to the Bayon School to help out – it’s an addiction we’re not trying to cure.
  • Our involvement is amply rewarded by the smiles of the families and the joie de vivre of the pupils.

Michèle and Jean Pierre

Say hello to our fantastic 10th graduating class !

Say hello to our fantastic 10th graduating class !

by | 10 Apr 2024 | Agroecology training, General education, Sustainable agriculture and environment, Vocational training

At the beginning of February, we had the pleasure of welcoming the Class of 2024, a total of 20 students to our Pastry School.

As they do every year, they received a bicycle, their T-shirt and trouser ensemble, a hygiene kit renewed monthly and financial compensation to meet their daily needs.

Every day, they receive 1 breakfast, 1 lunch and 1 dinner in our canteen. Their dormitory has been recently renovated to provide them with a larger, more comfortable toilet space.

orientation event bayon school
pastry school orientation

Their year is divided into three distinct phases:

Firstly, the initial term is devoted to learning English, the necessary personal and professional skills and IT, in line with the national educational program.

From April 1, our students begin their practical and theoretical courses as part of their pastry training.

Finally, starting in September, they will be introduced to the professional world through a four-month internship, which can be carried out in hotels and restaurants in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh. To support them in this enriching experience, our teacher and social adviser, Tak, guides them in their search for internships, organizing visits to establishments.

In addition to their training, our students take part in fun and creative activities every Friday afternoon, enabling them to explore new professional and personal horizons.

The students also volunteer to take part in occasional coffee shop events. Recently, they went to the Marché de la Francophonie in the heart of Siem Reap to represent their school, offer our delicious pastries and welcome visitors.

We look forward to watching our students flourish throughout the year, and to supporting them on their journey to pastry excellence !