giving

Developing ways for a project to sustain itself into the future is a big part of the design of Catholic Mission's projects around the world. Many of the projects in this booklet use a social enterprise model to help generate sustainable income, support livelihoods and promote economic development of the community.

Social enterprises, broadly speaking, are businesses that use the power of the marketplace to tackle social problems, strengthen communities, provide people with access to employment and training, and/or protect the environment.

In this respect, donations to a social enterprise can be likened to an investment, with each dollar directed to generating not just financial sustainability, but also social impact through the projects they support. Investments in social enterprises have been shown to:

Create sustainable revenue streams Provide employment to vulnerable people Support livelihoods Provide a platform for economic and social development1

An initial, one-off investment in a social enterprise can be amplified over time, to cover business costs and sustain an ongoing cycle of social benefits, as illustrated in the figure below.

Using this model, Catholic Mission project partners are supported and empowered to manage their business for a profit, thereby reducing dependence on donors and enabling long-term benefits beyond a typical funding cycle of a few years, as they will be able to reinvest profit back into the project or community.2

Catholic Mission has had great success with social enterprise projects in Africa and Asia, such as the Farmer Training Centre in Ghana and the Phnom Voah Farm in Cambodia.

Lonely Tree Café

One of the social enterprises Catholic Mission has supported is the Lonely Tree Café in Battambang, Cambodia, which employs 16 staff from disadvantaged backgrounds, three of whom have physical disabilities. As well as serving delicious meals, snacks and drinks, the café includes a gift shop that sells handicrafts, produced by people with disability through social initiatives supported of the Apostolic Prefecture of Battambang (APB). Frequented by both locals and internationals, the café and retail space is highly rated on TripAdvisor.

The Lonely Tree Café has been a big success financially, having only been established in 2013. In the last quarter of 2019, the café brought in US$7,780 profit. These funds will be invested back into the social works of the APB to multiply their impact and support their sustainability.

As an example, the Lonely Tree Café and its profits, financed another Above: two trainees from the Yeiy Ath Café. initiative in the Prefecture of Battambang, the Yeiy Ath Café, which provides vocational training to individuals with intellectual disability, thereby increasing their inclusion in society and improving their wellbeing. Thanks to the Lonely Tree Café, the Yeiy Ath Café is now self-sustainable and has paid back the original investment.

Above (clockwise from top left hand): The overall rating of the Lonely Tree Café on Trip Advisor as at 23 March 2020; upstairs at the Lonely Tree Café, with table set, overlooking Battambang city streets; the café's gift shop, featuring locally made handicrafts; three of the staff from the café.

Oh Battambang Boutique Hotel

Located in the heart of Battambang and close to the tourist attractions of the UNESCO heritage city, Oh Battambang Hotel is a private and peaceful oasis. A social enterprise of the Apostolic Prefecture of Battambang, with a soft opening to friends and family in 2019, it is fast building a reputation for its attentive and friendly service, artful Cambodian décor and comfortable facilities. The Hotel provides employment and training opportunities to local people with disability or from disadvantaged backgrounds, giving them the skills and the confidence to secure sustainable livelihoods. In this way, it is raising awareness around the value and importance of people with disability participating fully in society and challenging harmful stereotypes. The hotel serves to spread the message of the mission and impact of the APB and its social initiatives (some of which are profiled in this booklet). Profits from the hotel are redirected back to support these initiatives. Hotel guests are encouraged to patronise the nearby Lonely Tree Café. The hotel will also offer tours to visit communities that are part of

Above (top to bottom): The guesthouse at Oh Battambang Hotel; Traditional Cambodian culture is celebrated at the hotel with

performances of classical dance. the Outreach Program.

La Paloma Textile Centre

Meaning "dove" in Spanish, La Paloma is an appropriate name for a business that has given so many people hope and peace. Another social enterprise of the APB, the centre employs people with disability and people from vulnerable backgrounds to manufacture textiles and garments, which are primarily exported to European fashion brands.

Over the last two years, to secure its self-sustainability into the future, the centre has been reviewing and implementing new processes, as well as looking to expand its operations and building new relationships with factories across Cambodia. For this reason, its outcomes (yearly income and number of employees) over 2017-2019 have been lower than previous years. However, throughout 2020, centre management anticipates a return to the strong trajectory shown in the graphs below.

Above: The La Paloma Textile Centre and some of the people it employs, hard at work and full of life.

To finance these new processes and expansion, the textile centre was granted a loan from the Lonely Tree Café of US$45,000. With this money, the centre was able to invest in training staff and installing new machines. Thanks to their dedication and strong performance as a business, the centre has just paid back all its debts to the café.

This is just one story of the many that show what is possible with social enterprise. Thanks to this model, individuals are growing in confidence everyday as they learn new skills, earn an income and see firsthand the value they have to offer, leading to improved wellbeing and health outcomes. At the same time, families and communities benefit from increased household income, greater education levels and local economic development. Catholic Mission needs your support to help build on this success, extending it to more people across Cambodia and making sure the projects we support can support themselves and become fully self-sustainable.

Project Partnership Opportunities

Catholic Mission has a number of project opportunities in 2020 for you to join the people of Cambodia in sharing the Gospel. With your generous support, we can continue the work of the Church in building confidence and skills, creating employment, increasing access to education and supporting communities to develop themselves, thereby contributing to the reduction of poverty and improving overall wellbeing across the country.

The following project partnership opportunities are directly funded by Catholic Mission and implemented by our in-country partners, building local capacity for the Church at the grassroots. Your support of any of the following projects will continue the legacy of the Church in aiding this beautiful country and her people through:

Improving the Arrupe Welcome Centre's sustainability and providing youth leadership training; Promoting inclusion and self-sustainability for people with disability and their families in rural Cambodia; Empowering generations through agriculture and social enterprise at Phnom Voah.