Cambodia Struggles to Adapt
Operating a company with over 300 workers in a third-world country has given me a comprehensive view of world economic problems. While people here stress about losing their possessions, people in Cambodia stress primarily about surviving.
Approximately 70,000 garment workers have lost their jobs. Baskets of Cambodia cut 55 staff after several years of double digit growth. The remaining staff have been put on notice that we are at the mercy of the West, where over spending and over leveraging has created a money vacuum, loss of jobs and lack of credit for the small businesses and individuals who buy our products.
We offered a severance bonus for those who wanted to return to their vfillages. None accepted- Instead the remaining makers all chose to accept less work and wait to see if conditions improve. In the meantime, we still provide for healthcare as needed. Last year there was no end in sight to the amount of work. Our makers did not spend their money wisely or save.It became clear that third world countries also need financial guidance as their educational systems are woefully inadequate. All they see in Cambodia is that corrupt , powerful people become rich. They have few good examples to look up to. That is why BOC is developing guidelines to educate our makers on the basics of savings, bank accounts and always protecting some of what they have earned.
Meanwhile, the government of Cambodia seems worried about social unrest as more than 1/4 of the people in Phnom Penh, the capital, work in garment factories and have never suffered a downturn. January orders were down a whopping 72% from same period last year and few orders are on the horizon.
For Baskets of Cambodia, it is not so bad, and in fact it gives us time to catch up on quality and design and build the foundation for future growth, but for those companies that depended on the loose supply of easy money, it appears that failure is likely for many.
What is interesting is that even while the main concern of our workers is survival, they are still grateful for the simplest things. In the West, the amount of angst and worry is huge when compared to that of Cambodia, where conditions are really much worse. Here there is no government safety net, no unemployment, no renegotiation of loans, no food stamps- simply put- no nothing- yet the people still seem to lead lives with a richness, and a positive outlook often just for having enough not to worry about for the next few days. If trouble arrives, they will adapt in what we see as harsh terms, but to them it is merely survival.
In short, we have the luxury of worrying. They don't. Also- they are grateful for what they have - no matter how little. It's probaby about time for the people here to entertain the same basic concept.
TY
Approximately 70,000 garment workers have lost their jobs. Baskets of Cambodia cut 55 staff after several years of double digit growth. The remaining staff have been put on notice that we are at the mercy of the West, where over spending and over leveraging has created a money vacuum, loss of jobs and lack of credit for the small businesses and individuals who buy our products.
We offered a severance bonus for those who wanted to return to their vfillages. None accepted- Instead the remaining makers all chose to accept less work and wait to see if conditions improve. In the meantime, we still provide for healthcare as needed. Last year there was no end in sight to the amount of work. Our makers did not spend their money wisely or save.It became clear that third world countries also need financial guidance as their educational systems are woefully inadequate. All they see in Cambodia is that corrupt , powerful people become rich. They have few good examples to look up to. That is why BOC is developing guidelines to educate our makers on the basics of savings, bank accounts and always protecting some of what they have earned.
Meanwhile, the government of Cambodia seems worried about social unrest as more than 1/4 of the people in Phnom Penh, the capital, work in garment factories and have never suffered a downturn. January orders were down a whopping 72% from same period last year and few orders are on the horizon.
For Baskets of Cambodia, it is not so bad, and in fact it gives us time to catch up on quality and design and build the foundation for future growth, but for those companies that depended on the loose supply of easy money, it appears that failure is likely for many.
What is interesting is that even while the main concern of our workers is survival, they are still grateful for the simplest things. In the West, the amount of angst and worry is huge when compared to that of Cambodia, where conditions are really much worse. Here there is no government safety net, no unemployment, no renegotiation of loans, no food stamps- simply put- no nothing- yet the people still seem to lead lives with a richness, and a positive outlook often just for having enough not to worry about for the next few days. If trouble arrives, they will adapt in what we see as harsh terms, but to them it is merely survival.
In short, we have the luxury of worrying. They don't. Also- they are grateful for what they have - no matter how little. It's probaby about time for the people here to entertain the same basic concept.
TY
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