At present, Cambodia's forests, one of the country's most important natural resources are being cleared, often illegally, at an alarming rate resulting in damage to the environment, loss of wildlife habitat and areas of cultural, spiritual and economic importance to local communities. The unprocessed timber is more often sent abroad as raw logs, mainly to other parts of Asia where it is then reprocessed by joinery and furniture manufacturing industries. Cambodia lacks the physical infrastructure and technical capacity to convert logs into high quality timber, resulting in much of the locally produced wood products being of very poor quality. Better quality timber products that are available have usually been imported from neighboring countries. Ironically, Cambodia has both the natural resource and a ready local market for good quality timber products. In recent years the growing middle class among indigenous Cambodians, expatriate Cambodians returning from overseas and a surge in tourist numbers, has resulted in a development boom in the construction sector. The flow on effect is an increased demand for good quality joinery, 

furniture and related timber products. The best sustainable solution to supplying this demand is to train Cambodians in fine woodworking skills as a resource for the future. 

 

In 2005 the idea of creating a woodworking school in Cambodia was born.

Kénory You, the Project Manager, joined the Les Enfants du Sourire du Khmer - ESK (Children of the Khmer Smile) association. The link with ESK provided an umbrella structure under which the project could be established. Kenory You became President of the ESK association in 2006 and remained in the position until 2011. She remains the Managing Director of Ecole du Bois (School of Wood).