4 Best Places to Shop in Cambodia

A social business founded in 1992 with the aim of providing employment opportunities for the rural youth and preserving Cambodian cultural heritage, Artisans Angkor employs hundreds of artisans across the country to produce traditional silk, silverware, stone and wood-carved sculptures, and lacquerware. The free guided tour of the organization's main craft center takes visitors through a number of workshops where master craftspeople train younger artisans in an apprenticeship system, and gives great insight into the work and skills involved in crafting the sculptures and stone carvings that decorate the Angkor temples. There's a beautiful gift shop which offers a dazzling selection of Cambodian arts and crafts made on site and at workshops around Siem Reap. You can also take a free bus to their silk farm where you can see traditional weavers at work on wooden looms.

Interesting, locally handcrafted jewelry, silks, home style items, stationery, and clothing are sold at this shop next to the Russian Market, and the proceeds go toward the Rajana Association, which trains local artisans.

Check out the old war-scrap necklaces and recycled spark-plug figurines.

The association also has one shop in Street 240 and other locations in Sihanoukville and Siem Reap.

Choose from made-to-order clothing, jewelry, gifts, and home accessories from this interesting fair-trade establishment in the heart of Phnom Penh. They are serious about their silks, and source only the best materials, crafted with the age-old ikat Cambodian weaving technique.

This is an organization worth supporting, producing attractive women's accessories, decorative objects, and knickknacks in silk, cotton, wood, and clay—all made on-site by people with physical disabilities. Watthan Artisans products can also be found at the great Colours of Life store behind the FCC.