The Green Leaf Boutique Hotel is giving back to its community and encourages its guest to do the same, in more ways than one
Holidaymakers who are yearn to ‘do good’ while on break may want to consider heading to Siem Reap, Cambodia on their next vacation. And once you’re there, do consider staying a couple of nights over at the Green Leaf Boutique Hotel.
Since opening its doors in late 2015, the non-profit hotel has quickly become the number one choice for tourists who are looking to give back during their holidays. The co-founders and operators of Green Leaf Boutique Hotel have over 12 years of experience in humanitarian work, with close to 30 humanitarian deployments worldwide toward natural disasters and conflict zones.
“This is a very unique concept we have here. Instead of taking advantage of the massive influx of tourism and profiting from it, we decided to use the revenues from the hotel and do something good. Spreading the Canadian generosity basically,” explained Amir Azimi, one of the hotel’s co-founders.
Azimi emphasised that the hotel strongly promotes sustainable tourism, eco-tours, and yoga and health retreats. “It’s essentially, tourism with a cause,” he adds. “You will feel good about your stay knowing that the money you spend here is helping the community.”
Thus far the operators of the hotel have funded and helped a number of projects including aiding education programs for a community of over 3,000 families and developing and donating a unique water purification product which utilises the seeds from the Moringa tree.
Additionally, guests who stay at the hotel will also have the chance to dabble in volunteer projects. Recently, guests participated in building a shower facility and replacing all of the mattresses and bedding at a local orphanage. Another aspect that makes the hotel stand out is the fact that 80% of the staff grew up at the orphanage that the hotel is now supporting.
The hotel’s concept could not come at a better time for the communities in Siem Reap, especially considering the current surge in tourism numbers. The destination has recorded double its numbers in the past three years. It’s also ranked as the no. 2 destination in the world by TripAdvisor with Heritage site; Angkor Wat is ranked the no. 1 destination by Lonely Planet.
The hotel operators though are looking to capitalise on this with new efforts to help the communities as well. Azimi revealed that the operators of the hotel are looking to completely take over the management of an orphanage so that major upgrades can be done.
“We want to provide free education and constant medical care for the kids and build a new school on the grounds to provide different education programs for free to the over 3000 families in the community,” he adds. “We’re looking to educate them on everything from health and sanitation, business skills and trades to Moringa education.”
Photo credits: Green Leaf Boutique Hotel
