Angelina Jolie, Godmother of UNESCO x Guerlain Women for Bees programme, inaugurated first trainings in Cambodia for 11 women beekeepers  with support of the UNESCO Office in Phnom Penh and in cooperation with the Maddox Jolie-Pitt Foundation, living in villages of Siem Reap, in the Tonle Sap Biosphere Reserve and in the Samlot district.Aggelina Kanellopoulou, from the first promotion of women beekeepers in France, joined to share knowledge and exchange best practices in beekeeping with the Cambodian women as part of the programme’s networking support desk. Cambodia is one of ten countries that are currently participating in the global programme.
In Cambodia, building on the scientific findings of UNESCO’s feasibility survey on the beekeeping ecosystem at the Tonle Sap Biosphere Reserve, the Women for Bees programme focuses on four types of training. Two six-month trainings for women aim to introduce beekeeping with the native Asian honeybee (Apis cerana) and stingless bees (Meliponini). Women who take part in the trainings receive  adapted, local hives and material as well as a technical support for their beekeeping activities.
Another ongoing training aims at capacitating local tourist guides, including women, in apitourism and “bee-watching”, leveraging the importance of native bees in Khmer history and the potential of the Asian giant honeybee (Apis dorsata) for ecotourism.

The fourth training is directed at honey hunters and communities. It seeks to raise awareness about good practices in honey hunting, and to introduce sustainable beekeeping of the Asian giant honeybee on “rafters“. In the long run, this would allow multiple honey harvests without destroying the nests, therefore contributing to the conservation of the species.