Profile information
Host rating
90 %
Last replied
17 Apr 2024
Reply rate
98.6 %
Usually responds within 55 days
Feedback
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Details
Description
We have been established +10 years & love our special beach front on Koh Rong Sanloem Island, living alongside 300 or so - wonderful, Cambodian locals in the island’s only village, right on the beach. We are a guest house/resort with well-being and nature + Health
Koh Rong Sanloem is a last remaining paradise (that will change soon, no doubt). It has 8 stunning beaches, no main roads , is 98% virgin jungle. So you can enjoy the nature from sunrise (front) to sunsets (back), and the stars at night (look up!). We have hosted 100s of Volunteers from WorkAway
Different guest accommodations from small houses for 4-5 guests, fan bungalows to air-con en-suite rooms, our open all day bar/cafe, our beach and jungle garden to care for.
We employ 6 local staff from our village, who are brilliant at keeping all running (maybe you can teach a little English), as well as helping looking after their young children whilst they work.
Our local team are:
2 cooks who prepare food and fruit drinks,
2 cleaning employees who clean rooms (we may ask you to check rooms are guest ready, before check ins)
2 building staff - who keep all working, and do anything involving any kind of risk.
all are amazing and we are pleased our business supports 6 families. The local staff team prepare all food and fruit drinks.
We have hosted 100s of Workawayers since covid (see feedback)
We use Telegram channel to communicate, and have a Guest Info channel we invite you to contribute to.
We also like to get involved with beach, reef and village clean ups.
We do not sell plastic and try best to be a plastic free resort.
We invite volunteers to join our core crew of like minded, kind, creative, beach loving people, especially those who are mindful, practice/teach yoga, meditation and vibes of well-being.
We enjoy the bioluminescent plankton, Cambodia's best coral reefs for scuba/snorkelling 5 minute swim or a boat ride away, beach and jungle treks, rock pools, daytime to sunset boat trips with guests, SUP/Kayaks are available to use (when guests aren't).
Remote island life is wonderful, by the ocean with swimming, coconut shade, waves lapping. Enjoying the life and doing your bit to contribute so things run well, enjoy being supported by and supporting each other - like a beach family do ;-)
We ask for a minimum of 3 weeks, plan a mutual review/check in after 1 week, and are always open to discussing volunteers staying longer.
Let us know what appeals to you, your possible dates and what let us know what you could bring - relevant experience etc.. - and we'll get back to you with full details, have a call and confirm from there with you ;-)
Types of help and learning opportunities
Charity Work
Art Projects
Help with Eco Projects
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Babysitting and creative play
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help around the house
Hospitality/Tourism
General Maintenance
UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
M'Pai Bay is Koh Rong Sanloem Island's village. Originally a traditional Khmer fishing village, it makes for a wonderful tourist and living experience; where visitors can blend into local life, with markets & children heading to school. We have classic issues such as plastic and education of local kids (and tourists!) Our surroundings are amazing sunrises, sunsets and beautiful tropical nature.
Help
OUR MAIN FOCUSES:
Overall - helping guests 'arrive' - check in, settle in, plan their days and join excursions, keeping them company as they explore Cambodia's most beautiful island and you have the time of your lives is the idea!
You'll be given info and overview on activities and we run excursions like boat day trips and night plankton swimming trips. Helping guest depart and plan their departure and check out, checking rooms after they do check out.
Our cafe / bar and guest area is from 8am till 10pm daily.
Workawayers will not be asked to help in the bar or cafe.
All food is prepared and served by our paid local staff, and won't be asked of Workawayers.
Every evening volunteers and guests enjoy family dinners (optional), we like to host guests - ask about their travels, what have they loved etc.. - tell them about our island to help them make the most of their time with our activities.
A weekly rota will be prepared and agreed with you across activities that could include:
1, YOGA TEACHING - we offer free daily 7.30am yoga, 1 hour yoga sessions to guests.
A qualified teacher will lead a morning sessions (typically to a mixed class of all levels).
2. GARDENING
As well as 100m of beach front to love, we have a stunning 150m jungle garden - 150yr old cashew tree, 4 jackfruits, mango, papaya, coconuts, pineapples and our veg and spices patch - all in need of care. We love flowers to draw the amazing butterflies from jungle, so green fingers - are welcome to help us make our garden more beautiful.
3. ART
Our many buildings, walls, guest rooms - all love art, painting and projects to beautify them ;-)
4. EXCURSIONS LEADING
We offer guests day boat trips and night plankton tours -needing help leading those excursions.
5. BREAKFAST CLUB
In high/busy season we lead a morning kids club for the local school kids, hosted at our Health Post project - Breakfast club, where up to 70 local kids come to our Health Post for a session we host, to show hand washing, give nutritious meals, and teeth cleaning - then dancing and games!
6. OUR MEDICAL PROJECT
In 2016 a campaign to fundraise and build a Health Post for the Cambodian locals began. After $40,000 the now built and equipped Health Post is available to all living on Koh Rong Sanloem and run in collaboration with Cambodia's Ministry of Health. We continue our support - welcoming and hosting the Cambodian nurse team (Mid-wife Srey Ka and Community Nurse Dara) overnight at times. In April '23 we completed fundraising adding an Ultrasound machine to equipment to give this community what it deserves.
Our space is also used by visiting Vets teams - for our four legged friends.
Our nurses visit twice weekly - we can help prepare the space so they can focus on delivering health care. Which is easy ongoing. This project / building / space / garden- always welcome love, focus and is easy to help make a difference with as we help our nurses feel welcome and looked after.
7. WEB / ONLINE EXPERT - We are looking for a volunteer/s to help us update our website / integrate booking platforms.
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
French: Intermediate
German: Beginner
Accommodation
Volunteers will be given a private, loft or tree house rooms with double bed & shared bathroom.
Daily Breakfast + family dinner on worked days, unlimited water included.
We have a kitchen space you can use to make lunch or there are many great other nearby food options.
Participation in well-being classes is free and encouraged!
What else ...
You get to the island with a 45min speed boat from Sihanoukville to M'Pai Bay Village, Koh Rong Sanloem.
Ferries depart 9am, 12 and 3pm. The best company is GVTC
Our local mini-mart and shops sell almost all you need too ;-)
We'll share more info with you before getting here and welcome a call to meet and chat.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Can host digital nomads
Wifi is via our dedicated and mostly solid - satellite. Video calls are possible and it's reliable enough to work. Typical speed is 20-30mb/s - but being totally honest it can drop out for a few seconds occasionally, around 1-2 times/day .
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
Hours expected
Maximum 5 hours a day, 5 days a week
Feedback (21)
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Accuracy of profile:
(4.6)
Cultural exchange:
(4.7)
Communication:
(5.0)
I was coming from slightly bitter experience but everything felt right when I landed at M'pai bay. Carling and Ben (Managers) were so warm and welcoming I immediately felt like home. I spent about 4 weeks teaching yoga, working behind the bar and best part was working on the garden. It was such a pleasant… read more
Full of positive energy
Hard working and focused on the biz needs.
Excellent yoga teacher and phenomenal fire dancer.
Took on a role leading island discovery, trekking, snorkelling boat trips. Not to mention fire dancing on deck after night fall to some awesome tunes 🤩
Wonderful spirit to have around, if you are… read more
Axel was involved a lot in projects and special tasks and I was busy most of the time behind the bar and with the daily work in the guesthouse. Working there is really fun and there is a… read more
I taught yoga and Maurice worked behind the bar. besides theses shifts, Rebecca, the manager at the time, gave us a lot freedom and autonomy in what way we wanted to contribute our energy to the project. we felt very welcome and comfortable.… read more
The island is beautiful and has a great sense of community, you are made to feel at home straight away. Rob is a fantastic host, with so much passion for what he does! The team was like a family and it was one of the highlights of our trip. The work… read more
The island is so beautiful, and because it is a small fisherman's village you find that sense of cummunity right away.
It is not big but the landscape, beaches are amazing.
What a beautiful way to wake up every morning and watch the sun rise on the water...
Rob is the best, he is very kind… read more
Helpful, have ideas, reliable and responsible - it was a great experience for both parties I believe 🤩🙏🏝️
The location is magnificent. Crystal clear water and stunning view of other islands. Being part of the team was an amazing and memorable experience, we really enjoyed our time there! We did different types of… read more
They stayed 1 week and threw themselves into the task, as well as working around a nasty tummy bug. Great company and very social,… read more
We stayed for 8 days at the guesthouse and had a really good time. We made a promo video for Rob's guesthouse and surroundings.
One of us got sick for almost a week and Rob took really care of me.
This was our first Workaway experience and it was amazing. Hard to beat… read more
Should you be lucky enough to be approached by them, then go for it knowing you have a safe and kind couple on board.
We… read more
The work itself can be tough at times as explained in the advertisement however it can be rewarding and getting to know the guests can be a key part in enjoying your time on the island. If your… read more
Hard working and pro-active, Ivo gets stuff done whilst being a gentleman. Trusted and able to take responsibility.
Ivo was a great help outside of guesthouse also, getting stuck into beach cleans and our weekly breakfast… read more
The extra activities such as beach cleanup and breakfast club are really rewarding in terms of helping the local… read more
Hard working and good fun, she really threw herself into some of the fundraising tasks for our health centre project and really helped. As well as being great in helping us keep everything running well at the beech house - thank you Steph!! ;-)
It sounds like her work as part of her family gave a good work ethic and attitude to it. We’d… read more
We thoroughly enjoyed hosting them, and having them part of the small team. They are very capable and very positive attitude - we got an fantastic amount of tasks done. Always with a can do attitude and ‘what’s next’ - we’d love it if they come back again. If you are… read more
