GREEN-BEE: Green Building and Environmental Enterprise for Youth
Training the next generation to build greener, safer communities.
Challenges
Youth in Phnom Penh and Kandal face overlapping challenges of unemployment, unsafe housing, inadequate WASH services, gender inequality and climate vulnerability. Despite the expansion of government-led Technical and Vocational Education and Training, or TVET, programs, many young people, especially young women, lack practical experience and access to green and technical jobs due to skill gaps, social barriers and limited market linkages.
Overcrowded and fragile housing in flood-prone settlements increases exposure to heat, flooding and pollution. Only 21% of the population has safe drinking water, and only 51% have safe sanitation, contributing to diseases such as diarrhea and dengue.
Women are more vulnerable to climate change and economic shocks due to unequal access to resources and opportunities. These realities make youth-led career development through government-backed TVET, climate-resilient housing and healthy community initiatives essential for building sustainable, resilient and inclusive urban futures.
Youth in Phnom Penh and Kandal face overlapping challenges of unemployment, unsafe housing, inadequate WASH services, gender inequality and climate vulnerability. Despite the expansion of government-led Technical and Vocational Education and Training, or TVET, programs, many young people, especially young women, lack practical experience and access to green and technical jobs due to skill gaps, social barriers and limited market linkages.
Overcrowded and fragile housing in flood-prone settlements increases exposure to heat, flooding and pollution. Only 21% of the population has safe drinking water, and only 51% have safe sanitation, contributing to diseases such as diarrhea and dengue.
Women are more vulnerable to climate change and economic shocks due to unequal access to resources and opportunities. These realities make youth-led career development through government-backed TVET, climate-resilient housing and healthy community initiatives essential for building sustainable, resilient and inclusive urban futures.
Solution
The GREEN-BEE project takes a community-driven approach to address Cambodia’s challenges of youth unemployment, housing insecurity, gender inequality, climate vulnerability and public health. Our approach:
- 500 TVET youth, particularly girls, will receive certified training in ecological construction and green entrepreneurship: 120 hours of theory plus 200 hours hands-on. After training, youth will participate in a 3-month business support program in partnership with incubators. This program includes mentorship, provision of small grants to start social enterprises and post-training support to create long-term employment in green construction.
- 600 inclusive, climate-resilient homes will be built using ecological materials and passive cooling designs. Homes will include rooftop solar panels for clean electricity and nature-based features such as fruit trees, climbing plants and small gardens to provide shade, improve biodiversity and enhance natural cooling.
- Homeowner families will participate in housing design consultations and family-based maintenance training facilitated by youth cooperatives, with tools and ongoing support to enhance skills development for long-term self-reliance and sustainability.
- Hygiene education, disease prevention training and provision of sanitary kits will improve public health. Community-managed waste systems will be established, including solid waste collection points; decentralized wastewater treatment, or DEWATS; and composting.
- Awareness campaigns, waste sorting bins, private sector recycling partnerships and training local waste committees will ensure ongoing functionality and healthier communities.
Community ownership, youth enterprise development and alignment with local policies will ensure lasting impact. Environmental sustainability is reinforced through ecological construction, passive cooling, solar energy and community-managed waste systems, while knowledge-sharing and advocacy enable replication and scaling.
Timescale: This project is expected to be completed within 60 months.
The GREEN-BEE project takes a community-driven approach to address Cambodia’s challenges of youth unemployment, housing insecurity, gender inequality, climate vulnerability and public health. Our approach:
- 500 TVET youth, particularly girls, will receive certified training in ecological construction and green entrepreneurship: 120 hours of theory plus 200 hours hands-on. After training, youth will participate in a 3-month business support program in partnership with incubators. This program includes mentorship, provision of small grants to start social enterprises and post-training support to create long-term employment in green construction.
- 600 inclusive, climate-resilient homes will be built using ecological materials and passive cooling designs. Homes will include rooftop solar panels for clean electricity and nature-based features such as fruit trees, climbing plants and small gardens to provide shade, improve biodiversity and enhance natural cooling.
- Homeowner families will participate in housing design consultations and family-based maintenance training facilitated by youth cooperatives, with tools and ongoing support to enhance skills development for long-term self-reliance and sustainability.
- Hygiene education, disease prevention training and provision of sanitary kits will improve public health. Community-managed waste systems will be established, including solid waste collection points; decentralized wastewater treatment, or DEWATS; and composting.
- Awareness campaigns, waste sorting bins, private sector recycling partnerships and training local waste committees will ensure ongoing functionality and healthier communities.
Community ownership, youth enterprise development and alignment with local policies will ensure lasting impact. Environmental sustainability is reinforced through ecological construction, passive cooling, solar energy and community-managed waste systems, while knowledge-sharing and advocacy enable replication and scaling.
Timescale: This project is expected to be completed within 60 months.
Results and benefits
The GREEN-BEE project will strengthen livelihoods and economic opportunities for youth, particularly girls, by equipping 500 TVET participants with green skills and supporting youth-led cooperatives and social enterprises.
Vulnerable families will gain access to 600 safe, inclusive, and climate-resilient homes, benefiting approximately 2,580 individuals, with integrated ecological materials, passive cooling, solar energy, and nature-based features.
Communities will experience improved public health through hygiene education, disease prevention, sanitary kits, and community-based waste management, reaching an estimated 262,000 additional people.
Participatory approaches will foster community ownership, gender equity, and social inclusion, while the project will generate evidence-based lessons and innovative practices that can be replicated and scaled to other districts or provinces.
The GREEN-BEE project will strengthen livelihoods and economic opportunities for youth, particularly girls, by equipping 500 TVET participants with green skills and supporting youth-led cooperatives and social enterprises.
Vulnerable families will gain access to 600 safe, inclusive, and climate-resilient homes, benefiting approximately 2,580 individuals, with integrated ecological materials, passive cooling, solar energy, and nature-based features.
Communities will experience improved public health through hygiene education, disease prevention, sanitary kits, and community-based waste management, reaching an estimated 262,000 additional people.
Participatory approaches will foster community ownership, gender equity, and social inclusion, while the project will generate evidence-based lessons and innovative practices that can be replicated and scaled to other districts or provinces.
Long-term impact
Over time, the project will improve health, well-being, and safety as families live in climate-resilient homes with reliable access to water, sanitation, and electricity. Women, children, and other vulnerable groups will benefit from these improved housing and hygiene conditions. Youth and communities will gain skills, entrepreneurial capacity, and social cohesion through cooperative models, fostering long-term self-reliance.
Environmental sustainability will be reinforced through ecological construction, passive cooling, solar energy, and community-managed waste systems. Strategic partnerships with government, NGOs, educational institutions, and private sector actors will support replication, scaling, and policy advocacy, enabling successful approaches to benefit additional communities across Cambodia.
Over time, the project will improve health, well-being, and safety as families live in climate-resilient homes with reliable access to water, sanitation, and electricity. Women, children, and other vulnerable groups will benefit from these improved housing and hygiene conditions. Youth and communities will gain skills, entrepreneurial capacity, and social cohesion through cooperative models, fostering long-term self-reliance.
Environmental sustainability will be reinforced through ecological construction, passive cooling, solar energy, and community-managed waste systems. Strategic partnerships with government, NGOs, educational institutions, and private sector actors will support replication, scaling, and policy advocacy, enabling successful approaches to benefit additional communities across Cambodia.
Scale-up
With additional co-funding, this project could expand to reach more vulnerable families and youth across Cambodia, providing climate-resilient homes, green skills training, youth-led cooperatives, and community-managed waste and hygiene programs.
With additional co-funding, this project could expand to reach more vulnerable families and youth across Cambodia, providing climate-resilient homes, green skills training, youth-led cooperatives, and community-managed waste and hygiene programs.
-
When you co-fund a project, you help transform lives. By building housing, we build beyond the physical homes: adequate living conditions have a powerful impact on the livelihoods, health, education and more of households and communities.
-
Half of the global population living in poverty resides in Asia and the Pacific. To help address these issues, Build Beyond funds locally led initiatives to transform lives through improved housing conditions.