Footprint Cafes aspires to become the first global chain of social enterprise book cafes linking our prosperous global tourist industry with prosperous local communities.
We are Footprint Cafes
People
Providing excellent employment conditions for our local teams and investing in their future through training and skills development allowing them to follow their dreams.
Planet
Sourcing ethically & locally wherever we can as well as doing all we can to reduce, reuse and recycle.
Profit
100% of net profits given as grants back to the local community as educational and entrepreneurial grants decided by a local committee.
Our Journey So Far
Our journey so far
2016
Mar 2016
The Footprint concept is launched in Cambridge, converting a local café, Hot Numbers, into a taste of Cambodia for one night. The evening is introduced by Director of Cambridge Social Ventures, Belinda Bell, in support of Footprint which has been part of their incubator programme for the last year. Hot Numbers is turned into a taste of Cambodia for the evening with the help of fellow social enterprises on the incubator programme. Turtle Dove Cambridge, provides Cambodian cuisine and top class service. GAP Learning decorate the cafe and provide goodie bags for guests. Georgina Hemmingway, Footprint Founder, presents the concept to the gathered Cambridge community, the aim of the evening is to raise £5,000 to start a Trust which will be the first step towards a cafe.
Apr 2016
Dr Darrin M. Disley OBE leapfrogs Footprint’s beginnings with a $150,000 donation to establish a Footprint charity and its first cafe Business Weekly.
Apr 2016
Footprint officially becomes a charity. Footprint’s board of Trustees from left to right: Michael Carter, Alan Barrell and Chair of Trustees Dr Darrin M. Disley OBE
Jun 2016
Book drive launched in London and Cambridge to gather stock for Footprint’s first cafe in Cambodia
Jun 2016
Thousands of books are collected from the Cambridge community including the University libraries, city firms and individual donations.
Jul 2016
Aug 2016
Aug 2016
Footprint pledges to donate its used cooking oil to Naga Earth, an innovative local social enterprise in Siem Reap that converts used cooking oil into soap and biodiesel.
Sep 2016
Footprint invites local social enterprises to fill its shelves with their products while the cafe waits for its books to arrive. The shelves come to life with products from Human & Hope Association, Coco Khmer, Friends International, Small Art School, Life and Hope Association, Sombai, George’s Rhumerie and Ammo.
Sep 2016
Service training begins in Siem Reap. Footprint’s new team find their feet in Footprint’s Taster Sessions Fortnight. For two weeks the local community is invited to try Footprint’s new dishes, give feedback and pay what they feel the meal is worth. The feedback forms the basis for Footprint’s opening menu.
Sep 2016
Volunteer Building Cambodia make Footprint’s new back office space their home. Volunteer Building Cambodia works to improve the living conditions of families in need in rural areas by providing wells, toilets and safe, dry houses.
Oct 2016
Team bonding begins as Footprint joins the local community in a day long street clean.
Nov 2016
8,000 books arrive in Siem Reap. Volunteers from the local community join the cafe team for 3 days of book sorting. Thank you all!!
Nov 2016
Dec 2016
First café hosts the 12th Angkor Photo Festival welcoming photographers from all over the world
Dec 2016
Footprint partners with Green Gecko project Rehash Trash, donating all plastic bags from supply chain to the project. Rehash Trash employs family members from the Green Gecko family to turn used plastic bags into beautiful household objects such as bins, coasters, wine holders and mats.
Dec 2016
Footprint partners with the Siem Reap Food Co-Op donating used coffee grounds for their compost.
2017
Jan 2017
Footprint joins Cleanbodia reducing plastic use by using their new biodegradable bags made from cassava.
Jan 2017
Mar 2017
Footprint Cafes receives the Kate Gross Award for Social Enterprise from Cambridge Business Weekly
May 2017
Footprint’s Barista Piseth makes it to the semi-finals of the Cambodian National Barista competition
May 2017
Footprint Cafes teams up with Anjali House to host a photo exhibit in which the students of Anjali House reflect on John Burgesses images of Cambodia in 1980.
2018
May 2018
Footprint forms its first grant committee: Manager Pheakdey, Deputy Manager India, Supervisor Mealea and Chef Pechra
Jun 2018
The Footprint team join forces with surrounding businesses and organisations to ‘clean up temple town’. The day long clean up clears the streets of rubbish, raises awareness of littering and brings the community together.
Jun 2018
Footprint’s biodegradable takeaway packaging starts to include biodegradable straws thanks to the wonderful Eco-Bodia.
Jul 2018
Footprint joins the Refill Not Landfill Movement. The cafe sells reusable bottles and becomes a water station to refill from.
Aug 2018
Footprint donates its first grants to four local organisations: Free to Shine, Caring for Cambodia, Grace House Community Centre and The Ponheary Ly Foundation.
Aug 2018
Work begins on turning the cafe’s upstairs space into an enterprise centre. The space hopes to become a valuable resource for Siem Reap’s young entrepreneurial talent.
Aug 2018
Read Club Cambodia come to the cafe for the first time. Read Club Cambodia aims to encourage reading for pleasure amongst young Siem Reapers by providing a safe space and friends to read with.
Oct 2018
Local social enterprise, Naga Earth, gifts Footprint bottomless soap dispensers. Naga Earth converts used cooking oil into biodiesel and soap. As a provider of used cooking oil, Footprint is given a free supply of soap for the cafe team and customers to enjoy.
Nov 2018
Footprint celebrates its 2 year anniversary and the soft opening of its new upstairs space ‘The Dr Darrin M. Disley OBE Enterprise Centre’ by hosting a party for its team and the local community. Local social enterprises are invited to host stalls to promote their work. Performers from Phare the Circus and Music Art School provide the entertainment.
Nov 2018
The Dr Darrin M. Disley OBE Enterprise Centre opens for its first day of Co-working
Nov 2018
Piseth Seng, former Footprint member and current Cambodian National Barista Champion, gives Footprint’s first workshop in the new enterprise centre. He is joined by fellow competitors from the National Barista Championships in sharing their motivations and top tips for completing a successful competition.
Nov 2018
Footprint’s enterprise centre hosts a pop-up barbers as part of Soulcial Trust’s programme to support young Cambodians start their own businesses.
Nov 2018
Footprint teams up with Collaboration Cambodia to host ‘Networking Happy Hour’. The event helps community organisations and activists in Siem Reap learn about each others projects and work.
Dec 2018
Read Club Cambodia’s members are welcomed to The Dr Darrin M. Disley OBE Enterprise Centre. The young readers read together and share their stories.
Dec 2018
Thavry Thon, author of ‘A Proper Woman’, and Hattha Set, a popular Cambodian fiction writer, launch their new publishing start-up from the Dr Darrin M. Disley OBE Enterprise Centre. The launch includes a Q&A with young Cambodians about their journey so far and tips for getting published.
Dec 2018
Footprint hosts a free screening of ‘Don’t Think I’ve Forgotten: Cambodia’s Lost Rock and Roll’. The Documentary, by John Pirrozi, traces the impact of the rise of the Khmer Rouge on Cambodia’s thriving rock music scene in the 1970s.
2019
Mar 2019
The island of Koh Phangan in Thailand is identified as the location for Footprint’s second café with the idea of supporting green initiatives through grants.
Mar 2019
Cambridge University’s Belinda Bell, Director of Cambridge Social Ventures, visits Cambodia to lead Footprint’s first workshops on social enterprise. The free two day event is focused towards local Siem Reap organizations hoping to scale their ventures.
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