FAIR WEAVE: Weaving a Way Forward
This article first appeared in Impact Entrepreneur Magazine.
As part of a series of "fireside chats" sponsored by R.I.S.E. Artisan Fund, Chomnab Ho, founder of FAIR WEAVE, shared his vision for the Cambodian social enterprise.
In the Phnom Srok district of northwestern Cambodia, Khmer women have been weaving since the 13th century. Beautiful handwoven blankets and textiles are made on traditional looms with skills handed down from mother to daughter for generations. FAIR WEAVE is a social enterprise that enables Cambodian women to use their traditional weaving skills to earn a decent income, improving the financial future of the whole region.
Chomnab Ho founded FAIR WEAVE in 2022, but his journey with the weavers began two decades earlier. In 2002 after completing his degree in agricultural science, Chomnab went to Phnom Srok to work for a project to strengthen the silk sector funded by the French development agency.
Phnom Srok district is a remote, rural area of northwest Cambodia. Villagers are generally limited to family-scale farming and animal husbandry, and many women don’t have a basic education due to the disruption and violence of past authoritarian regimes and civil war, and lack the skills for good jobs.
During the six years Chomnab spent living and working in Phnom Srok, he fell in love with traditional handweaving. He spent his free time in the village with the weavers, most of them mothers, building relationships and eventually learning weaving and dyeing himself. He saw firsthand that most of the women faced extreme poverty and familial violence.
In the Phnom Srok district of northwestern Cambodia, Khmer women have been weaving since the 13th century. © 2025 FAIR WEAVE
Chomnab felt that the women’s beautiful handwoven textiles could unlock a way out of poverty and a path to financial independence. He started to build a small weaving team while maintaining his full-time job which he left in 2019 to focus on building the enterprise that would become FAIR WEAVE.
“When my project in Phnom Srok finished, I felt that I didn't want to drop the relationship with the community and the weavers,” explained Chomnab. “So, I kept trying to carry the relationship between me and them and continue slowly.”
Over the years, Chomnab has dedicated himself to developing the skills and relationships needed to make FAIR WEAVE successful, sustainable and equitable. Chomnab’s own experience of the weaving and dyeing process, plus a diploma in fashion design and product development, help him to create designs that honor the traditional process while appealing to a global audience.
Chomnab’s designs bring out the natural beauty of the neutral, earthy colors that come from the 100% natural and eco-friendly materials. Products are woven with cotton, silk, linen and bamboo, and dyed with local plants like coconut shells and Indian Almond leaves, all regionally and responsibly sourced. And the products themselves focus on the home – blankets, cushions, rugs, towels, scarves and clothing – reflecting the home-based nature of production.
FAIR WEAVE’s neutral, earthy colors come from 100% natural and eco-friendly materials. © 2025 FAIR WEAVE
FAIR WEAVE’s products focus on the home – blankets, cushions, rugs, towels, scarves and clothing – reflecting the home-based nature of production. © 2025 FAIR WEAVE
FAIR WEAVE now employs more than 120 weavers, doubling their number and increasing the enterprise’s sales by 57% from 2023 to 2024. This growth is a testament to Chomnab’s entrepreneurial grit and his commitment to creating jobs for the weavers who want to work. With the income they earn, these women can provide a better quality of life for their families.
Chomnab shared that right now, there is more interest than FAIR WEAVE can meet at its current scale. “I am so happy that whenever I go to the village there are more women who approach me and want to be part of my business.” Currently, FAIR WEAVE can only add 1 or 2 new weavers every month and still be able to provide adequate tools, materials and production support.
This demand by the women for work keeps Chomnab focused on scaling FAIR WEAVE. “That’s what really drives me. I want to find a way to give jobs to more women because they are waiting for me.” Chomnab’s goal is to employ 500 women weavers in this remote district in northwestern Cambodia in the next few years.
The women’s demand for work keeps Chomnab focused on scaling FAIR WEAVE. © 2025 FAIR WEAVE
FAIR WEAVE’s business model supports more than the individual weavers. By sourcing, employing and selling locally, FAIR WEAVE creates an economic cycle that uplifts the whole region. The enterprise builds a better future for the women weavers, their familiesand their community.
Chomnab aims to grow the business both internationally and domestically. To do this, FAIR WEAVE is investing in increasing visibility through its sales and marketing initiatives. With support from the R.I.S.E. Artisan Fund in 2023, FAIR WEAVE developed a more polished catalog, website and social media presence helping to boost its sales. This year, the fund is supporting FAIR WEAVE’s participation in the Global Artisan Project at Shoppe Object, a home and lifestyle tradeshow in New York in August.
“I want to use my time and my knowledge in order to build a business that is really supportive of the community and supports the traditional skill that we have here,” said Chomnab. “I can see the opportunity, and my customer is telling me they appreciate the quality of our products, but now we just have to reach more buyers. And then as we grow, we can bring on more weavers, even build facilities, to provide more jobs and opportunities for the next 10 years and beyond.”
Impact Opportunities
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The R.I.S.E. Artisan Fund invests in early-stage artisan enterprises creating sustainable livelihoods for rural communities with few economic alternatives.
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