CCT pioneered the Village Hive model in Battambang to dismantle the structural root causes of poverty and replace dependence on charity with locally owned public systems of social support.
In June 2025, the Cambodian Government formally adopted the Village Hive as the national framework for social protection, cementing it as the country’s blueprint for systemic change. Built on a foundation of collaborative community engagement, the Village Hive strengthens universal public services and establishes early intervention programs that safeguard families and prevent crises before they unfold.
By prioritising these upstream measures, the Village Hive raises living standards for entire communities and empowers Cambodian people to transform their own world.
Our journey began in 2007, when Pon Jedtha and Tara Winkler established CCT to help 14 children escape a corrupt and abusive orphanage in Battambang.
At first, CCT itself was set up as an orphanage – but when it became clear the children weren’t orphans at all but children from poor families, Tara and Jedtha began the challenging work of reuniting them with their families and empowering entire families to escape poverty together.
By 2012, CCT had become the first organisation in Cambodia to transform an orphanage into a family-based care model, sparking a nationwide care reform movement.
In 2019, CCT launched the Village Hive with a bold new vision: to dismantle the structural root causes of Cambodia’s orphanage crisis by building upstream systems of support.
In June 2025, that vision reached a historic milestone. The Cambodian Government formally adopted the Village Hive as the national framework for social protection, scaling CCT’s model into a blueprint for systemic change across the country.
For a deeper dive into CCT’s origins, watch the ABC’s Australian Story documentaries, read Tara Winkler’s book How (Not) to Start an Orphanage, or watch her TED Talk at the Sydney Opera House.
Tara Winkler was just 19 when she set off on the trip to Cambodia that would change her life. After coming across an orphanage where funds were embezzled and young girls sexually abused, she set up her own orphanage in the city of Battambang in 2007. Seven years later, the organisation she created is no longer an orphanage and Tara is no longer 'mum' to the kids. In the four years since she was first profiled on Australian Story, she has faced dramas in her professional and personal life that nobody could have predicted. The story is introduced by fashion designer Jodhi Meares, a supporter of Cambodian Children's Trust.
Could it be wrong to help children in need by starting an orphanage? In this eye-opening talk about the bad consequences of good intentions, Tara Winkler speaks out against the spread of orphanages in developing countries, caused in part by foreign donors, and details the harm done to children when they are separated from their families and left to grow up in institutions.
Since 2007, CCT has been empowering children and families to escape poverty. We have documented their incredible stories stories of transformation in our blog, youtube channel and annual reports.
Jaan Bai, meaning “rice bowl” in Khmer, is a social enterprise restaurant initiative of Cambodian Children’s Trust.
It provides employment for Cambodian youth, who benefit from a profit-share arrangement; 51% of profits go towards supporting the Village Hive Project.
