- 04. December 2025
Smiling Gecko Educational Campus
WE CAN FINALLY TEACH IN THE NEW SCHOOL BUILDING!
Anyone who has built as much as we have over the last ten years develops a certain routine, even when it comes to the unexpected. Still the construction of our new school building has been, and continues to be, a true test of endurance, even for us.
First, the ground was was so soft after what seemed like endless rainfall, that civil engineering work could not begin for months. To provide sufficient stability for the construction, we had to drive a total of 218 reinforced concrete beams, each eight-metres-long, into the ground – despite the limited availability of heavy equipment in Cambodia. Our architects subsequently revised the brick layout for the exterior walls and extended the roof overhangs by 150 centimetres on both the inside and outside, as the originally planned construction method was not sufficiently waterproof to withstand the increasingly frequent heavy winds during the rainy season. These challenges are clear consequences of climate change that we are likely to encounter more often and for longer periods in the years ahead.
We are therefore delighted that we were able to open the first phase of the new school building in time for the start of the academic year in August. The first six classrooms are complete, as are offices for teachers, sanitary facilities, and a school canteen with a capacity for up to 250 people.
Further classrooms and all specialist rooms, such as the science laboratory, the new computer laboratory and the library extension, are still under construction. The same applies to the auditorium, art and pottery studios, various storage rooms, and a smaller kitchen where meals will be prepared for children and teachers.
Another construction project is the extensive greening of the area around the school building. Over the next few years, more than 60 large trees, 250 medium-sized trees and over 1,000 shrubs will be planted here. This will also help to protect the building from the weather. As you can imagine, this is a significant financial undertaking.
