How Smiling Gecko is rebuilding Cambodian culture with community space ‘The Gong’

Two days later, Schmid started renting a shed in a garbage dump outside the city. “I was sharing my life with thousands of people, scouring garbage like vultures to separate food from the PET and Coca-Cola bottles to sell,” he says. He started to wonder why people still lived in such inhumane, abusive situations despite the presence of over 6,000 NGOs (non-governmental organisations) in Cambodia.   

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Examining the broader picture, Schmid was even more dismayed that many Cambodians struggled to read and write. Crammed into classrooms of 90 students or more, students fought off hunger and illness while the teachers themselves had no textbooks on which to base their lessons. 

“When people can’t read and write, they’re detached from their culture,” says Schmid. “They don’t know their rich array of melodies and dances. They don’t know the Angkor Wat was built in the 12th century, when Buddhism arrived in the country. I wondered: ‘Do these people know who they are?’ This inspired Schmid to start a school that not only equipped students with knowledge in math and science, but also returned their identity to them. 

In line with this philosophy, Schmid started the organisation Smiling Gecko. It started as a kindergarten and school, which grew from 140 students to 470 in the past seven years. Aside from educational opportunities for children, Smiling Gecko offers the students’ families the chance to cultivate organic food and animal products on their farms, earning enough money to support their families. They also offer crafting workshops in metalwork, sewing, and furniture making, as well as job opportunities through a butchery and bakeshop.  

Still, Schmid felt called to immerse the community in a deeper appreciation of their forgotten culture. During Pol Pot’s communist regime in the 1970s, Cambodia was plunged into a state of torture, starvation and vast impoverishment. Apart from causing the deaths of up to three million Cambodians, Pol Pot’s radical social reforms eradicated much of Cambodia’s vibrant culture. 

Historical landmarks like the Angkor Wat inspired Hannes Schmid to wonder if things could be different. “While looking at ninth-century engravings, I saw warriors hitting gongs with bamboo. When they hit the gongs, it echoed throughout the forest,” he recalls. “I want Cambodia to have a chance to unleash its voice, let it reverberate throughout the world.” 

With the help of Swiss architectural firm Atelier Oï, Smiling Gecko established a music and cultural centre in the district of Sameakki Mean Chey. “While designing, we wanted to maintain the essential elements of Khmer philosophy: sky, air, water, earth,” says Schmid. “So while building The Gong, we designed a massive roof that collects rainwater with which we can nourish our lands.”

In the research process, they also discovered that some Angkor Wat bricks stuck out of the wall, symbolising the father, while other bricks stayed inwards, representing the mother. “We kept this element because the family is an essential part of Asian culture,” believes Schmid. 

Inside the curvatures of The Gong lay state-of-the-art recording studios and performance stages, where Cambodians of all ages create a living library of culture. Here, current and future generations are exposed not only to classical music like Bach and Beethoven or rock ‘n roll and reggae, but to the unique instruments and melodies that revive their cultural pride. 

When Hannes Schmid was taking photographs of Bob Marley and Gene Simmons, he was not just capturing moments of musical history. Each photograph was a glimpse of a larger social dialogue, a movement in stark contrast to the status quo. Now, his career has come full circle. The call for change from decades past is being answered today, laying the foundation for boundless change in the lives of so many.

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