A Social Enterprise
AMOK Sisters is not just a business, it’s a social enterprise that helps refugee women to gain confidence, foster community networks and to access opportunities to long-term employment.
The AMOK Sisters team is made up of women from refugee backgrounds, predominantly from Cambodia.
The women bring knowledge from their home countries and native cultures with AMOK providing the skills, training, qualifications and work experience to enable them to gain enough confidence to move into secure employment, whether that be with AMOK Sisters or elsewhere.
The AMOK women get together like a family of sisters at least once a week to socialise around food, create new recipes, share ideas and their stories. For some, this is their only community interaction.
You can find an AMOK garden in many of the women’s backyards, growing the herbs and spices that go into their authentic recipes.
Thank you for choosing AMOK Sisters. By doing so, you are supporting these strong and resilient Cambodian women and their families.
Cindy Chen - Founder
Cindy is a survivor of the Khmer Rouge regime and fled Cambodia with her family when she was only 9 years old. She spent more than 10 years in various refugee camps at the Thai border before arriving in Australia.
Living in these camps, Cindy and her family struggled to find enough food day-to-day to survive. Her dad, Hong made Nom Pao (buns) from the limited ingredients he could get hold of, selling them and in the process ensured her family’s survival.
That feeling of hunger haunted Cindy and inspired her to dedicate her life to providing nutritious and delicious Cambodian food for others. AMOK Sisters brings together a group of women with similar personal experiences and passions.
Today Cindy lives in Sydney with her three beautiful children.