Hi everyone! 14% and 9 days to go - what a road it has been but the end is in sight! We're so close to our goal we can almost smell it (smells amazing), but with only a little over a week to go it's going to take a concerted push to bring it home in time. You amazing people have helped us get so far but Kickstarter is a harsh mistress and if we can't get that last bit it's all for naught!

If you've been thinking of friends, family or coworkers who would be interested that you just haven't gotten around to talking to - now is the time. If you haven't, now is the time to have a think. Blog it, facebook it, mention it to someone at lunch today, and let's hit that 8.5k goal at full speed!

Some people at Kinyei have never considered that the Kickstarter wouldn't succeed, Srey Pheak and Sakkana among them; steady in the belief that we'll smash it and you'll all need to know how to use your new kromahs in proper Khmer fashion, they have put together a guide to authentic kromah use, as seen below:

Kromah Guide

The "fisherwoman" and the "men's working belt"

The "fisherwoman" style sported by Srey Pheak (left), which is worn to help protect the wearer from the sun. Sakkana (right) is wearing her kroma around the waist in the style of male laborers, who use the kromah as a sweat rag and towel for a midday bath.

The daydreaming "market shopper."

Srey Pheak's introduces the whimsical "market shopper."

Two variants on the "Phnom Penh tie."

Stylish young people wear their kromahs on the way to work and on trips back to their homelands.

The "grandma' and the "rice harvester"

The "grandmother" kromah style is loosely arranged (left), while rice harvesters wear their kromah tied tightly across the forehead.

UPDATE: A few people have requested printable materials to take to their NYE parties which we are more than happy to supply: here is a PDF summary of the kickstarter campaign page which can be printed out and toted around the real world! Thanks guys!

We're cosying up on this Christmas Eve at Kinyei, and just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas! We also wanted to show off our new sign and make it official. Now everyone from inside the neighborhood and out can find the best spot for coffee and community in town.

And fret not! For those of you in the US (and Europe for a few more hours) who haven't finished the Christmas list, don't forget you can still take advantage of the superb pledge reward offerings. Check out Update #3 to win with gift cards for watercolors and kromah.

Happy Holidays friends!

Love,
Kinyei

Hi Everyone,

Support for the Kinyei ideas cafe over the last couple of weeks has been amazing! We got a great mention from Steve over at The Squiggly Line, presented to really supportive groups at Deloitte Digital's Rapid Prototyping session and Jasper Coffee in Melbourne, and hit the Kickstarter Most Popular list under Food! Thanks to you guys we're just an expensive lunch away from 50% funded which is huge!

Looking into the second half of the campaign we need to keep the momentum going to get fully funded which means if you've donated, please contact your friends and let them know that you did - a personal recommendation from you is the best support we can get at this point!

Finally, we think our rewards would make ace Christmas gifts! If you're doing some last minute shopping or have forgotten anyone, consider pledging for a watercolor or kromah - we're working REALLY hard to make sure the kickstarter succeeds, but don't worry, we'll guarantee rewards for any Christmas pledges if the unthinkable happens.

Just right-click on one of the images below according to the pledge you made, "save as" and save it onto your hard-drive, print it off in time for the 25th, and tell your friend or loved one that their present this year is supporting an awesome project for positive change in Battambang!

Love,
Kinyei

Rather than wait until the end of the Kickstarter, we're pushing ahead with whatever we can do right now—a slightly risky move perhaps, but if you believe in something, you gotta go for it! This weekend we started espresso training.

St 1 1/2 cafe is the product of people from all over the world sharing their skills. Whether Skyping in to provide niche technical assistance, coming up with a menu that caters to our diverse local and international clientele, sending in video tutorials on the perfect caffe latte or coming up with culture-specific cafe workflows, we're creating our collaboration space together—exactly the kind of cooperative venture the space will continue to support going forward!