Linux Labs in Rural Cambodia: Real Numbers, Real Challenges
We've now installed KOOMPI computer labs in 63 schools across Cambodia. Here's what the numbers don't tell you about bringing Linux to rural education.
The Reality on the Ground
63 schools, 1,500+ computers, 25,000+ students. Those are the easy numbers. The hard numbers: only 40% of teachers use the labs regularly. 60% still ask when we're installing Windows.
Three schools had to delay lab openings because their electrical systems couldn't handle 20 computers running simultaneously. In rural areas, stable electricity beats processing power.
We budgeted two days per school for Linux training. Reality: most teachers need 6-8 sessions before they're comfortable. LibreOffice isn't "just like Microsoft Office" when you've only known Windows.
What Actually Works
Teachers expected us to jump into coding lessons. Instead, we begin with basic keyboard skills and file management. Get comfortable with the desktop before diving into terminal commands.
In every successful school, one teacher becomes the Linux advocate. They troubleshoot, train peers, and evangelize open source. Find the champion, invest in them heavily.
Teachers love Google Docs, Canva, and Khan Academy—all work perfectly on Linux. We stopped fighting the web application trend and embraced it. Sometimes pragmatism beats ideology.
The Windows Problem
"How will students get jobs without Microsoft Office?" This question comes up in every school meeting. The fear is real even if the logic is flawed. Most entry-level jobs use web applications, not desktop software.
Teachers are used to pirated Windows and Office. They don't see the legal or security risks. Free and legal feels suspicious when illegal and expensive seems normal.
Local computer shops know Windows troubleshooting, not Linux. When something breaks, schools want to call the guy down the street, not search Ubuntu forums.
Small Victories
Give a 12-year-old Ubuntu and they're productive in hours. Adults bring Windows baggage; kids bring curiosity.
Visual programming languages work well for introducing logic concepts. Students build games and animations without getting lost in syntax.
When teachers discover they can update all lab computers simultaneously with a single command, Linux stops feeling foreign and starts feeling powerful.
What We're Learning
Schools care more about computers that work reliably for five years than computers with the latest specs. Ubuntu LTS delivers on this promise.
We're developing Khmer language programming tutorials and examples relevant to Cambodian students. Global tools need local context.
Each successful school becomes a reference for five more. Word-of-mouth adoption is slower but stickier than top-down mandates.
The Long Game
Installing 63 labs taught us this isn't about converting teachers to Linux believers. It's about giving students access to computing tools and concepts. Whether they use Windows or Linux in their careers matters less than whether they understand how computers work.
In 10 years, the students using these labs today will build Cambodia's next generation of technology companies. They'll choose their own tools then. Our job is making sure they have the foundation to choose wisely.
The goal isn't 1,000 schools running Linux. It's 1,000 schools where students learn to think computationally, solve problems systematically, and understand that technology is something they can create, not just consume.
Sometimes progress looks like compromise. But every student who learns to code on an open-source system learns that knowledge should be free, tools should be accessible, and barriers to learning are bugs to be fixed.