Empowering Creative Futures Around the World
Through vocational education, tools and mentorship, we help individuals build stable careers and stronger communities.
Why it Matters
Mane Mission’s international work is shaped by a simple but powerful belief: access to education can completely transform a person’s future. For many communities around the world, vocational training—especially in fields like cosmetology—is limited or inaccessible, yet the ability to earn income through skilled work can change the trajectory of an entire family.
This understanding became deeply personal to our founder throughout her years of participating in skilled-training mission trips. She saw firsthand how much confidence, dignity, and possibility students gained by learning a trade—but she also saw how often those opportunities ended as soon as the volunteers returned home.
Students were motivated and ready to work, but without tools, mentorship, or a safe place to practice, the path forward was uncertain.
This gap in support is what compelled our founder to reimagine what international training could look like. Rather than offering temporary education, she envisioned creating long-term systems where students could continue learning, working, and eventually teaching others in their community.
Mane Mission’s international program was built to meet this need—to replace one-time instruction with ongoing opportunity, and to ensure that every student has the chance to build a stable future with their own hands
Mane Mission’s international program grew from a deeply personal vision held by its founder, Kendall Koehler. After years of participating in skilled-training mission trips, Kendall witnessed how transformative vocational education could be—yet she also saw a recurring gap. Students would complete training, gain new skills, and feel inspired, but after the volunteers left, there was often no dedicated place for them to continue practicing or earning income.
Kendall carried a long-standing dream of creating a permanent training salon in Cambodia—one that would provide ongoing education, employment, and a pathway to stability for women in the community. However, managing an international salon full-time was not something she could realistically or sustainably do on her own.
HeartPrint, a Cambodia-based nonprofit and trusted partner, understood both the need and Kendall’s long-term vision. Recognizing her passion for building something lasting, they approached her with an idea:
HeartPrint would build and operate the salon if Kendall and Mane Mission would create the education program that brings it to life.
This collaboration became the foundation of the international initiative.
Kendall developed a comprehensive cosmetology curriculum and salon operations guides—covering technical skills, sanitation, client care, business basics, and daily workflow—to ensure the training salon had a professional and sustainable structure. Mane Mission also provides the tools, mannequin heads, supplies, and volunteer educators needed to support the program.
HeartPrint constructed and manages the physical salon, while Mane Mission powers the educational experience within it. Together, they created a long-term model where:
Students receive complete, ongoing cosmetology training
The salon provides a real workplace for graduates
Skilled students can grow into educators, teaching within their own community
The program remains rooted locally, not dependent on temporary visits
This approach combines Kendall’s vision and curriculum with HeartPrint’s community leadership, resulting in a sustainable vocational ecosystem that creates opportunity far beyond a single training trip.
Mane Mission’s international work is rooted in genuine relationships — not just projects. Our primary international partner is HeartPrint in Cambodia, where we’ve spent years building trust, listening, learning, and understanding the real needs of the community.
What started as a simple desire to teach skills has grown into a long-term collaboration focused on opportunity, dignity, and economic stability. Every training trip, every conversation, and every student has shaped the direction of this program.
When we teach in Cambodia, we’re not just dropping into a classroom. We’re stepping into a community with its own rhythm, hopes, challenges, and dreams — and we build our programs with them, not for them.
This is where the first training salon will live.
This is where women will come to learn, work, and eventually lead.
This is where the future of our international work begins.
As our program grows, we hope to deepen our roots where they’re planted — expanding only when we can ensure the same level of care, consistency, and long-term sustainability.
Every piece of this international program exists because people believed in it — believed in the women learning new skills, believed in the power of education, and believed in creating pathways that last.
Mane Mission’s international work is made possible through collaboration. The organization welcomes support from salons, educators, beauty brands, philanthropy partners, and individuals who believe in the power of education to change lives.
Partnership opportunities include:
Sponsoring student kits or training cohorts
Supporting salon buildout projects
Donating professional tools and supplies
Providing financial support for curriculum and educator travel
Collaborating on education, mentorship, or brand alignment
Partnership is not just financial—it’s a shared belief in building opportunity, expanding access, and helping individuals create a sustainable future through skill-based education.
If you or your organization would like to get involved, Mane Mission would be honored to connect.
Together, we can build something beautiful.