Update on Kim-heak Chhim

Update on Kim-heak Chhim
Entrepreneur: Kim-heak Chhim
Location: Kean Svay district, Cambodia
http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=15619

This entrepreneur is funded by a Kiva loan administered by Maxima Mikroheranhvatho Co., Ltd. here in Cambodia. Kim-heak lives in a fertile farming area not far from the Mekong River south of Phnom Penh. This is the second loan she has taken out with Maxima. Her loan is being paid off on schedule.

Kim-heak and her family, derive their primary income from farming. They used the funds from this loan to continue construction work on their family’s house and to repair their tractor. Our ride to Kim-heak’s took us along narrow lanes of packed red dirt through walled-off plots of land filled with many kinds of agricultural produce. Plots vary in size from a couple hundred square meters to two or three hectares. Kim-heak’s looks to be toward the smaller end of that range – perhaps 40x120 meters.

Kim-heak’s husband greeted us with the common, tepid but nonetheless welcome cup of tea as the day was HOT. We sat down in the shade of their new house and started our interview. They’ve been farming for about 15 years and the range of produce that comes from their plot is impressive. Over rolling seasons they harvest jasmine and tuberose for use in traditional Khmer Buddhist offerings, longan (fruit similar to lychee), mango, jackfruit and bananas among others. They sell much of what they grow but the land also provides food for the family.

I asked how they learned to grow, care for, harvest and sell such a range of products. They replied that farming is the traditional work of their area. Sometimes, even with the help of a capable translator, concepts can be tough to communicate. Kim-heak and her husband manage a complex farming operation dealing with seasonality of water supply, multiple crop rotations, pest control, demands of the market in terms of products and price, labor issues, logistics in terms of harvest and delivery and other factors that I couldn’t take the time to summarize. As they smiled in response to my impressed questioning, the most they could say that their operation is all just a function of “tradition.” My hat is off to them.

As I said, their lot is large. They said it costs them about 300,000 Riel (US $67) to pay workers to cut the grass (by hand) between the trees and planted plots – a task that’s necessary to do twice a month during the rainy season. When there is a lot to harvest, they employ up to five people from the village. One of their sons also helps when he’s not studying. They sell all their product to a buyer who comes to the farm once a week. That buyer in-turn sells everything at one of the large markets in Phnom Penh. A kilo of jasmine flowers sells for $6.67 and tuberoses sell for $0.50 for ten stems. For additional revenue, they also use their tractor to plow neighbor’s plots during the dry season.

From what I could see, Kim-heak and her husband run a very organized business. Everything within their walls was neat and orderly. The growing plots were green and weed-free. The newly constructed house looked well built. It didn’t surprise me that Kim’s husband shyly asked me if he should change out of his soiled work clothes before I photographed them. After this season, they say they would like to take out another loan to finish the kitchen of their new house. Longer-term, their main goal is to keep growing their business.

Posted by Darin Greyerbiehl from Kean Svay district, Cambodia
Nov 12, 2007