Update on Tharch Nov

Update on Tharch Nov
Entrepreneur: Tharch Nov
Location: Khsach Kandal district, Cambodia
Amount Repaid: $92.00 of $1,100.00
http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=20180

This entrepreneur is funded by a Kiva loan administered by Maxima Mikroheranhvatho Co., Ltd. here in Cambodia. Tharch lives on an island in the Mekong River north of Phnom Penh. This is the second loan she has taken out with Maxima. Her loan is being paid off on schedule.

Tharch and her husband are in a unique business – recharging automotive batteries for use in homes. There is no electricity on the islands in this area. To supplement, people use car batteries for lighting, radios and, occasionally, televisions.

Their house/business was easier to find than many. The sound of a loud gas generator could be heard from a long distance. It never stopped during our interview, either. Even though they say they dont run the generator at night, I would not want to be a close neighbor.

Tharch used the funds from this loan to upgrade their gas-powered 15 Amp generator/charger to a 22 Amp. They've been re-charging batteries for just over a year and the business seems to be going very well. As of the time of our interview, no one else in the village offered the service but virtually everyone needed and used it. Most houses have at least one battery and many have two or three. Tharch's husband learned how to run the business from a friend who has a similar one in Kampot Province to the south.

The new generator can charge up to 120 batteries at a time. Batteries typically take eight hours to charge. Fees for charging are US $1.00 for a 150 amp battery, $.50 for a 70 amp and $.28 for a 50 amp. A charge on a 150 amp battery lasts about two weeks unless it’s used for television which cuts usage time in half. They say they currently use between 70 and 80 liters of gasoline a week. Gas costs about $.83 a liter in Cambodia.

Tharch says she plans to take out another loan when this one is paid off. With that they want to buy fill-dirt to raise the area where they charge the batteries and to build a better cover over it. Water and electricity, especially during the wet season, make work difficult and dangerous. Longer-term, they wants to buy a small truck or tuk-tuk so they can pick up and deliver the batteries.

Posted by Darin Greyerbiehl from Khsach Kandal district, Cambodia
Nov 5, 2007