Math El

Math El
Status: Raised
$300.00 Loan Request
$300.00 Raised
http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=27980

About the Entrepreneur Name: Math El
Business Name: Selling materials to recycle
Location: Muk Kampoul district, Cambodia
Primary Activity: Plastics Sales
Loan Requested: $300.00
Repayment Term: 12 months - repaid monthly
Loan Use: To purchase discarded materials for resale
Date Posted: Dec 17, 2007
Date Funded: Dec 18, 2007


Mr. Math El and his family live in a small village along the Mekong River about twenty kilometers north of Phnom Penh. Math (age 40) and his wife (age 38) have three children, all of whom live at home and attend school in their village. For many years before, Math fished in the nearby Mekong River. The catch has been declining for the past several years, so two years ago he and his wife started gathering recycling materials. They buy discarded household materials, which they then sort and resell to another, larger business in a nearby village. The business that buys their materials bundles them in bulk and then ships everything to Vietnam, a couple hundred kilometers to the east.

Of the materials Math and his wife collect, aluminum is the most valuable. They also buy and resell iron, steel, copper, hard plastics (such as PVC used in plumbing pipes), glass, paper, fiberboard, automotive batteries (for the lead inside), and any other items they can make some profit on. Math and his wife drive the lanes of their own and the neighboring villages gathering materials household by household. Math drives the motorbike and his wife sits behind holding the cart they pull (see photo). They don’t make much money doing this, but it does provide their main source of income. With luck, they hope to continue to work and buy a second-hand truck, which would allow them to carry more materials and drive farther.

Math and his family are requesting this, their second loan from MAXIMA, for $300 to buy discarded household materials.