May 14, 2008
Global Business, Kiva
The Kiva Connection: Exclusive Interview from Cambodia
Posted by Tamara Schweitzer at 10:38 AM
When I set out to blog about the entrepreneurs that Mansueto Ventures
sponsored through Kiva.org, I wanted to provide readers with as many
details as possible about the day-to-day lives of small business
owners in developing countries and how exactly access to microfinance
was impacting their operations.
As you can imagine, it is not a simple task to connect directly with
entrepreneurs in developing communities, as most do not have access to
communication technology. So far, what I have learned about the
entrepreneurs we sponsored and what I have re****ted here on this blog
has come from examining the background profiles and photos posted on
Kiva's website of each borrower. However, this snapshot is only part
of their story, and as a journalist, I felt it my duty to uncover as
much of the individual's story as possible.
This is where Kiva comes in. The organization's staff has been
amazingly instrumental in getting me access to the information I
desired. I have connected with several Kiva fellows, volunteers who
are stationed in countries all over the world where Kiva has
microfinance partners. These fellows are working on the ground to
facilitate the smooth transaction between the local lending
institutions and their clients. As such, many of these fellows have
the chance to visit with entrepreneurs in their homes and places of
business.
Jessica Young, a fellow working with one of Kiva's microfinance
partners in Cambodia, was able to arrange a meeting with Phal An, a
rice winemaker in Cambodia, and one of the entrepreneurs we loaned to
through Kiva. Jessica graciously agreed to bring my interview
questions to Phal An and re****t back with her answers. In order to
conduct the interview in Phal An's native language of Khmer, Jessica
brought along Phal An's loan officer, Mr. Kiry, to act as translator.
Jessica visited with Phal An at her home in late March, and since then
there have been several e-mail exchanges between us detailing the
experience. Here is an excerpt from one of Jessica's e-mails (with
some words added or changed for clarification purposes) in which she
describes her journey to Phal An's home in the village of Dam****
Sankae and the nature of their meeting:
We arrived [at the home] about an hour before lunch time, so [Phal An
and her family] were already starting to prepare to cook the food. Her
husband was at home, as was her son, so during the course of the
interview they would take turns adding hay to keep the fire [for the
rice wine] going. The overseeing of the rice wine production is an
ongoing activity throughout the day. [Phal An] invited us to sit down,
answered all of our questions and offered us water and mango. It's
common for clients to offer tea or water when greeting you in their
homes.
Also present was her daughter who now has a child, so the family was
playing with the baby. During the course of the interview her second
son came home, as families will typically eat lunch together.
Traditionally, it is the woman's responsibility to prepare the meals
and look after the house, so she, like most of the female clients,
will begin work around 7 A.M. and take two main breaks -- one to cook
lunch and one to prepare dinner. In Phal An's case, she can do this
while she simultaneously looks after the rice wine. Because she runs
the side business of pig raising, she also has to tend to the pigs,
feeding them and giving them medicine to prevent them from getting
sick.
She was expecting us [for the interview] because another loan officer
who is assigned to her district stopped by to see if she was home and
give [Mr. Kiry and I] directions. Most homes are off the paved
national roads, on side dirt roads, reached by cutting along paths in
between people=92s houses. As they=92re unmarked, they can be difficult to
find if you haven=92t been there before, unless a local villager is
familiar with the name and can point you in the right direction.
After the interview, Jessica provided me with such a wealth of
information about Phal An's winemaking business, as well as photos of
her winemaking equipment, that I felt it im****tant to share her story
with readers beyond just those who follow this blog. Here is the link
to the extended Q&A with Phal An, and another to a slideshow that
depicts the process of making the rice wine. The interview with Phal
An helped to shed light on the significance that one small loan can
have to a hopeful entrepreneur.
I am grateful to everyone who has helped me relay Phal An's story, and
to tell it accurately. A special thanks to Jessica for stepping into
the journalist's role and re****ting everything so thoroughly.
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