Heang, 53, and her daughter welcomed us in to their home the other day. We sat in the open living/ work space on the ground floor, underneath the raised wooden home above. Heang and her daughter weave at home, like many of the women in their commune on an island in the Mekong outside of Phnom Penh. Heang has three children, ages 28-33, who are all grown and married with children of their own. As Heang is a widow, and family is of the utmost importance to Khmers, one daughter (with her husband and two children) still lives with her. The entire time we spoke, Heang hugged her shy, young granddaughter who was sitting contentedly in her lap.
Heang's loan of $1,000 is being repaid on schedule as of December. This is the fifth time she has taken out a loan through Maxima Mikroheranhvatho Co., Ltd. here in Cambodia. This new loan, funded through Kiva, has enabled Heang to pay for the preparation of two looms and buy raw silk in bulk. A portion of the loan was also used to purchase a motor-bike so that her son-in-law, a machine repairman, can more easily commute to work.
Heang and her daughter have been weaving for nearly 15 years. Previously, Heang was a farmer. Her daughter began to learn weaving from a neighbor as a teenager and soon began teaching her mother. Now, they are both accomplished weavers and use this as the primary means for supporting the family. It takes them 7-10 days to complete one of the more complicated patterns which they sell to the local middleman for $50-60 per Kben (2 piece set). This earns them each around $2.50 USD per day. Heang complains that profits are down right now as the buyer is paying a little less for the finished product, though material costs have stayed the same. The only leverage Heang has is to buy her materials in bulk as she, as with most weavers we've spoken with, finds it too time-consuming and difficult to travel to Phnom Penh to sell her goods directly to the retailers. This is why the availability of a loan has become so invaluable to her.
In the future, both women's greatest desire is for the children to have the opportunity to stay in school and have a good education.
MAXIMA Mikroheranhvatho Co., Ltd.
Posted by Tami Rowan from Khsach Kandal district, Cambodia
Dec 5, 2007
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