Sophorn

Loan description:

Sophorn Chet is 56 years old and married with six children aged between 17 and 26. Only the two youngest children are still in school. She lives in Prek Trob village in Ek Phnom district in Battambang province. Sophorn and her husband, Nom Ray who is 51 years old have worked as farmers for the last 25 years. They farm six hectares of rice paddy which gives them a yield of about two and a half tonnes per hectare. After keeping about one and half tonnes for their own consumption, they sell the remainder to the local rice miller. After harvesting the rice during the dry season they plant green beans. Much of the district is currently flooded and Sophorn has sought a loan, repayable over six months, in order to buy a boat both to catch fish as well as facilitate travel. Her aim is to expand rice production next year (in the photographs Sophorn is shown smoking fish).