I met Chenda and his mother as part of a sponsored cycle ride between Vietnam and Cambodia, along with 9 other participants.
Chenda himself was very shy and asked that we "interview" his mother who was delighted to show us their farm where they were harvesting soy beans.
She said that she's getting a good crop. She also grew watermelons last year.
They get 500 Khmer Real per kilo of beans and can harvest 50kg. At harvest time they hire local workers who they pay about $6 dollars per day.
They work from sunrise to sunset.
She harvests beans every two weeks. They are sold in the market and go to a factory to be made into soy sauce.
In the rainy season they also grow rice. And they have 1 cow.
It was about 40 degrees when we visited so we asked how they irrigate the land, but apparently the beans do not need much water. They plants the beans after the floods subside each year so there is enough water in the land to sustain them.
The biggest problem is the bugs which eat the crops. She sprays insecticide and purified water on them once a week, spending 25 dollars on insecticides and fertilizers.
She thanked our partner, CCSF for the loan. Without it she wouldn't have a good crop like this.
They also has savings with CCSF and can increase her savings when she sells the beans.
Our partner, CCSF has a big focus on encouraging people to save money as well as take loans when necessary. Every time someone makes a savings deposit they get a ticket into a monthly draw and someone wins some money each month - this is a big incentive to save.