Chea Net was well-known in her community for crafting silk-and-yarn toy butterflies. But when a member of a local church group asked her to sew a large number of them, Net – who supports her four children and grandmother – did not have the equipment necessary to fill such a large order. So with the first installment of her Trickle Up grant, she purchased a used sewing machine, making it possible for her to filll large orders.

She also began to buy scrap material from factories, which she cuts and sews into large washcloths and sells to car washes for about six cents per kilo. She brings home about $1.65 per day – enough to put some funds into her Trickle Up savings account. She’s purchased another sewing machine so that her grandmother can help with production. Her children help, too, when they come home from school.

Thanks to savings from her business, Net was able to meet the high cost of the various health crises that her family has suffered in recent months.  “Recently, my daughter suffered a concussion after a fall,” Net said. “Though it was expensive, I could afford to take her to a nearby clinic for medical tests; this was a great relief for me.” And when an operation and a month-long stay in hospital made it impossible for Net to work, she had enough money saved up to meet her family’s needs for the duration of her absence.  Net has recovered and is now back at work turning out hundreds of washcloths per day and producing her silk-and-yarn butterflies.