Why do people work? The answer of the Cambodian people is simple and clear. ‘That’s for living and eating!’ Their word for ‘to work’ is KAROSSI or looking for a job to get something to eat. Have you thought of the purpose of working for yourself?
Cambodian cuisine includes many fermented foods. Prahok, fermented fish paste, and kapi derived from the likes of prawns, have a strong odour which may be hard for foreigners to get used to at first, but given time the full flavors are nothing short of addictive.
On the streets of Phnom Penh, 50-year-old Mr. Touch Sophal (pictured) sells pickled papaya (Mam La’hong). It is made by putting papaya into mam for a few days. Mam is a substance made using a lactic fermentation process on fish with salt and rice. Mr. Sophal’s pickles are well received locally.
Mr. Sophal has a slightly strange background. He previously worked for 20 years in a medical equipment company. Then in 2018, at age 49, he took the leap and started selling papaya. He was
married with 3 children. It was surely a brave decision to change career path, and especially to start up his own business, but Mr.Sophal says with a smile on his face, “I couldn’t think of anything except selling pickled papaya”.
The main reason for this was his aging mother. She had always sold papaya but due to old age, it had become too tiring and she was considering closing up shop. Many of her regular customers
expressed their dismay at hearing these rumours. Mr. Sophal felt the same way about losing the flavors his mother had created, and so decide to inherit the family business.
The shop sells pickled papaya for 15,000 riel ($3.75) per 1 kg, and the smallest pack is 2,000 riel (50 cents). Daily sales total 50,000 riel ($12.50). Given he has a family of 3, it’s definitely not a large income, but he is satisfied with his decision. “For me, these papayas represent the home-style cooking of my mother, and this is also the case for the families of my regular customers who have been purchasing the papaya for a long time. It’s a privilege for me to now be able to produce those flavors.”
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2018.10.10 カンボジア職業大図鑑「カーロッシー」
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