Sales agent profile – Bo Sambath

At 30 years old, Bo Sambath is married with two young sons and is the member of the CCWC tasked with promoting water and sanitation in Kraing Dei Vai commune. Through her CCWC linkages, Bo Sambath was approached to be a toilet sales agent in early 2011. She received training from the WASH-M team and watched some sales demonstrations, learning how to use different tactics to get people interested in toilets. ‘At first I was shy to sell toilets, but now I am not. Some villagers even call me Miss Shit.’

Sambat goes door-to-door and conducts up to 3 village sales events per month to promote Om John’s low-cost toilets. In her first 6 weeks, she could sell 27 toilets – which she believes is a very good start.

And how about her own toilet? Back in 2007, Sambat had bought concrete rings and a ceramic pan from Om John to build a toilet, but she didn’t know how to construct it. She just kept the materials under her house and continued defecating in the open. When she found herself selling Om John’s toilet sets a few years later, Sambat decided to buy the low-cost ‘chamber box’ and slab. Om John even installed her new toilet free of charge – a reward for her great sales work to date.