Last year, Common Interest decided to start posting our financial statements on the MIX Market as a way to help show our transparency. Since we have a very strong social mission, we were worried that we would shown negatively when we were compared with other more profit-driven MFIs.

It was to our delight when we received the 2008 MIX Global 100 Composite Rankings announcement this morning and discovered that we made the top 100 list with regards to Efficiency. In fact, we have been ranked as 22rd in the world!

Common Interest does take great measure to keep expenses to a minimum. Our one-room office is a bit tight. However; all of us try hard to be responsible with the funds that we receive from donations and grants. It's our goal to get the maximum amount to the poor as possible.

On the evening of Dec 17th, Common Interest conducted a workshop in Chomtong introducing our microfinance program to the area. Chomtong is an hour drive south of Chiang Mai - near Doi Inthanon. The area has a high population of Karen hill-tribe groups as well as rural Thai villagers. Since December is harvest season for this area, Common Interest agreed to hold an evening workshop for four of the villages together. Over 65 women showed up on the cold evening to hear about the program. According to our staff, the women were extremely interested in the idea of a Village Bank. Three of the four villages have already booked follow-up meetings for their communities. We are excited to see how this area develops. In addition to Chomtong, an area further past it (Mae Chaem) has been calling our staff on a daily basis. Mae Chaem is a beautiful region high up in the mountains where many Karen villages are found. If all goes well in Chomtong, we are hoping to visit Mae Chaem in mid-January.

It was nine months ago when we decided to test the Village Banking methodology in our region. We were quite nervous about the changes and closely followed the progress of our 12 test areas. First, they would start to save together. Second, they would use the savings to provide loans back to each other. Once they could prove that they worked well together, the group could apply for additional funds from us to increase the amount that they lend to the members. Today, we are happy to announce that all 8 of the 12 Village Banks have repaid their money back on time and in full. The remaining four groups are scheduled for January completion. This is a major milestone for us. Not only is it providing us with confidence to move forward but it also helps us with our original issues for testing this system: repayment rates and sustainability. This next year is going to be a growth year for us.

During the testing phase, we have learned that the Village Banking system is working very well - financially. Our goal during 2009 is to start developing a system to determine the social success of our project. This is not an easy or common task to complete. However; Common Interest is not in this venture to just provide loans. We want to change the world. It's now time for us to start seeing what kind of impact we actually are having. Through our efforts, we will blog about our challenges and experiences in hopes that others may also attempt to do the same in their microfinance projects.

The Thai foundation held its annual general meeting on November 26 at Common Interest's Chiang Mai office. The 4 member board covered a lot of administrative issues including adiscussion on the composition of the next Board. The current Board's term expires in Nov 2009 and a new Board must be selected prior to this date. It was decided that the Board would be expanded to 7 members and include both donors and members of the micro-credit program. The new Board will be announced in about 6 months time once all background checks have been completed.

It was only fitting that the day after Loy Krathong, the staff of Common Interest visited a Chiang Rai organization called the Khom Loy Development Foundation. Khom Loy works with rural hilltribe villages providing a variety of services including Montesorri training and income generation products. They also have a small micro-credit program with several Akha village. The opportunity allowed staff to share insights and ideas into how to best provide microfinance services to the poor in Thailand. Pictured above (left to right) are: Ryan, Yok, Nung, Akha Villager, Akha Villager, Ploy, Panya and Paul.

Leaders in Baan Pong as they collect payments from their members.