19 New Microloans in Las Isletas Community

First of all, I want to thank everyone who contributed to The Loan Challenge campaign this summer. Whether you wrote a check, bought a fair trade product, asked a great question, or let us crash on your spare bed (or incredibly soft carpet), it couldn't have happened without you. With the contributions that we have already received and the couple of big fundraisers that are being hosted on our behalf in the next few weeks, it looks like we're going to reach our goal of raising enough funds for 100 new loans this Fall! Thank you all for making that happen!

That segues nicely into the next exciting piece of news. A couple of days ago, Isabel and I braved the soggy road out to El Diamante on our rented bikes. It was worth the mud bath that we both received, because we got to issue the first round of new loans in the Las Isletas community. Nineteen smiling Granadinos (that's what the wonderful people of Granada call themselves) showed up with their friends and families to receive their microloans.

This group is really a model community for us. Despite nearly everyone working in the same line of business -- fishing -- there is very little "competition" to speak of among the neighbors. In fact, many of them work cooperatively, so that they can maximize their profits.

We've got lots of other great news to share with you, including an update on our Matagalpa expansion project and upcoming loan distributions, but we'll save that for a later post. Make sure you sign up to receive an email each time our blog is updated. All you have to do is enter your email address in the upper-right-hand corner of the blog under "Get Updates by Email!"

Thanks again to all of you who helped us out with The Loan Challenge. All of this great stuff that's happening is all thanks to you.

Alex