Self-reliant community
How local people of Tambon Naso in Yasothon's Kut Chum district have adopted and nurtured their community's self-reliance.
1980 - 57 local people established the Soke Khum Poon Village Development Fund Shop with a Bt3,800 budget to reduce the community's dependence on three grocery shops which enjoyed a virtual monopoly and overcharged people. Today, the shop operates at a profit and has more than 200 members.1983 - With support from Kut Chum Hospital and the Komol Keemtong Foundation, local people founded a club for traditional-medicine practitioners and herbal enthusiasts to reduce medicine costs and to conserve herbal medicines. 1989 - Locals started turning to herbal farms after many of them developed illnesses relating to farming chemicals. 1990 - The club for traditional-medicine practitioners and herbal enthusiasts was upgraded to a health centre, distributing herbs and herbal products. 1996-1997 - Rak Thammachat Club opened two rice mills. At the beginning, the mills suffered cash-flow problems and then started a community bank. This bank offered a higher interest rate for savings than commercial banks. 1998 - 16 residents contributed Bt1,000 each to a fund that offers farmers soft loans with the annual interest rate of one per cent. 1999 - After nearly one full year in operation, local people convened a meeting to discuss the fund. At that meeting, two foreign volunteers under the Canadian University Service Overseas were also present. With their help, the Thai Community Currency System (TCCS) was introduced. Under this system, a form of local currency known as Bia Kut Chum (later renamed the Boon Kut Chum) was to be used as money within the community. 2000 - Local people started using the Bia Kut Chum. Weeks later, the Bank of Thailand suspended the use of the Kut Chu" currency in the district on grounds that it may break the Currency Act.
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