In Cambodia, IDE works to reduce poverty and improve rural livelihoods through pro-poor market development. IDE helps to build profitable enterprises and value chains that deliver sustainable social andeconomic benefits to the rural poor, enabling them to increase production and improve their quality of life.
IDE works primarily in rural areas, where the majority of Cambodia’s poor live, and in two sectors that are critical for rural livelihoods: agriculture and water & sanitation. IDE’s primary beneficiaries are poor rural households but our front-line partners are the enterprises that serve them in input and output markets.
IDE’s core competencies lay in the following areas:
Value Chain Analysis:
Identifying and analyzing market opportunities that benefit the rural poor.
Research and Development:
Developing appropriate pro-poor products and services that address constraints. IDE has special expertise in water technologies.
Enterprise Development: Strengthening the abilities of micro- and small enterprises to deliver pro-poor products and services.
Social Marketing: Raising awareness and stimulating demand for pro-poor products and services.
In recent and current projects, IDE has worked with small enterprises and rural households in the following value chains:
Ceramic Water Purifiers
Treadle pumps
Sanitary latrines
Hand pumps
Improved fertilizer technology
Private extension services
Vegetable transport and storage
Drip irrigation systems
Rice weeders
Cool storage
Michael Roberts Country Director
MICHAEL ROBERTS is a water resources engineer with 18 years of technical and project management experience. He spent three years as an irrigation engineer with the Mennonite Central Committee in rural Cambodia and eight years as a consultant engineer in Canada. In 1998, he completed his Master of Science degree at Cornell University with field research on groundwater irrigation in Cambodia. Michael has worked for IDE since 2000, first as Program Director for IDE Canada overseeing projects in Zambia, China, and India, and since 2002 as Country Director in Cambodia.
Bruce Todd Manager, Cambodian Agribusiness Development Facility
BRUCE TODD has worked at the interface between the business and development worlds since moving to Cambodia in 2001, including In-Country Manager for Australian Business Volunteers Ltd; General Manager of Hagar Design Ltd, an employer of vulnerable women producing silk accessories; Program Coordinator for a garment industry project of Gap and the Cambodia Labor Organization; and Technical Advisor to Oxfam America, where he co-produced a comprehensive fisheries trade report.
Bruce has also been active in education for the development of Cambodia, lecturing in business topics at Paññāsāstra University and other institutions. Bruce’s commercial experience included general management, marketing, commercial development, and technical roles as Managing Director of two Asian subsidiaries of SC Johnson Wax. He earned an MBA from Seton Hall University, and a BS in Chemistry from Philadelphia University.
Polak Wins Monito del Giardino Prize
(June 1, 2008) IDE Founder Paul Polak recently traveled to Florence, Italy, to accept the prestigious Il Monito del Giardino prize. The award, which included a €30,000 grant, is presented annually...
Friends of IDE Holds First Meeting
(June 18, 2008) A new group for Denver-area residents who want to get more involved with IDE will hold its first meeting Friday, June 27, from 6-8 p.m...
Polak's Out of Poverty Now Available
(February 15, 2008) In this hard-hitting new book,IDE Founder Paul Polak tells why traditional poverty eradication programs have fallen so short, and how he and his organization developed an alternative approach that has succeeded in lifting 17 million people out of poverty...
IDE Receives Second Grant From Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
(January 25, 2008) IDE today announced a grant of $27 million over four years from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in support of its micro-irrigation programs for Indian smallholder farmers...
