IDE began in Vietnam by promoting treadle pumps but soon found that there was little demand for the technology. IDE responded by shifting gears and applying market-based principles to areas that met the needs and priorities of the rural poor.
A coconut processing plant was established to add value to the coconut crop grown by thousands of local farmers. A sustainable supply chain for hand pumps has provided tens of thousand of households with affordable clean water. Drip Irrigation systems and horticultural packages have provided smallholders with a low-cost entry into irrigated agriculture. Urea pellets improve rice yields while reducing the environmental impacts of fertilizers.
The Vietnam program has also pioneered the application of IDE's market principles to health and sanitation. IDE’s Vietnam program developed an innovative and effective social marketing campaign to reduce the spread of trachoma, a blinding eye disease, by encouraging hand and face washing and improved hygiene. The same social marketing skills are now being applied to the promotion of sanitation and latrines and an anti-smoking campaign.
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...
