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$13m for Polak project
No food without water. A Colorado organization that for 25 years has pioneered low-cost farming technology for villagers in poor parts of the world has been boosted by a $13 million grant from Bill Gates.The money for International Development Enterprises (IDE) will fund expanded projects in Ethiopia, Nepal, Myanmar and Zambia, said Paul Polak, IDE's president and founder. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation recognized IDE as "a leader in small-scale irrigation technology when a lot of people have ignored it," the foundation's senior program officer, Roy Steiner, said. The grant, confirmed Tuesday by Gates foundation officials, nearly doubles IDE's annual budget.The projects use IDE-engineered water pumps, pond liners, plastic tubes and other technology to help subsistence farmers irrigate small plots and earn at least $200 a year. That bit seems to be the key: IDE does not just give people money or equipment, it sets them up with an income stream. While other organizations supply low-cost technology for farmers, they often ignore the farmers themselves, IDE embraces listening to farmers in their work.
Posted by John Thackara at January 28, 2007 01:53 AM
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